Archive for June, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court in a major capital punishment decision struck down the death penalty for child rape, its first decision in more than 30 years on whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution. The nation’s highest court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the death penalty for the crime of [...]
A federally funded study has found that boys and girls are being sold for sex in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The shameful practice was revealed by Shared Hope International, an organization dedicated to preventing sex trafficking and to rescuing and restoring the victims of sexual slavery. The area was chosen because of an influx [...]
A number of new laws approved by the 2008 General Assembly will become effective on July 1. State Senator Sue Errington (D-Muncie) believes one such law could save lives through a state-mandated “cooling off” period for domestic violence. The new law requires that individuals arrested for a crime of domestic violence be held in custody [...]
Domestic violence victims who refuse to testify against their abuser would no longer be threatened with jail time under legislation sent to the governor. The bill by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, instead would allow judges to order victims to attend counseling or fulfill community service. It was passed by the Assembly on a 42-22 [...]
The Salvadoran parliament has given its support to a “Libro de la vida” (Book of Life), which calls abortion “an abominable crime,” precipitating a storm of criticism from women’s organizations that consider this blanket endorsement an evasion of serious debate on the issue. The activists also say parliament’s decision runs counter to international conventions on [...]
After nearly six years of the “democratic security” policy of the government of rightwing President Álvaro Uribe, women activists in Colombia are as vulnerable to human rights abuses as ever, said female rights defenders who met recently in the Colombian capital. Some 50 peasant, indigenous and Afro-Colombian representatives of social movements and women’s groups from [...]
Victor Juliet Mukasa, a transgendered lesbian who works for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, said the LGBT community in her native Uganda is more united than it’s ever been before — in the face of unrelenting hostility. In the latest acts of repression against Uganda’s LGBT community, three gay activists were arrested [...]
In Sierra Leonean culture it is often the rape victims not the rapists who are blamed for the attack. Hannah Kargbo, a nurse who counsels abused women in the capital Freetown, explains how prejudice heaps more pain on already vulnerable girls. Kargbo works at the Rainbo Centre, a rape and gender-based violence counseling and health [...]
New guidelines for how magistrates should deal with domestic violence were launched by Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla in Midrand. Polokwane chief magistrate Belinda Molamu said the purpose of the guidelines was to provide uniformity in the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act of 1998 in magistrate’s courts. “When we promote uniformity, we promote confidence in [...]
Eight years after a civil war in Sierra Leone that became notorious for the extent of rape and violence committed against civilians, social workers fear that rape is more of a problem in post-conflict, democratic society than it was during the war. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which runs four “Rainbo Centres” – counselling and [...]
The President General of the Northwest Fon’s Union, NOWEFU, Fon Isaac Chafah XI of Bangolan, has condemned child trafficking. The Fon described it as a modern form of slavery that must be eliminated. Fon Chafah made the statement while chairing the launching ceremony of the book “The Socio-Legal Perspective of Child Protection in Cameroon,” in [...]
Several governments and women’s rights groups say forced and arranged marriages are a growing problem in European countries. Istanbul recently hosted one of a series meetings that brings together non-governmental organizations and local governments to examine the issue of people being forced to marry against their will. A women from southeast Turkey told representatives of [...]
Nasima Begum is all too aware of the risks of childbirth in Bangladesh. At only 18, she has already lost two babies. “The first one died because we didn’t know that the mother needed medical check-ups during pregnancy. The second one died because we took Nasima to a private clinic where there were no trained [...]
The sight of children caring for other children, sometimes just a few years younger than themselves, is not uncommon across Pakistan. Most often, the toddlers or babies lugged around by pre-teen or teenage girls as they go about their chores are younger siblings. With average family size about five children per household, according to the [...]
Look after the women in your lives and protect them from being abused, the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Cele, urged men around the world on Wednesday. “When young men die, they are buried. But young women die alive. They are raped, forced to become the victims of HIV and Aids and [...]
Quebec accounts for almost half the children with regulated childcare. Fact: the vast majority of Canadian moms have a job outside of home. To be exact, 65 percent of mothers of children under three years old work outside the home — 75 percent of mothers of pre-school kids (under five years old) are in the [...]
Decriminalisation and taxing of prostitution could bring an estimated $3 billion a year into the government’s coffers, a senior health ministry official suggested yesterday. Dr Kevin Harvey, senior medical officer in charge of the health ministry’s National HIV/STI Programme said regulating sex workers would also mean that the country would no longer have to look [...]
One in four women suffers domestic assault and battery in Senegal yet most suffer in silence because of a deeply entrenched culture of impunity and a phlegmatic response from the government, according to experts in the sector. A study on domestic violence conducted in 2000 by the Canadian Centre of research and International Cooperation (CECI) [...]
Domestic violence is a serious, yet underreported problem in Burundi. Activists and politicians say traditional practices that justify violence, attitudes that discourage women from speaking out, and women’s limited economic options often keep them in abusive situations. Some Burundians are agitating for changes in the law and cultural attitudes to protect women against such violence [...]
Recent postings- Towards a Future without Fundamentalisms: New Report Analyzes Religious Fundamentalist Strategies and Feminist Responses
- Statement on the Murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, women’s human rights defender of Ciudad Juarez
- Sudan police arrest women protesting at flogging video
- UN Chief Leaves Women out of Year-End Summing Up
- Sex education is expelled from Egyptian schools
- Kurdish Parliament Turns Blind Eye to Prostitution
- Sexual harassment cases in Israel’s civil service rose 40% in 2010
- Women in south Sudan have been targeted in a string of abusive attacks by police cracking down on Western clothes
- Women and girls living in Haiti’s makeshift camps face an increasing risk of rape and sexual violence says Amnesty International new report
- Stand up against hatred and threats against LGBT in Malaysia
- new on womensgrid
- Tower Hamlets Residents Solidarity Campaign – Solidarity with women involved in prostitution in east London
- East London Fawcett: Free Gallery Tour ~ 12 May & Pay Gap Talk ~ 23rd May 2012
- The Light Bulb Moment and future of feminism Book launch and panel – Bristol ~ 15th May 2012
- Hollaback! Portsmouth launch event – Tuesday 22nd May 2012
- Run for Congo Women – Deadline extended to 25th May 2012!
- Fast fall in number of male-only FTSE 100 boards
- Why has the UK got so few women scientists?
- The Haven Wolverhampton E Bulletin May 2012
- 2 vacancies – Shakti Women’s Aid (Edinburgh) ~ 28th May 2012
- Volunteering for Dorset Rape Crisis Centre
- new on women in london
- Information added in March 2012
- Information added in February 2012
- Information added in January 2012
- Pro-Choice Public Meeting – Abortion Rights ~16th May 2012
- Fawcett on Queen’s speech: flexible parental leave / red tape challenge
- Policy and Campaigns Internship – Power and Agency campaign – Fawcett ~ 22nd May 2012
- Administration and Finance Worker – Women in Prison ~ 18th May 2012
- A Women’s Agenda for the Local Elections May 2012 – Survey Results
- Friends of the Women’s Library update on the future of the Library
- Women in Black, vigils and Facebook page
Reasonable Gun Restrictions Are Necessary to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence
30 June 2008 in Domestic Violence, Legal Police, North America, Opinion Comment, Violence Against Women
The following is a statement by Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence: The National Network to End Domestic Violence is disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Guns pose a very grave threat to domestic violence victims, and communities must be able to implement the [...]