Gender Violence

Breaking the Ghostly Silence on Rape

By Amantha Perera
It was the ghostly silence that struck him hardest as he walked through the Colombo suburb of Kirulapone the day after the lifeless body of a six-year-old girl had been discovered floating in a filthy canal, Kumar de Silva, a well-known local media personality, told IPS.

Child Rape on the Rise in Sri Lanka

By Feizal Samath
A spate of child rape cases in Sri Lanka has angered child rights activists and moved the government to consider tightening the relevant laws and making the offence punishable with the death sentence.

KYRGYZSTAN: Rape Trial Spotlights Women’s Plight

By David Trilling
Allegations that a member of Kyrgyzstan's KGB-successor agency organised the brutal rape of his wife have outraged women’s rights activists in Bishkek. But what rights defenders call an ordinary crime is having an extraordinary effect because of the victim’s response: she pressed charges.

Women Rights Defenders Targeted in Mexico

By Lawrence Del Gigante
There has been an alarming increase over the past two years in violence against women human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico, according to women’s human rights organisations.

67 Minutes of Shame on African Icon Nelson Mandela’s Birthday

By Jedi Ramapala
Wendy Hlophe* is still visibly grieving for her long-term friend, 28-year-old Sanna Supa, who was shot and killed outside her home in Braamficherville, a South African township, two weeks ago.

Côte d’Ivoire Law Offers Battered Women Little Protection

By Fulgence Zamblé
A shiver ran down Habiba Kanaté's* spine when she read about a policeman shooting and killing his wife in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire. "That could have been me," she said.

Canada Targets Traffickers, With a Close Eye on Sex Work

By Fawzia Sheikh
The arrests last week of the three remaining perpetrators of the alleged Opapa human trafficking ring, which forced 19 people recruited from Hungary to endure long work days, poor living conditions and no pay in the Canadian construction industry, has cast a light on Ottawa’s new measures to combat the crime.

U.S. Commits 10 Million for Mali Refugees as Intervention Talk Builds

By Carey L. Biron
President Barack Obama on Thursday authorised the release of 10 million dollars in emergency funding to help with the refugee crisis stemming from continued violence in northern Mali, in response to warnings that international aid efforts were in danger of drying up in coming months.
Legislator Gloria Stella Díaz. Credit: Helda Martinez/IPS

Colombia Tightening Laws Against Acid Attacks

By Helda Martínez
Nobody will ever know if Jhon Jairo Echenique decided to take his own life out of remorse, fear or mental illness. But the suicide followed his arrest for the stabbing and burning with acid of his 19-year-old former girlfriend Angélica Gutiérrez.

Growing ‘Entertainment’ Industry Traps Nepali Girls

By Naresh Newar
Almost unnoticed, Nepal’s burgeoning adult entertainment industry has been drawing young girls away from being trafficked across the border to the fleshpots of India’s big cities.

Treatment of Gays No Better in South Africa

By Davison Mudzingwa
When Junior Mayema boarded a plane to South Africa from his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 2010, he cried tears of joy because he was finally heading to a country where he could live openly as a gay man.
The Ugandan rebel group the Lord

Activists Working to Reinvigorate Campaign Against LRA

By Ethan Freedman
Activists are aiming to renew the fight against the Lord's Resistance Army, the Ugandan rebel group made infamous by its ruthless leader Joseph Kony, despite noticeably diminished concern for the issue just months after the release of a controversial yet viral video about the leader.

Q&A: Film “Invisible War” Reveals Epidemic of Rape in U.S. Military

By Coralie Tripier
The US military is facing one of its biggest scandals, depicted in "Invisible War", Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering's latest documentary.

Women Targeted in Tahrir Square

By Mel Frykberg
It is becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be female or foreign in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, birthplace of the January 2011 Egyptian revolution.
Grace Akallo. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Former Girl Soldiers Trade One Nightmare for Another

By Isabelle de Grave
"When I was still at school I was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, along with 139 other girls," says Grace Akallo. "I spent seven months in captivity, but I survived, I escaped and I went back home."
Navanethem Pillay. Credit: Courtesy of UNHCHR

Q&A: Battle for Human Rights in Rio Is “Far From Over”

By Rousbeh Legatis
Human rights should be explicitly recognised as an indispensable ingredient of sustainable development at the Rio+20 summit in Brazil, says Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Michelle Bachelet. Credit: Courtesy of UN Women

Q&A: Women Must Be at the Forefront of Rio+20, and Beyond

By Isabelle de Grave
Unlocking women's energies and allowing them to become drivers of change could fuel the motor of sustainable development.

Communal Violence Threatens Democratic Change in Myanmar

By Jim Lobe
The outbreak over the past week of communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State seriously threatens the ongoing reform process in Myanmar, according to experts here.
Graffiti in Mexico City: "No More Femicides" Credit:Dennis Bocquet/CC BY 2.0

CENTRAL AMERICA Still a Long Way to Go in Fight Against Sexual Violence

By Danilo Valladares
Access to justice for women who suffer sexual violence in Central America and southern Mexico remains limited despite the high incidence of rape and other crimes, of which underage girls are the main victims, experts say.

India’s Economic Growth Leaves Human Development in the Dust

By Isolda Agazzi
Ahead of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of India, a coalition of NGOs denounced the gap between the country’s growth rate and the rate of poverty, malnutrition and lack of health and sanitation.

Calls for Angola to Investigate Abuse of Congolese Migrants

By Louise Redvers
The Angolan government is being urged to carry out a thorough and independent investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse by its security forces against Congolese migrants.
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