Domestic

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02775395/32/3

*This full article is available through this link. This article may be available free of charge to those with university credentials.

Domestic Violence Network (DVN) is a Chinese women's NGO that has emerged in response to the transnational women's human rights movement against violence against women. This article discusses and analyzes the socio-political processes of DVN's “translation” of the transnational issue frame of “violence against women” in its local programs. It reviews DVN's gender and human rights advocacy across three of its major areas of activism—research, gender training and legal advocacy. Moreover, it examines how DVN collaborates with state agencies, especially the governmental women's organization, to transform its advocacy into policy action. In particular, the article raises questions about the potential costs of this “politics of engagement,” arguing that this relationship with the state may dilute DVN's gender and human rights advocacy as well as curb its political autonomy in future activities.

http://genderlinks.org.za/gmdc/research/figure-it-out-reporting-on-traff...

Media coverage of trafficking of women and children, migration and sex work is confused and inaccurate. Media wrongly uses the terms ‘sex work’ and ‘trafficking’ synonymously, perpetuating stereotypes and stigmatisation and contributing to the violation of women’s right to free movement and livelihood options, say these authors. If media reports were to be believed, there would be no young girls left in Nepal. Oftquoted figures such as 5,000-7,000 Nepali girls being trafficked across the border to India every year and 150,000-200,000 Nepali women and girls being trapped in brothels in various Indian cities, were first disseminated in 1986 and have remained unaltered over the next two decades. The report that first quoted these statistics was written by Dr I S Gilada of the Indian Health Association, Mumbai, and presented in a workshop in 1986. Subsequently, a version of this report was published as an article in the Times of India on January 2, 1989. The source of this figure remains a mystery to date. Unfortunately, such a lack of clarity is more the norm than the exception when it comes to reporting on trafficking in women and girls.

http://www.taha.org.nz/library/research/national-study-domestic-violence...

The National Study on Domestic Violence against Women in Tonga was initiated and conducted by Ma’a Fafine mo e Famili (MFF). It is the first national study on violence against women ever conducted in Tonga.

The National Study on Domestic Violence against Women in Tonga consisted of two separate components: a quantitative study based on the methodology developed for the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women; and a qualitative study based on Tongan methodology of Talanoa and Nofo. The use of qualitative and quantitative components was to seek results that complemented each other.

http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=publisher&publishe...

https://www.thursdaysinblack.co.za/about

Thursdays in Black Campaign has its roots in groups such as Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina, Black Sash in South Africa and the Women in Black movements in Bosnia and Israel. Thursdays in Black, as a human rights campaign, was started by the World Council of Churches during the 1980's as a peaceful protest against rape and violence - the by-products of war and conflict. The campaign focuses on ways that individuals can challenge attitudes that cause rape and violence.

Since   1995,   violence   against   women   (VAW)   has   captured   the attention  of the  government  and  legislators  in  the  Philippines  as  a  result  of the  demand  of  a  growing  women’s  human  rights  movement  and  the  State Obligation  of  the  Philippine  Government  under  the  Convention  on  the Elimination  of  All  Forms  of  Discrimination  Against  Women,  its  Optional Protocol as well as other international conventions. The Beijing Conference on Women in 1995 heightened the demand of women’s rights advocates for laws protecting women from violence all over the world.

Progressive reforms in laws protecting women  were brought about by several factors beginning with the democratization process that started in the 1986 People Power  Revolution after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the  1987  Constitution  that  has  specific  provisions  on  the  rights  of  women and fundamental equality before the law of men and women, the increasing number  of  women’s  organizations  in  the  provinces  with  links  to  Metro Manila based women’s human rights organizations, and the participation of women  legislations  who  are  becoming  increasingly  aware  of  the  need  for gender  equality  and  the  elimination  of  VAW.  This  period  marks  the contribution  of  women  legislators  who  were  elected  in  the  1992  elections and thereafter.

Since 1995, violence against women (VAW) has captured the attention of the government and legislators in the Philippines, propelled by the demand of a growing women’s human rights movement and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, its Optional Protocol as well as other international conventions. The Beijing Conference on Women in 1995 heightened the demand of women’s rights advocates for laws protecting women from violence.

