Gender Violence

The Gang Rape and Murder of an 8 Year Old Child in India

By Siddharth Chatterjee
Grotesque and barbaric, is the only way to describe the rape and murder of an 8 year old child, in a country where women and girls are traditionally revered as Goddesses.

The Cover up Culture: Sexual Abuse & Harassment in the UN

By Peter A Gallo
Under-Secretary-General Jan Beagle recently spoke at an event at the International Peace Institute on the subject of ‘Combating Sexual Harassment in the United Nations.’ She spoke eloquently and coherently, but what she said, unfortunately, was largely an exercise in distraction and futility.

India Cracks Down on Human Trafficking

By Neeta Lal
The Indian Union Cabinet has cleared the long-awaited Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, which proposes an imprisonment of 10 years to life term for those trafficking humans for the purpose of begging, marriage, prostitution or labour, among others. The bill will become a law once cleared by both houses of Parliament.

El Salvador’s Shameful Treatment of Women Who Miscarry

By Jeannette Urquilla
Mayra Veronica Figueroa Marroquin (34) was released from prison earlier this month after serving time for what she argued was a miscarriage. Her sentence was reduced from 30 years to the 15 years she had already spent behind bars.

A Pledge for Parity

By Ann-Kathrin Pohlers
With March marking Women’s History Month, the debate over gender-based discrimination couldn’t have reached its new peak at a more critical time.

Dowry Death or Murder?

By Geetika Dang , Vani S. Kulkarni and Raghav Gaiha
Dowry deaths rose from about 19 per day in 2001 to 21 per day in 2016.It is indeed alarming that the rise in dowry deaths is unabated despite greater stringency of anti-dowry laws. In 1961, the Dowry Prohibition Act made giving and taking of dowry, its abetment or the demand for it an offence punishable with imprisonment and fine or without the latter. This was an abysmal failure as dowries became a nationwide phenomenon, replacing bride price. More stringent laws followed. The Criminal Law Amendment Act in 1983 inserted a new section (498-A) to deal with persistent and grave instances of dowry demand and such offences were punishable with imprisonment extendable to three years. As cases of brutal harassment and dowry deaths continued to rise, another Act was passed in 1986, relating specifically to the offence of dowry death.

The Role of Law Schools in Shaping Global Gender Justice

By Rangita de Silva de Alwis
March 8th, 2018, International Women’s Day, saw an extraordinary global mobilization for gender equality. In the last year, global movements for gender equality-- from marches to powerful grassroots organizing and viral social media campaigns, such as #MeToo and #TimesUp in the United States and other countries-- have galvanized the world’s attention like never before.

A Fair Reflection? Women and the Media

By Audrey Azoulay
Information and communication technologies have the potential to open up new worlds of ideas and the media - television, newspapers, advertising, blogs, social networks, film – is increasingly omnipresent in the lives of many of us. In line with one of the major themes of this year’s Commission on the Status of Women, UNESCO is assessing how the media and ICTs shape the lives of women.

Press for Progress: Women’s Equality & Political Participation

By Peter Kagwanja and Siddharth Chatterjee
March 8, 2018 International Women’s Day offers another opportunity to reflect on the progress made towards gender equality and women’s political rights.

#MeToo in the Global Workplace: Time to Connect the Dots

By Laila Malik and Inna Michaeli
Since its explosion onto the social media landscape at the end of 2017, the #metoo movement has continued to gain global traction. Initially centred on powerful Hollywood women breaking decades of silence about sexual abuse and harassment in the industry, the conversation soon spread across global regions and sectors, from #YoTambien in the Spanish-speaking world to #balancetonporc in French.  From China to أنا_كمان# in Arabic. From national governments to universities to international development, the stories are grim, and their pervasiveness has been jarring.

Fear and Uncertainty Grip Rohingya Women in India

By Stella Paul
In the semi-lit makeshift tent covered with strips of cardboard, five women sit in a huddle. As their young children, covered in specks of mud and soot, move around noisily, the women try to hush them down. Hollow-eyed and visibly malnourished, all the women also appear afraid.

In Latin America “Me Too” Doesn’t Always Mean the Same Thing

By Fabiana Frayssinet
From the Argentine slogan "Ni una menos" (Not one [woman] less)" to Colombia’s “Now is not the time to remain silent”, activism against gender violence has grown in Latin America since 2015, with campaigns that have social and cultural differences from the "MeToo" movement that emerged later, in 2017, in the United States.

DRC: A Crisis the World Can No Longer Afford to Ignore

By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
The numbers are hard to fathom. Nearly two million people driven from their homes in 2017 alone. The worst cholera epidemic of the past 15 years, with over 55,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths. Countless others killed, maimed or sexually assaulted.

The Silent Victims of Domestic Violence in Georgia

By Sopho Kharazi
As a student in Rome, the closest event that left a mark in my life was the Women’s March in the Italian capital. The march allowed me to contribute to the empowerment of women and to demonstrate that no woman is free-- even if one’s rights are being violated. #MeToo.

Women Peace Laureates Condemn Inaction on Rohingya “Genocide”

By Naimul Haq
Nobel Laureates Mairead Maguire, Shirin Ebadi and Tawakkol Karman met with more than 100 women refugees in camps in the coastal Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh this week, as well as travelling to the “no man’s land” where thousands of Rohingya have been stranded between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Rise of Feminism & the Renewed Battle for Women’s Rights

By Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini
In 1909, the Socialist Party of America, in support of female garment workers protesting working conditions, designated March 8 as a day to honor women. By 1917, women in Russia were protesting for ‘bread and peace’ against a backdrop of war. In recognition of that protest and women’s suffrage in Soviet Russia, The International Socialist movement designated March 8 as International Women’s Day.

Culture of Deep-seated Denial of Sexual Violence in Sudan

By Pramila Patten
At the invitation of the Government of Sudan, I visited Sudan from 18 to 25 February 2018. The objective of the visit was to gain first-hand knowledge of the situation, assess the challenges of addressing conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, and establish constructive dialogue with national authorities in this regard.

Monsoon Season Threatens More Misery for Rohingyas

By Naimul Haq
More than half a million Rohingya refugees crammed into over 30 makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar in southeast Bangladesh face a critical situation as the cyclone and monsoon season begins in a few weeks’ time.

UN Relies on DNA for Paternity Claims Against Sexually Abusive Peacekeepers

By Thalif Deen
As sexual abuse and paternity claims continue to rise against UN peacekeepers overseas, the United Nations is actively collaborating with troop contributing countries (TCC) in collecting DNA samples: a protocol introduced back in 2014.

Migration Should Not be Politicized, Warns General Assembly President

By Miroslav Lajčák
This week, we began intergovernmental negotiations on the Global Compact on Migration. Therefore, it has never been more important to have a fact-based discussion on this issue.To start us off, I want to make main three points. First, I want to stress that migration is a fact. It is not an idea. It is not a theory. It is not a trend. It is a fact.

A Step Towards the Light: Ending Human Trafficking

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
A new initiative aims to use data to shed light on a pervasive multi-billion dollar criminal industry: human trafficking.Created by the International Organization for Migration and Polaris, the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) is the world’s first human trafficking data portal.
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