Survey shows awareness lacking on Domestic Violence Act in India

31 July 2008 in Asia, Domestic Violence, Research

* Wide variation in number of cases registered in various States * Highest number of cases registered from Rajasthan * Campaign to popularise the Act and role of authorities The first monitoring and evaluation report on the implementation of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) 2005 has shown that 7,913 cases have [...]

Growing number of children aged 12 and under are sexual abusers in Israel

31 July 2008 in Children Parenting, Middle East, Rape and Sexual Assault

The number of children aged 12 and under who have perpetrated sexual assaults against members of their families has nearly doubled over the past two years, according to a report published Monday by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. The number children in this age group who were listed as victims of sexual [...]

An abusive reality – sexual assault in Israel

31 July 2008 in Middle East, Rape and Sexual Assault, Women's Group

Is it possible that daily exposure to reports of sexual assaults has turned us callous to a horrid reality? We have become numb. In the past few years it seems impossible to avoid media reports of sexual abuse and assault, of a violent reality which places over half of this country’s population in imminent danger. [...]

Married man’s sex with woman is rape rules Supreme Council in India

31 July 2008 in Asia, Family Marriage Partnership, Legal Police, Rape and Sexual Assault

Love-making by a married man with a woman after making her believe that he was unmarried or on the promise of marriage is rape, the Supreme Court has ruled. “Since, he was already married, the subsequent marriage, if any, has no sanctity in law and is void ab-initio (illegal from the inception),” a bench of [...]

Global Fund for Women ‘Waters’ Grassroots in 167 countries

31 July 2008 in Funding, Global, Women's Group

Around the world, women are far more likely than men to be poor, ill-housed, under-educated and victimized by war and discrimination. To help women help themselves and their communities, the Global Fund for Women, or GFW, a San Francisco-based organization, gives $8 million a year to support grassroots projects. So far, the GFW has helped [...]

Reminder women’s UK and Ireland news now on womensgrid

31 July 2008 in womensphere admin

Reminder all UK and Ireland postings are now on womensgrid – go to http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk and / or see second rss feed in first column to the right. To see the original annoucement go to http://womensphere.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/womensgrid-blog-for-local-womens-news-and-information/

Employers’ remarks can be direct discrimination says European Court of Justice

27 July 2008 in Employment Work, Europe, Legal Police, Racism

General remarks made by an employer can be the basis of a discrimination claim, Europe’s highest court has ruled. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling says a discrimination case is possible even when no individual is involved. The director of a Belgian firm that fitted garage doors posted a job advert and, when asked [...]

1 in 2 sexually harassed at work says study in Singapore

27 July 2008 in Asia, Employment Work, Rape and Sexual Assault, Research

* Women’s groups want proper definition of harassment and call on victims to speak up * Over half of 500 people surveyed say they had been sexually harassed at the workplace. * One in five was a man – some were harassed by other men. These figures come from a 16-month study by women’s rights [...]

Another health expert in Jamaica calls for legalised prostitution

27 July 2008 in Opinion Comment, Prostitution, South America

Just weeks after one senior medical officer called for the decriminalisation and taxing of prostitution, a senior university professor and community health specialist is calling for the legalisation of what is regarded as the world’s oldest ‘profession’. Affette McCaw-Binns, professor of reproductive health epidemiology in the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry at the University [...]

China is destination for 80% of Myanmar trafficking says report

27 July 2008 in Asia, Climate Environment, Prostitution, Research, Violence Against Women

Myanmar police have rescued more than 450 victims of human trafficking since 2005, a private weekly magazine said, adding that most of them were being smuggled to neighbouring China. Police have arrested 480 people accused of trying to smuggle people out of the country since September 2005, when a new law took effect banning the [...]

