[Imc-radio] gender based violence headlines
Scott Edwards
scottisimo at hotmail.com
Thu Dec 16 22:51:56 CST 2004
i tried sending this out once before, but it didn't push through. sorry if
this is a repost.
in my gender rights role with CERRV, i come across a good dozen or so
reports a week on global women's rights issues. i assembled three here for
headlines, if you all like them (see below). if they look good, i can record
anytime after 1pm on Sunday, though I havent a clue how.
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, Human Rights organizations have reported.
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,'' a report from Amnesty International says.
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, with a population of 3.2 million people founded by freed American
slaves, has been plagued with intermittent civil war for 14 years until last
August's peace deal.
Womens advocacy group claim that although the conflict was over, women
remained at risk, especially those in refugee camps.
-------
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.
-----
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 womens role as mothers
of the next generation, womens bodies are mutilated and fetuses destroyed.
This report is part of Amnestys 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 womens 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, and its destructive aftermath.
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