Welcome to the 95th edition of The Pixel Project’s VAW e-News Digest!
Shortly after the news of violence against women and sexual assault by Canadian celebrity radio host Jian Ghomeshi, rape allegations began to swirl around actor and comedian Bill Cosby, prompting cancellation of talk shows and the sharing of stories from rape survivors around the world on why they did not make reports.
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the proposal to adopt the Swedish model of criminalising the purchase of sex ignites debate on whether it is effective against sex trafficking.
The United Nations pushes a new plan to eradicate female genital mutilation and assesses the possibility of involving men and boys in gender equality work in India and the world.
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Best regards,
The Pixel Project Team
Violence Against Women – General
- WORLD – United Nations Population Fund assessing the possibility of involving men and boys in gender equality work in India and the world
- AUSTRALIA – NRL acts on violence against women by athletes by banning athlete Rabbittoh for 22 games after assaulting his girlfriend
- AFGHANISTAN – United Nations calls for sustainable measures to address violence against women
- CANADA – First Nations call to end violence after brutal assault on First Nations teenage girl
- CHINA – Hong Kong’s grisly red-light district murders
- EL SALVADOR – Violence against women is widespread in El Salvador gangs
- INDIA – One in two men believe that women must endure violence to keep the family together
- MALAYSIA – Call for a campaign of a million signatures to stop violence against women
- SYRIA – Syrian women and girls face a ‘wall of obstacles’
Domestic Violence
- AUSTRALIA – Australian government slammed for claiming that domestic violence is ‘not torture’
- INDIA – Elite women most vulnerable, 6 out of 10 Indian men admit to domestic violence
- MALAYSIA – Women’s Aid Organization calls for cooperation with police to end domestic violence
- PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Papua New Guinea failing to record domestic violence cases
- SOLOMON ISLANDS – Women in the Pacific islands afraid to report domestic violence
- SWEDEN – Social experiment shows that the majority of people in a lift would not intervene while witnessing domestic violence
- UNITED KINGDOM – Topshop fashion brand fetishizes domestic violence in new jewellery collection
- UNITED STATES – Feature on a unique court – the domestic violence court – in the town of St. Cloud
Sexual Assault / Rape
- WORLD – The hashtag #beenrapedneverreported goes viral, as survivors tell stories of why they did not report
- CANADA – Defence lawyer offers advice pro-bono to help alleged rape victims of Jian Gomeshi
- GERMANY – Germany’s justice ministers seek tougher rape laws
- INDIA – Opinion: why India’s rape laws to counter rape and sexual assault continue to be problematic
- IRELAND – Sexual offences bill to be published next week
- JAPAN – The comfort women and Japan’s war on truth
- NIGERIA – WELA wants court to nullify discriminatory rape laws
- SUDAN – World idle as Sudan’s women are raped, killed and bombed
- UNITED STATES – Bill Cosby rape accuser pens op-ed, claims no one paid attention until a man spoke out
Sex / Human Trafficking
- CAMBODIA – Report shines light on human trafficking
- CANADA – Canada signs bill legalizing the sale of sex, but not its purchase
- CHINA – Sex trafficking and the link to China’s one-child policy
- IRELAND – The purchase of consensual adult sex cannot be reduced to simple soundbites
- MYANMAR- Burma’s authorities involved in human trafficking, says human rights group
- UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – New approach to fight sex trafficking
- UNITED KINGDOM – Opinion: the Swedish example looked great on paper, but it’s not working
- UNITED STATES – Filmmaker hopes to bring light to the sex trafficking industry in the Bay Area
Female Genital Mutilation
- WORLD – UN President Ban Ki-Moon backs The Guardian’s media campaign on FGM, pushing for a change in the way it is reported and perceived
- BURKINA FASO – Country holds its breath as new leader emerges, will he be able to bring changes to a country where 73% of girls have experienced FGM?
- GAMBIA – Action Aid trains 140 young people in Gambia on gender-based violence, including on FGM
- GHANA – Obituary for Efua Dorkenoo, lifelong campaigner against FGM
- KENYA – Kenya issues a warning to parents about FGM
- SOMALIA – The fearless campaign whose Islamic faith spurs her to break the brutal cycle of FGM
- TANZANIA – Traditional leaders say ‘no’ to female circumcision
- UNITED KINGDOM – FGM must be seen as child abuse and not a race issue
- UNITED STATES – Washington D.C. to host its first walk to end FGM
Honour Killing and Forced Marriages
- BANGLADESH – Proposed law in Bangladesh to reduce the minimum age of marriage bows to conservative Islam
- CANADA – How Canada is fighting against forced marriages
- INDIA – Madras High Court orders the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe a case of suspected honour killing
- IRAQ – Kurdish female fighters standing up against ISIS risk forced marriage
- MOROCCO – Teenage girl who was forced to marry her rapist was slashed by him 50 times
- NIGERIA – Case of 14-year old child bride who murdered her 10-year old brother-in-law highlights cases of child brides
- PAKISTAN – Trio of mother and her two daughters murdered by teenage boys in honour killing
- TANZANIA – Tackling child marriages to promote girls’ hopes and dreams
- UNITED KINGDOM – Seminar to raise awareness on forced marriage incidents
Street / Sexual Harassment
- WORLD – Twitter teams up with advocacy group to reduce harassment against women on its platform
- AUSTRALIA – Pickup artist’s visa revoked after public reacts angrily to seminars teaching men to pick up women using physical or emotional abuse
- CANADA – Catcallers in Montreal are target of new campaign: ‘We don’t owe you anything’
- EGYPT – Sexual harassment and chaos: Cairo’s metro station bears the brunt of closures
- NEW ZEALAND – Female students from India are the subject of ‘eve teasing’ or sexual harassment from their countrymen
- PAKISTAN – Pakistan needs to ‘create a scene’ on sexual harassment
- UNITED KINGDOM – Street harassment victim-blaming poster by the police sparks protests
- UNITED STATES – Call to criminalize street harassment, based on pre-existing laws against street harassment
Activism
- AUSTRALIA – Victor Harbor hosts white ribbon march to fight violence against women
- CANADA – Musician Leslie Feist donates $ 10,000 to Indiegogo campaign for a documentary on violence against women that focuses on the abusers
- EGYPT – Egypt launches first feminist comic strip magazine
- IRELAND – Fake Tinder profiles show sex trafficking victims to raise awareness about the crime
- MEXICO – Commision in Chiapas hosts race against misogynist violence
- PALESTINE -Meet Lieutenant Colonel Wafa Khaled Ayyad Muammar, the highest-ranking woman in the Palestinian Civil Police whose personal motto is to end violence against women
- UNITED KINGDOM – Bristol detective Leanne Pook wins award for her fight against FGM
- UNITED STATES – Interview with Kit Gruelle, survivor of domestic violence and advocate featured in HBO’s documentary ‘Private Violence’