Desperate displaced girls turn to sex work in Kenya

27 July 2008 in Africa, Children Parenting, Prostitution, Trafficking, War Conflict

Like thousands of other Kenyans, Susan Wairimu, 17, was displaced from her home in the Rift Valley Province’s Molo district during the violence that followed a disputed presidential election in December 2007 and sought shelter in the nearby town of Nakuru. A cousin living in the coastal town of Mombasa offered to accommodate her until [...]

Center For Law and Human Rights In Liberia Education Wants Ample Focus On Rape

27 July 2008 in Africa, Government, Rape and Sexual Assault

The Acting Director of the Center For Law and Human Rights Education (CLHRE) Edward Z. Solu has called on the Liberian government to conduct more education on the rape law. Suloe made the statement in Harbel, Margibi County during a Civic Education and Capacity-building Workshop. He said the government should provide sufficient education that would [...]

Women’s Resolve to Fight Rape and Child Trafficking in Cameroon

27 July 2008 in Africa, Children Parenting, HIV/AIDS, Rape and Sexual Assault, Trafficking, Violence Against Women, Women's Group

A group of Northwest women has demanded the end to rape and trafficking of the girl child. The women came strong against the practices at the end of a three-day workshop that empowered them with knowledge to combat HIV/AIDS and poverty. The Cameroon Grassroots Women Educational, Economic and Social Advancement network, CAGWEESA, organised the workshop [...]

Women’s groups outraged that Ramon is acting PM

27 July 2008 in Government, Middle East, Rape and Sexual Assault, Women's Group

Vice Premier Haim Ramon, who nearly quit politics following his sexual harassment conviction for forcibly kissing a female soldier last year, reached a pinnacle when he became Israel’s acting prime minister. According to the law, an acting prime minister must be appointed when the prime minister is abroad. Normally that title goes automatically to the [...]

Rape and sexual assault against minors on the rise in Israel

27 July 2008 in Children Parenting, Middle East, Rape and Sexual Assault, Women's Group

There has been a significant rise in cases of sexual assault and rape against minors under the age of 12, according to a first-of-its-kind report released by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI). The report, which was presented to a joint session of the Knesset Committees on Education, Culture and Sports; the [...]

Ministry to expand network of women’s crisis centres in Pakistan

27 July 2008 in Asia, Domestic Violence, Rape and Sexual Assault, Women's Group

The Ministry of Women’s Development is planning to expand the network of women’s crisis centres from 25 to 64, said Director General Development Javed Iqbal Butt. He said the project would cover over 50 per cent of districts while the government was also considering expanding the network of centres all over the country. He said [...]

Officers to help domestic violence victims in India

27 July 2008 in Asia, Domestic Violence, Government

Three years after the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act was enacted, the state government is now ready for its “proper implementation”. It has appointed protection officers, whom the victims can approach for all related help. The protection officers will effectively be “faces of the government” and will try and sort out the grievances [...]

Move against domestic violence in Saudi Arabia

27 July 2008 in Domestic Violence, Government, Middle East

There is a move to launch a joint battle against domestic abuse in Saudi Arabia. Representatives of various organisations met to discuss ways of cooperation to improve the services provided to victims of domestic violence. The meeting was attended by the representatives of Family Protection Organisation (FPO), which runs Jeddah’s first and only women’s shelter, [...]

More domestic violence with rising prices in NZ says women’s refuge

27 July 2008 in Australasia, Domestic Violence, Women's Group

The Women’s Refuge is reporting a surge in domestic violence as people struggle to meet the cost of living. The organisation says high rents, increased fuel costs and a hike in food prices are leaving many families with little in the way of disposable income. Tauranga Women’s Refuge advocate, Maree Saunders, says many men don’t [...]

Talk but little action on domestic violence in New Zealand

27 July 2008 in Australasia, Domestic Violence, Government

The Government has delivered on fewer than half its promises to tackle family violence, independent research has revealed. A thesis, written by Wellington strategy consultant Ruth Herbert which received an A+ grading from Victoria University, examined the three family violence strategies released by the government since 2002. Herbert, who has previously been involved in planning [...]