Welcome to the 89th edition of The Pixel Project’s VAW e-News Digest!
This month Europe and Turkey signed an important agreement called The Istanbul Convention, which requires participating countries to provide assistance to those experiencing forms of violence against women. If this is ratified, it will be a huge step in protecting survivors of gender-based violence across Europe.
Recent developments in Malawi show that stiffer penalties do not contribute to the lowering of domestic violence cases. This highlights the need for more discussion and debate about ways of eradicating violence against women at its roots, through cultural change and social awareness.
In the United States the development of an LED camera to help investigators identify signs of domestic violence is one way technology has been used to assist the elimination of violence against women.
Every contribution matters. If you have any news you’d like to share about violence against women, please email The Pixel Project at info@thepixelproject.net. If you prefer to receive up-to-the-minute news concerning violence against women, follow us on Twitter. It’s time to stop violence against women together.
Best regards,
The Pixel Project Team
Violence Against Women – General News
- EUROPE – Europe signs pledge to stop violence against women
- EGYPT – National Council for Women signs a memorandum of understanding with the State Information Service to combat violence against women
- INDIA – Indian Prime Minister calls to an end of violence against women
- IRAQ – Pope Francis calls for urgent military action to stop systematic violence against minorities
- MEXICO – Sexism of authorities aggravates violence against women journalists
- NEPAL – A call for zero tolerance on violence against women
- TUNISIA – Tunisia to criminalize violence against women
- TURKEY – Mobilizing religious leaders to combat violence against women
Domestic Violence
- EUROPE and TURKEY – The Istanbul Convention will grant refugee status to women fleeing domestic violence
- AUSTRALIA –Former governor-general to chair new domestic violence taskforce in Queensland
- BRAZIL – Brazil launches campaign to encourage sufferers of domestic violence to report
- CANADA – Study shows that there is a link between the mining and forestry industries and domestic violence in British Columbia
- JAPAN – Local governments called to handle home addresses carefully in domestic abuse cases
- MALAWI – Stiffer penalties fail to deter domestic violence
- PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Crime and violence affects local businesses (includes domestic violence)
- UNITED STATES – NFL considering tougher penalties on players involved in domestic violence
Rape and Sexual Assault
- ASIA – Q & A with Marcia Jacobs on rape apology and comfort women
- CAMBODIA – 65-year old manager of tour agency arrested for sex with minors in Siem Reap
- INDIA – Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls for the correction of sons, not daughters in the rise of rape cases
- IRAQ – Women and children suffer from barbaric rape by ISIS fighters
- JORDAN and SYRIA – Combating gender-based violence against refugees
- KOREA – Gender Equality Ministry to hold academic forum on sexual violence during wartime
- MALAYSIA – Malaysia to send envoy involved in sexual assault back to New Zealand
- NEW ZEALAND – Legalized prostitution protects sex workers from sexual assault
- SOUTH AFRICA – Professor Rachel Jewkes interviews hundreds of rapists from around the world to learn why rapists rape
- UNITED KINGDOM – Actress Joanne Frogatt moved as fans send letters after portraying rape on Downton Abbey
- UNITED STATES – Teen involved in Steubenville rape case returns to sports team
Sex / Human Trafficking
- ASIA – Framing human trafficking to address commoditization of human beings
- EUROPE – Dark-humoured play on human trafficking to run at IRT theatre
- AUSTRALIA –Mother in Willoughby to go on 100 km camel trek to raise awareness on child sex trafficking in Southeast Asia
- BANGLADESH – Human trafficking in and from Bangladesh
- CANADA – Leader of a religious sect arrested for sex trafficking
- CHINA and CAMBODIA – Chinese town does brisk trafficking of Cambodian wives
- MALTA – Budget to fight human trafficking slashed by 70%
- THE PHILIPPINES – Protection zones needed for victims of human trafficking
- UNITED STATES – Billboard campaign in San Diego targets child sex trafficking
Female Genital Mutilation
- WORLD – What kind of men support female genital mutilation? An illustrated guide.
- AFRICA and the UNITED STATES – White House releases a press kit on cooperation between the United States and African governments in advancing gender equality, including eradication of FGM
- AFRICA (Northeast) – Chief imam at the Karimia Institute discusses cultural issues surrounding FGM
- AUSTRALIA – New FGM support kit launched
- KENYA – Shock as women who undergo female genital mutilation fetch higher dowry
- SIERRA LEONE – Survivor states that many do not realize that the practice is illegal
- UNITED KINGDOM – Call to teach five-year olds to object to genital mutilation
- UNITED STATES – Editorial: will Obama keep his promise to end FGM in the United States?
Forced Marriage and Honour Killing
- INDIA – Honour killing accused still on the run
- KENYA – NGO outcry over rampant child marriages
- PAKISTAN – Couple shot dead in honour killing case
- NIGERIA – 14-year old girl faces trial for poisoning the 35-year old man she was forced to marry
- SYRIA – Forced marriages, conversions and beheadings await the stranded Yazidi
- UNITED KINGDOM – London Girl Summit calls for end to forced marriage and FGM
- UNITED STATES – Activist to shoot controversial film in the Bay Ridge area about a Yemeni girl forced into marriage
- ZAMBIA – Forced marriage fails test of time as man files for divorce
Street Harassment
- United Nations for Women – Dhruv Arora – Co-creator of GotStared.At & #itsnotyourfault, to end street harassment of women and girls
- AUSTRALIA – Sexual harassment: Create ethics codes to curb sex abuse
- INDIA – Woman kicks harasser and posts video on Facebook
- EGYPT – Shout Art Loud is an art project confronting violence and sexism in Cairo’s streets
- PERU – Peru makes street harassment a crime
- UNITED KINGDOM – ‘This is why you should stop telling us to smile’ – editorial on street harassment
- UNITED STATES – Buzzfeed releases a video about street harassment
- UNITED STATES – This Video Trains Women How to Finally Deal With Street Harassers
Activism
- WORLD – Pakistani writer Bina Shah highlights movements to eradicate violence against women by working with men
- AUSTRALIA – Act@Work in Ararat helps to prevent violence against women through workplace intervention
- INDIA – Actor, model and former beauty queen Gul Panaag is interviewed on her views about violence against women
- NEPAL – LEAD trains adolescent girls to be leaders in Nepal, closing the gender gap in leadership
- PERU – Sr Mary Ann Neylon returns to her hometown in Peru to work against domestic violence through youth engagement
- UNITED KINGDOM – Comedian Bridget Christie raises awareness on female genital mutilation through standup comedy
- UNITED STATES – LED camera a new tool to combat domestic violence