Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

The United Nations human rights office today urged the Government of Papua New Guinea to take concrete action following reports that a 20-year-old woman accused of sorcery was burnt alive in front of a crowd, noting that this is the latest in a “growing pattern” of such attacks.

In the past five months nine civilians were killed and fourteen injured in Kachin State as a result of Burmese military artillery fire, a Kachin human rights group alleges. It said army units also torched hundreds of homes and committed acts of sexual violence against local women and girls.

Ma-Ubin residents said riot police incited the violence that led to rioting in the Irrawaddy Delta township on Tuesday night, while a government media outlet blamed protestors for attacking police officers.

Dozens of people were injured and one police officer was killed after villagers and police clashed as locals demonstrated against the confiscation of more than 1,000 acres of land by the former military junta.

In the lead up to Women's Day, on March 8, Liberia has become the latest nation to sign a pledge to end violence against women and girls. In Dakar, the human-rights group U.N. Women says nearly 100 countries have no specific legal provisions against domestic violence.

A 45-year-old housewife from Monrovia, Lucy Morris, says violence against women is a serious problem in Liberia.

People who were sexually abused in Kenya's 2007 post-election violence are still seeking justice as the next vote nears.

Police used batons to break up angry crowds outside a hospital where the girl had been taken for treatment.

Teachers and security guards at the government school are being questioned over the alleged assault, police said.

The gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December sparked protests across India.

“Justice has to and should be done.”; “Justice delayed is justice denied.”; and “Teach your sons not to harass rather than teaching your daughter how to dress.” – these were some of the recent slogans that men and women of all ages in Kashmir have been chanting to show solidarity with the victims of violence in the northern Indian Administered region of Kashmir.

Protesters have converged across the country demanding justice for the young victim, who died two weeks later, and an end to violence against women.

The Indian government is fending off criticism that it has failed to protect its citizens, with rights groups demanding immediate reforms to laws and policing in the country.

In a protest action organised by Avaaz.org and Sonke Gender Justice Network, gender equality activists from across Cape Town will gather outside the Houses of Parliament to call on the South African Government to commit to one billion rand a year to fund effective strategies to prevent violence against women, including a grassroots public education campaign to end the cycle of violence against women.

A senior official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today warned of the enormous humanitarian impact of the ongoing Syria crisis, particularly on civilians who have been displaced and face threats such as gender-based violence.