Welcome to the 120th edition of The Pixel Project’s VAW e-News Digest!
This month the swift release of convicted rapist Brock Turner in the United States caught worldwide attention. This month also witnessed the mass fleeing of South Sudanese who are facing violence, including sexual violence, while a viral video recording of a rape that led to suicide in Italy forces the nation to confront online violence against women.
In the midst of these distressing news, growing awareness about sexual violence and attempts to prevent it is rising: bars are being trained to spot and intervene in suspected cases of sexual violence, Snapchat filters are empowering sexual assault survivors to speak out in India, and ad campaigns such as this one teaching young people about consent are gaining public attention and acceptance.
Get inspired by the Himalayan nuns who are traveling to raise awareness on gender violence, the women in India who are reclaiming its streets at night, and this Cambridge classicist who takes on her online detractors.
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
General Violence Against Women
- EAST AFRICA: Judicial book on violence against women launched
- PACIFIC ISLANDS: ‘Violence against women must be stopped’
- ARGENTINA: The multiple abuses of Reina Maraz – Quechua Bolivian woman unfairly sentenced to life in Argentina
- AUSTRALIA: Media’s powerful role in ending violence against women
- EGYPT: Sexual harassment from the harasser’s perspective
- ETHIOPIA: Religious leaders at the forefront of ending gender-based violence in Ethiopia
- JAPAN: Is Japan waking up to the menace of stalking?
- SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa’s murder rate climbs 4.9 per cent to 51 people killed every day
- UNITED KINGDOM: Street harassment is regarded a hate crime in one English county
- UNITED STATES: The U.S. is one step closer to a Federal sexual assault survivors’ bill of rights
Domestic Violence
- AUSTRALIA: Financial abuse is frighteningly common
- CAMBODIA: Controversial domestic violence law under government review
- CANADA: Fleeing faster – new Ontario provision allows domestic and sexual abuse victims to break rentals early
- CHINA: Domestic violence law – experts discuss engaging women’s groups, civil social organisations
- IRELAND: Women’s aid sees ‘phenomenal’ demand for 24-hour services
- MALAYSIA: Call to address uneven application of domestic violence laws
- NORWAY: Police underestimate risk of partner murders
- SOUTH AFRICA: Defeating the enemy within – new tools to fix partner violence
- UNITED KINGDOM: Man, 24, is one of the first people jailed for coercive control offences using victimless prosecution
- UNITED STATES: Research shows reduction in violence against pregnant women due to intervening programmes
Sexual Assault / Rape
- WORLD: ‘I didn’t have anywhere to run’ – migrant women are facing a rape epidemic
- AFRICA: Better ways for Africa’s peacekeepers to deal with sexual-based violence
- CANADA: How bar staff worldwide are being trained to prevent sexual violence
- GERMANY: Is Germany failing female refugees?
- INDIA: How Snapchat became a virtual confessional for sexual assault victims
- ITALY: Italy confronts online sexual violence following suicide and viral rape video
- SOUTH AFRICA: Rape or sexual assault – what happened at UKZN reveals rape culture again
- SOUTH SUDAN: Sexual violence on the rise in South Sudan
- SWEDEN: Swedish court upholds arrest warrant for Julian Assange
- UNITED STATES: Brock Turner’s three-month jail sentence
Sex Trafficking
- WORLD: Human trafficking a $5 – 6 billion global trade
- BANGLADESH: Sex racket kingpin used to buy minors from Bangladesh
- INDIA: Assam emerges as hub of human trafficking
- ITALY and NIGERIA: Vatican releases shocking statistics about Nigerian women in Italy
- MYANMAR: US Senator ‘appalled’ by Aung San Suu Kyii’s response to human trafficking concerns
- NEPAL: Nepalese women in Delhi rescued while being smuggled to the Gulf for sex trade
- NEW ZEALAND: New global trafficking initiative includes New Zealand
- ROMANIA: Group trafficking minors for sex trade allegedly protected by police chief
- UGANDA: Victims of human trafficking infected with HIV / AIDS
- UNITED STATES: Ruling on Backpage may help Boston combat sex trafficking
Female Genital Mutilation
- WORLD: Mapping FGM – building a global picture of female circumcision
- EGYPT: Egypt seeks tougher punishment for female genital mutilation
- FRANCE: France adopts tough stance on female genital mutilation
- GAMBIA: Ending female genital mutilation in Gambia
- KENYA: Elders’ backing heralds hope for war on female genital mutilation
- RUSSIA: Russia to investigate reports of FGM in Dagestan
- SIERRA LEONE: Anti-FGM activists struggle to be heard in Sierra Leone
- SOMALILAND: Tireless campaigners in the fight against FGM in Somaliland
- UGANDA: Labia elongation is child abuse
- UNITED KINGDOM: Britain’s lawmakers say the country’s failure to tackle female genital mutilation is a ‘national disgrace’
Honour Killing and Forced Marriage
- WORLD: Why laws banning child marriage don’t work
- WORLD: Malala: Education for refugee girls will help prevent child marriage
- WORLD: Child marriage legal in 116 countries
- GERMANY: German officials set their sights on ‘child marriage’
- JORDAN: Refugee mother and daughter fight rocketing rates of child marriage
- NEPAL: Rights group states that Nepal failing to prevent child marriage
- PAKISTAN: Murders rise as government sits on pro-women bills
- SWITZERLAND and INDIA: A chance encounter on a vacation changed her life – and the lives of child brides
- TANZANIA: Parents in the firing line as child marriage continues
- UNITED KINGDOM: Bail denied in Samia Shahid ‘honour killing’ case
Activism
- WORLD: The Troll Slayer – Cambridge classicist takes on her sexist detractors
- AFGHANISTAN: Escaping the Taliban’s legacy with a trip to the movies
- BRAZIL: Imagining a feminist Internet at the #AWIDForum in Brazil
- CAMBODIA: Production confronts complexities of forced marriage through classical dance
- DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Congolese gynaecologist wins Seoul Peace Prize
- ETHIOPIA: The first rule of the married girls’ club is: empower girls
- INDIA: Women walk alone to reclaim India’s streets on fear and harassment
- MEXICO: Mexican women battle gender-based violence online
- NEPAL: 500 Kung Fu nuns are spreading the message of gender equality in the best way
- UNITED KINGDOM: Jarring art exhibit confronts the harsh reality of female genital mutilation
- UNITED STATES: This powerful campaign teaches young people what consent is