Gender Violence

Women and Girls “Preyed on as the Spoils of War”

By Sam Olukoya
“They forcefully took us away and kept us like prisoners,” Lydia Musa, a former Boko Haram captive who was abducted at the age of 14 during an attack on her village in Gwoza, in Nigeria’s north eastern Borno State, tells IPS. Musa and two other underaged girls were captured and forced to marry Boko Haram fighters in spite of their protests that they were too young to marry.

Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace & Security

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
In the first month of Bangladesh joining the Security Council in January 2000, President Nelson Mandela was in New York to report to the Council in his capacity as the UN-mandated facilitator of the Burundi Peace Process. In an informal setting, he shared with us that his efforts to include women in the peace table were not working as participating men stonewalled.

Latin America Resets Its Strategy against Femicides

By Fabiana Frayssinet
Several initiatives are seeking to strengthen the fight against femicides in Latin America, a region which, despite growing popular mobilisation and pioneering legislation against gender-based murders, still has the world's worst rates in what has been described as a "silent genocide," says U.N. Women.

Myanmar and China’s Bride Trafficking Problem

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Women and girls from Myanmar are increasingly being trafficked as “brides” to China, a human rights group found.

Gang Rape & Murder of 12 Year Old Somali Girl Sparks Fury

By Hawa Aden Mohamed
Aisha Elias Adan was abducted on the evening of February 24th at a market in Israc village, Puntland, Somalia. Her body was carelessly dumped in front of her family home the following morning. A doctor’s report showed that she had been brutally gang-raped.

The Geneva Centre reiterates the importance of fully including women in the labour market and in all spheres of society on the occasion of International Women’s Day

By Geneva Centre
On the occasion of the observance of the 2019 International Women’s Day, the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue reiterated the urgent need to intensify efforts towards achieving gender equality in all spheres of society, eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, and promoting women’s political and economic empowerment.

The Future Women Want: Free of Violence

By Maureen Kangere
Bakera excelled in school. As a girl who grew up in a rural, poor community, she had, against all odds, realized her education goals and was elated to go to the capital city, Kampala where she would now work.

Criminality, School Dropout and Gender Equality

By Jan Lundius
I assume it was the Swedish author Stieg Larsson´s Millenium trilogy (2005-2007) that generated the popularity of Scandinavian Crime Fiction, as well numerous movies and TV-series that followed in its wake. A typical Nordic Noir novel takes place within a gloomy landscape of dreary towns, or a semi-deserted countryside, where under the thin surface of an apparently well-ordered society, murder, misogyny, rape, racism and international crime syndicates are thriving.

Violence Fuels Mobilisation by Women against Brazil’s Anti-Gender Equality Government

By Mario Osava
Crime, a key issue in far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's election in Brazil, has a dimension that is gaining in visibility and could turn against his government: gender violence.

Slavery is Not a Thing of the Past, It Still Exists Today Affecting Millions

By Shannon Scribner
While natural hazards like hurricanes, exacerbated by climate change, are causing people to migrate, it’s conflict, violence and persecution that have forced more than 68.5 million people from their homes today, exposing them to higher risks and increased vulnerability, especially women and children.

UN Accused of Failing to Move Aggressively Against Sexual Abuse

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations, which prides itself with a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, has come under relentless fire for failing to match its words with deeds—specifically in relation to some of the high-profile cases that have jolted the Organization.

Sexual Assault Survivors March to End Gender Violence in India

By Divya Srinivasan
In an historic first, thousands of people participated in a 10,000-kilometre long Dignity March across India to raise awareness about sexual violence, bring an end to stigma faced by survivors, and highlight the barriers women and children face in accessing justice.

Sexual Violence Surging in South Sudan

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Women and girls continue to face the brunt of violence in the northern region of South Sudan with persistently high and brutal levels of sexual violence, a new report found.

A Truly Global Effort is Needed to Eradicate FGM by 2030

By Divya Srinivasan
According to official data on the global prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) released by UNICEF there are 200 million women and girls in the world who have been cut. Shocking though this statistic is, it seriously underestimates the nature and scale of the problem.

On the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the Geneva Centre strongly calls for the eradication of this woeful practice

By Geneva Centre
(Geneva Centre) - On the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Ambassador Idriss Jazairy, Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, reiterates the urgent need to eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls, in particular FGM, which is a practice that violates women and girls’ fundamental rights such as their right to health, their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and even their right to life.

Fighting Machismo in Latin America: The Formula to Combat Femicides

By Mariela Jara
Peru began the year with 11 femicides in January, despite progress made in laws and statutes and mass demonstrations against gender-based violence. This situation is also seen in other Latin American countries, raising the need to delve deeper into the causes of the phenomenon.

Ending Violence Against Women & Girls in the Sahel: Crucial for Sustainable Development

By Amina J. Mohammed
After flying into the city of Bol in the Republic of Chad, over the lush fields and receding lakes, we landed to a rapturous welcome from traditional rulers and local women. Their faces reflected a hope and dignity slipping away under the harsh reality of poverty and insecurity.

Crusade Against Sex Education Undermines Progress Made in Latin America

By Fabiana Frayssinet
The crusade against comprehensive sex education by conservative and religious sectors undermines progress in Latin America and could further drive up rates of teen pregnancy, communicable diseases and abuse against girls and adolescents.

Combatting Systematic Misogyny

By Aaqib Hasib and Momotaz Rahman Megha
(The Daily Star, Bangladesh) - The past decade has seen progress being made for movements to support equality. The #MeToo and Time's Up movements helped start conversations within the general public worldwide on the topics of sexual harassment and misogyny.

Survey on UN Sexual Abuse Shifts Focus on Virtual Fugitives from Justice

By Thalif Deen
A survey of sexual harassment at the United Nations has uncomfortably shifted the focus to some of the senior UN officials who have either escaped censure – or punishment-- despite a rash of charges against them, including abuse and misconduct.

Is Love an Embarrassment?

By Jan Lundius
I do not understand a word of Persian and cannot determine whether these lines, taken from a German translation, are a correct interpretation of Muhammad Hāfez-e-Shīrāzī´s original poem. Nevertheless, Hāfez, who lived 1315-1390 CE, was apparently one of those great writers able to provide bemused couples with points of reference after being struck by the tumultuous sensation of passionate love.
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