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Sunday, April 19, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Gender Violence
Authorities Urged to Take Lawful Measures to Stop Mass Abductions in Nigeria
On the morning of 17 November 2025, darkness cloaked Maga town in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, Kebbi State, until gunfire shattered the silence. It was around 4 am when armed attackers stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, firing into the air to terrify residents before heading to the staff quarters. There, they killed two, including Hassan Yakubu, the school’s Chief Security Officer and then abducted 26 female students.
The Rising Threat of Digital Abuse: Women’s Vulnerability in the Age of AI and Online Harassment
As the digital landscape continues to expand and integrate into various aspects of daily life, humanitarian experts have raised concerns about the associated risks, particularly as artificial intelligence (AI), online anonymity, and the absence of effective monitoring frameworks heighten the potential for abuse and harassment. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by digital abuse, facing heightened risks, with nearly half of them worldwide lacking effective legal protections.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 2025
Violence against women is a human rights emergency in every country. One in three women worldwide experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Children’s Education Must Be Put At The Forefront of Climate Discussions At COP30
In 2024, the climate crisis has disrupted schooling for millions of students worldwide, weakening workforces and hindering social development on a massive scale. With extreme weather patterns preventing students from accessing a safe, and effective learning environment, the United Nations (UN) and the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) continue to urge the international community to assist the most climate-sensitive areas in building resilient education systems that empower both students and educators.
Tackling the Hidden Toll of Breast Cancer in the Pacific Islands
The burden of breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, is global, and the projected increase in cases in the coming decades will affect women in high- and low-income countries in every region.
UNICEF Calls for Global Support to Protect Displaced and Starving Children in Haiti
New figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) show that displacement has surged significantly in Haiti, deepening existing security and humanitarian crises in a country where nearly 90 percent of the capital is controlled by armed gangs.
Parliamentarians Seek Solutions to Protect Children from Digital Abuse
Vulnerable children are being targeted online faster than parliamentarians and law enforcers can act, a conference convened by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) heard. Yet, with international cooperation and sharing of ideas, lawmakers believe the scourge of online abuse can be addressed.
International Community, Civil Society Urge Minority Rights and Accountability Amid Ongoing Violence Against Rohingyas in Myanmar
On September 30, the United Nations (UN) convened a high-level meeting on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar shortly following the end of the 80th session of the General Assembly (UNGA80). The conference was an opportunity to draw global attention once more to the Rohingya refugee situation with dialogue from UN officials, world representatives and civil society organizations.
Beijing+30: A Culmination of International, Intergenerational Dialogue
Thirty years since the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the resolve that defined and united the world toward a global agenda for gender equality make it just as relevant in 2025.
African Voices at UNGA80: Building Sustainable and Self-Reliant Systems Through Innovation
On September 24, African-led organizations convened a high-level side event during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) The event - African-led Innovation: Shaping Sustainable Futures With or Without Aid - was organized in partnership with eHealth Africa, Population Services International (PSI), Population Council, and Reach Digital Health. The dialogue amplified voices from African-led organizations and highlighted the importance of homegrown innovations for sustainability—regardless of the availability of foreign aid—amid shrinking donor funding and widening global inequalities.
Ending Child Marriage Needs a Culture of Accountability, Respect for the Rule of Law
Global leaders came together at the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly to commit to ending child marriage, calling on all world leaders to make concerted efforts to ensure accountability and enforce the laws that prohibit it.
New Report Investigates Violence Against Women and Girls Through Surrogacy, Sparks Global Dialogue
A United Nations report calling for the global abolition of surrogacy has sparked intense debate among experts, with critics arguing that blanket bans could harm the very women the policy aims to protect.
UN Warns of Escalating Humanitarian Emergency in Haiti As Armed Gang Violence and Aid Deepen Crisis
In recent months, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with armed gangs continuing to exert dominance over nearly 90 percent of the capital, Port-Au-Prince. Rising violence, the collapse of essential services for millions, and severe cuts to humanitarian funding have left the international community struggling to provide immediate relief and find a sustainable, long-term solution.
50 Years On: Lebanon’s Civil War, Feminist Peacebuilding, and the Fight Against Silence
This year marks half a century since the start of Lebanon’s civil war in 1975 - a conflict that lasted 15 years, killed over 150,000 lives, and resulted in as many as 17,000 missing. Decades later, the legacy of that war is still everywhere: in the silence of classrooms without history books, in families who never knew what happened to their missing loved ones, and in violence made mundane in all parts of society.
From Matriarchy to Victims: An Ongoing Story of Indigenous Women in Canada
If European colonialism had never happened in Canada, matriarchy would still have been strong in Indigenous culture.
Sexual Violence Against Women, Children in War ‘Strategic’ and Growing
Sexual violence against women and children during wars should not be considered collateral damage. "It is strategy, it is systematic, and it is used more and more," Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations (UN) Christina Markus Lassen said.
UNICEF to Deliver 1.4 million Cholera Vaccines to Sudan Amid Supply Chain Breakdowns
In Tawila, North Darfur State in Sudan, more than 1,180 cholera cases, including 300 cases in children, and at least 20 deaths have been reported since the first case was detected on June 21. Tawila has absorbed 500,000 internally displaced people who are escaping violence, many of them fleeing about seventy kilometers from the state capital of Al Fasher, making this rapid surge in cases a major health concern amidst worsening hygiene, medical, and food supply chain deteriorations.
UN Report Uncovers “Systematic Torture” in Myanmar
Myanmar’s security situation has deteriorated significantly, with the nation still reeling from the devastating earthquake in March last year, and continued military offensives driven by the ongoing civil war. In 2025, the humanitarian crisis reached a critical turning point, with the United Nations (UN) underscoring a litany of severe human rights abuses inflicted on civilians by the military and armed groups.
UN Security Council Confronts South Sudan’s ‘Compounding Crises’
The UN Security Council convened today (August 18) to discuss South Sudan and the "interlinked challenges of climate change and conflict" affecting the region.
From the Margins to the Courts: St Lucia Joins Caribbean Fight to Dismantle Anti-LGBTQI+ Colonial Laws
When Kenita Placide co-founded United and Strong, St Lucia’s first LGBTQI+ organisation in 2001, death threats were routine. Over the years, several friends were murdered for being gay. But 24 years on, Kenita’s Caribbean island nation has become the latest to overturn a colonial legacy that criminalised LGBTQI+ people.
Why Should We Ask for Angela When You Don’t Have to Ask for Alex?
It’s a quiet code with a loud message: “Ask for Angela.”« Previous Page — Next Page »
One in three women around the world have been subject to violence. Women face physical, sexual, and psychological violence in both public and private. Taking forms such as violence in the intimacy of a relationship, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation, gender violence is an issue that affects women in all countries. Only two-thirds of countries have outlawed domestic violence, leaving millions of women unprotected from abuse including from marital and de facto partners in many cases. Additionally, through human trafficking countless women are subjected to sexual exploitation and sexual violence, including horrific acts such as genital mutilation. Today many actors from individuals, to multinational organizations work to address these issues. These articles help to shed light on the violence that women experience every day and how its is being addressed.
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