Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Only 20 per cent of sexual assaults and domestic violence occurring in Fiji is reported, says Fiji Women's Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali.

Ms Ali said violence and abuse was still a major issue in the country and the main reason for the recent increase in cases was because more women were becoming confident and reporting offences to the authorities.

Reports emerged last week from Kachin and Shan States that rape is still being used as a tactic by the Burmese army to demoralise and terrorise ethnic communities

In the corner of an up-market Chiang Mai coffee shop, three women, spanning three generations, sort through maps, photographs and reports detailing the injuries, rapes and murders of ethnic women recently brutalised by Burmese army soldiers.

A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) law that bans female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crucial step in eradicating the practice, Human Rights Watch said today. The Family Violence Bill, approved by the Kurdistan parliament on June 21, 2011, includes several provisions criminalizing the practice, recognized internationally as a form of violence against women.

A petition from MADRE, a global women's rights organization, is accusing Iraqi government security forces of sexually assaulting women to break up pro-democracy protests and demanding that officials intervene to protect the peaceful demonstrators.

Humanitarian organizations in the Horn of Africa say they've seen a dramatic increase in violence against women as more people make the journey to refugee camps in East Africa.

An influx of people at Hagadera, Ifo and Dagahaley camps, collectively known as Dadaab refugee camps, is also causing increased violence in the camps, according to aid agencies in the region.

Despite the formation of a new civilian government after last year's elections, recent developments in Burma only indicate that the country continues to be ruled by one of the world's most brutal regimes, several influential US lawmakers have said in arguing for increased sanctions on this Southeast Asian nation.

What do driving, voting, wearing pants, and protesting have in common? They are forms of political expression for many women in the Arab world right now. This political expression is often a basic effort to participate in political systems and give voice to simple needs like getting to work, or taking a child to school, as well as more powerful human needs of influencing a movement for major political change.

Campaigners for a draft law to outlaw domestic violence urged MPs Friday to refrain from passing a “hollowed-out” version of the legislation.

A national campaign in support of criminalizing domestic violence, representing more than 150 nongovernmental organizations, distributed a 64-page report on domestic violence that analyzes the process of submitting complaints on domestic violence under the current penal code.

Afghanistan should develop mechanisms to raise awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, support victims and prosecute perpetrators, say rights activists.

The United Nations on Friday named two Congolese Army colonels who appear to be blocking an investigation of soldiers accused of raping at least 47 women in eastern Congo, and said that if the attackers were not identified, the officers themselves should stand trial for the crimes committed by the troopers under their command.