The Pixel Project VAW e-News Digest — Edition 2

Welcome to the Pixel Project VAW e-News Digest – Edition 2!

As usual, we have collated the most relevant news on Violence Against Women (VAW) across the world that came out over the past 2 weeks. Each headline summary is hyperlinked and will click through to the full article.

We are currently in the midst of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence which accounts for a lot of fantastic and positive news about both women and men getting involved in everything from marches to talks to community organising to protest and put an end to Violence Against Women.

The other significant news trend is the UK government’s groundbreaking action plan to make lessons about stopping and preventing Domestic Violence compulsory for school children starting from age 5. The UK has taken the lead and we hope that other countries will follow because educating young people while they are still in school is an integral part of breaking the cycle and gender stereotypes contributing to VAW.

If you have any links and VAW news you wish us to include in forthcoming editions of The Pixel Project VAW e-Newsletter, please email our archivist, Catalina Rembuyan, at catalina@thepixelproject.net

In the meantime, do enjoy our second e-Newsletter and do feel free to share it around! And if you prefer to get breaking VAW news from us in real time, please follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/PixelProject).

With best regards,

The Pixel Project team

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General Violence Against Women News

Stop blaming women for violence done against them: of 200 Australian teens surveyed, 46% felt that Rihanna was to blame in the Chris Brown case, 52% felt that both parties were to blame

United Nations: Violence Against Women is the most pervasive rights violation

Statement by the Organization of Islamic Countries on the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Stopping violence against women, 10 years after: Itoro Eze-Anoba reflects

Andrew O’Keefe: On the importance of men swearing change

A place where violence against women has doubled — television

“I salute my International Relief Committee colleagues who do not look away” – on gender violence in conflict areas such as Congo

Violence against Afghani and Pakistani women escalating, with hundreds of women beaten, intimidated or sexually assaulted daily

Australia: Men swear to end gender violence on White Ribbon day

Austria: One in three women a victim of gender violence

Chile: “We have linked machismo and femicide in the public mind in Chile”

Egypt: Why fighting for women is important – Joseph Mayton mulls

Italy: One in three women have been victims of violence and ill-treatment

Lebanon: 70 percent of women have experienced gender violence

Malaysia: Dealing with maid abuse – why Filipino maids are less prone to become targets of violence over Indonesian onesNew Zealand: 200 men participate in the White Ribbon race to end gender violence

New Zealand: “There is one thing (my father) said to me when I was a young boy that has stayed with me over the years…any man who raised his hand against a woman was not worthy of calling himself a man.”

Pakistan: In the face of escalating violence, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Peshawar goes unnoticed – despite 327 reported cases of violence against women in the past year, 111 of them murders

The Philippines: New committee to be formed in the House of Representatives to combat violence against women

South Africa: Machinery to combat gender violence in ‘disarray’ to combat increasing violence in the country

Domestic Violence

Actor Patrick Stewart on growing up in a household of domestic violence

Armenia: Women’s Resource Centre organizes protest to end domestic violenceAustralia: 15% of Australians are prepared to ignore or trivialize violence against women

Australia: Government panel to review domestic violence related deaths in New South Wales

Botswana: Two out of three cases of gender-based violence happen in the homeFiji: 66% of women have suffered abuse from a partner, 30% repeated abuse and 42% assaulted during pregnancy

France: Government to ban psychological violence in a marriage

Ghana: Poor economy grounds for domestic violence

Ireland: Rape Crisis Centre receives 300% increase in calls since Murphy report

Israel: 117 minors orphaned due to domestic violence in Israel

Pakistan: Men must play their part to curb domestic violence

Malaysia: Domestic violence cases have been on the rise

Malaysia: More women now report domestic violence, rape

Tonga: Male employees of Westpac Bank wear white ribbon, as country confronts domestic violence incidents – 4 women murdered in the past yearUganda: Poverty the cause of domestic violence

Uganda: Research conducted shows alcoholism and poverty cause of domestic violence

United Kingdom: All school children to learn about domestic violence and gender equality beginning 2011

United Kingdom: Debate on the move to teach school children about domestic violence – Angela Harrison asks, “Are they a step too far?”

United Kingdom: Helena Bonham Carter, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Lorraine Kelly, and Reese Witherspoon join the Four Ways to Speak Out CampaignUnited Kingdom: Refuge launches Four Ways to Speak Out Campaign

United States: Staying hurts. So does going – holiday seasons tough for domestic violence survivors.

United States: Detective writes children’s book teaching them to deal with domestic violence

Rape

Traveller Women shocked at marital rape as abuse, many people do not realize that marital rape exists.

India: Date rape drug ‘K’, or ketamine, gains popularityMalaysia: Closed Penan rape cases an indictment of criminal justice system

United Kingdom: Norfolk police launch anti-rape campaign – “No consent means rape”.

Forced Marriages

Cambodia: During Pol Pot’s regime, some 200,000 forced marriages were conducted to produce a generation of farmers and soldiersIndia: West Bengal now considers forced marriage a crime

South Africa: 13-year old girl escapes forced marriage

Tanzania: Forced marriages still exist

United Kingdom: Forced Marriage – a hidden crime (contains helplines)

United Kingdom: Honour-based violence is biggest problem facing women, few advocacies prepared to handle violence in ethnic groups

United Kingdom: New law saves 86 from forced marriages

Honour Killing

Hour-long documentary, The Honour Killers, to highlight honour killing of British womanCanada: Judge advises the Ministry of Citizenship to not dismiss fears of honour killing by Pakistani woman

India: Not just women become victims of honour killing – wife claims husband killed by relatives in an honour killing

Sex Trafficking

Child prostitution: Children rescued from sex trade struggle to find care in the US

Child sex slaves: Between 100,000 to 3 million American minors caught in prostitution (contains link to National Runaway Hotline)

Global human trafficking highlights from the Norfolk human rights examiner

Ireland: Government action on human trafficking demandedUnited States: Antoinette Davis, mother of deceased 5-year old Shaniya Davis, to be charged for sex trafficking and child abuse

United States: Human trafficking conviction first test of West Seattle state law