[Imc-radio] gender-based violence

[Scott Edwards]

hi all. as part of my work on gender based violence, i pour through dozens 
of reports a week on violence against women.

I've stung together a few pieces I will edit further for transition 
purposes, but the jist of the headlines are below. I can record anytime 
Sunday, after 1pm. I hope thats not too late.

faithfully,
scott

Fighters sexually assaulted some two thirds of Liberia's population during 
more than a decade of war and have not been punished more than a year after 
the conflict ended, Amnesty International reported this week.
The attacks in the West African country mainly targeted women, although the 
human rights group said in a report that men and boys were also victims.
``A preliminary analysis of information collected indicated that between 60 
and 70 percent of the population had suffered some form of sexual violence 
during the conflict,'' the report said.
Regional and International human rights groups are calling on Liberia's 
interim government, which took power last year after former President 
Charles Taylor was forced into exile under a peace deal, to bring those 
responsible to justice.
Liberia, a nation of some 3.2 million people founded by freed American 
slaves, was hit by intermittent civil war for 14 years until last August's 
peace deal.
Women’s advocacy group claim that although the conflict was over, women 
remained at risk, especially those in refugee camps.

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Barely emerging from years of civil conflict, countries in West Africa are 
waging a new war – a battle to eradicate all forms of violence against 
women.
The authorities in Sierra Leone joined humanitarian organizations like the 
UN refugee agency and the International Rescue Committee to mark the 
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and to 
launch 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence against Women.

Much has been done to address the problem. UNHCR, in partnership with the 
International Rescue Committee and local non-governmental organization 
Network Movement for Justice and Development, has sensitized entire 
communities on the negative effects of sexual and gender-based violence by 
hosting awareness raising workshops for both women and men, including the 
Sierra Leonean police who secure the refugee camps. Refugees have initiated 
men's and women's action groups to work within the community to combat 
violence against women.

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Armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have raped 
tens of thousands of women, in systematic attacks marked by extreme 
brutality, according to Human Rights organizations.

Rape is used in armed conflicts to intimidate, conquer and control women and 
their communities. It is used as a form of torture to extract information, 
punish and terrorize.

According to a recently released report by Amnesty International, titled 
“Women and War,” contempt for the “enemy” and for women finds expression in 
rape and other forms of sexual violence. Propaganda portrays women as 
embodying the honor of a community and an attack on women is seen as an 
attack on an entire community. Women are raped in front of their families to 
deepen their sense of shame. In violence focused on women’s role as mothers 
of the next generation, women’s bodies are mutilated and fetuses destroyed. 
This report is part of Amnesty’s ongoing global campaign to address violence 
against women.

Abandonment by husbands and discrimination by communities, because of the 
stigma attached to rape, leave Congolese rape survivors displaced, destitute 
and isolated.

After years or warfare, the health care system in the east of Congo is in 
ruins, and despite peace agreements and an improving security situation in 
many areas, no coordinated effort has been made to begin the rehabilitation 
of hospitals and health centers. Local women’s and human rights 
organizations have responded with initiatives to address needs, but receive 
no government support.

The lack of any comprehensive national and international response means that 
many thousands of rape survivors are receiving no assistance, and many 
continue to die needlessly because of this indifference.

Relatedly, renewed fighting between Rwandan-backed forces and the Congolese 
army has the potential to spread across the region, further exposing women 
to the potential of gender-based violence.