Progressive reforms in laws protecting women was brought about by several factors beginning with the democratization process that began in the 1986 People Power Revolution after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the 1987 Constitution that has specific provisions on the rights of women and fundamental equality before the law of men and women, the increasing number of women’s organizations in the provinces with links to Metro Manila based women’s rights organizations, and the participation of women legislations who are becoming increasingly aware of the need for gender equality and the elimination of VAW. This period marks the contribution of women legislators who were elected in the 1988 elections and thereafter. 

http://www.insp.mx/produccion-editorial/publicaciones-anteriores-2010/65...

La ENSADEMI intenta por primera vez evaluar las condiciones de salud y violencia doméstica de las mujeres indígenas de México. Para ello se realizó una cuidada encuesta dirigida a las mujeres usuarias de los servicios de salud en comunidades rurales de seis estados.

http://www.usaid.gov/gsearch/philippines%2Bnational%2Bsurvey%2B2008

Document is top result

The National Statistics Office (NSO) is pleased to present this final report on the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The survey is the ninth in a series of surveys conducted every five years since 1968 designed to assess the demographic and health situation in the country. The 2008 NDHS provides basic indicators on fertility, childhood mortality, contraceptive knowledge and use, maternal and child health, nutritional status of mothers and children, and knowledge, attitude and behavior regarding HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. For the first time, data on violence against women were collected in this round of the DHS. Fieldwork for the 2008 NDHS was carried out from August 7 to September 27, 2008 covering a national sample of approximately 13,000 households and 14,000 women aged 15 to 49 years.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx

2008 - Addendum - Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo

A/HRC/7/6/Add.4

Sexual violence has been a defining feature of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s recent armed conflicts. Women, in areas of armed conflict, still suffer sexual violence committed by the Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), the Police nationale congolaise (PNC), armed groups and, increasingly, civilians. The situation is particularly dramatic in South Kivu, where non-State armed groups, including foreign militia, commit sexual atrocities that aim at the complete physical and psychological destruction of women with implications for the entire society. Given the multitude of actors involved in the conflict and the continuation of these crimes, the international community, in cooperation with the Congolese authorities, has a responsibility to take all necessary measures to ensure that women in South Kivu are protected. Sexual violence extends beyond eastern Congo. In Equateur Province, PNC and FARDC have carried out systematic reprisals against the civilian population, including mass rape. Soldiers and police who commit these acts amounting to crimes against humanity are rarely held accountable by the commanding officers. Some of the perpetrators have been given commanding positions in the State security forces, which further aggravates the situation. Impunity for rape is massive. Due to political interference and corruption, perpetrators, especially those who belong to the State security forces, go unpunished. The limited support made available to the overburdened justice system raises questions as to whether there is political will to end impunity. 

http://www.omct.org/rights-of-the-child/reports-and-publications/kenya/2...

The purpose of this alternative report is to address specific violence against women and children, including torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, its causes and consequences.

The report draws attention to consistent violations involving torture and ill-treatment inflicted on women and children by both State officials and non-State actors. It also addresses to what extent the Kenyan Government fails to protect women and children from torture. In this respect, the present report provides the UN Committee against Torture (the Committee) with a legal and practical overview of women’s and children’s rights in Kenya in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention).

This report is based on the international legal obligations of Kenya under the Convention. In particular, it refers to the positive obligation to “take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction” and “to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1095734##

In 2007, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) declared in a landmark admissibility decision that it had competence to examine the human rights claims of Jessica Gonzales, a domestic violence survivor from Colorado whose three children were killed when local police failed to enforce a restraining order against her estranged husband. Jessica Gonzales v. United States marks the first time the Commission has been asked to consider the nature and extent of the U.S.'s affirmative obligations to protect individuals from private acts of violence under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (American Declaration or Declaration). The Commission's admissibility decision rejects the U.S. State Department's position that the Declaration, which does not explicitly articulate state obligations vis a vis the rights contained therein, does not create positive governmental obligations. Instead, the decision holds the U.S. to well-established international standards on state responsibility to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, and punish human rights violations and protect and compensate victims. 

The Commission will next decide, in the merits phase of the case, whether the U.S. violated the human rights of Jessica Gonzales and her children. The merits decision, anticipated in 2008, will have profound consequences for Ms. Gonzales on a personal level. It also has the potential to expand international human rights norms and spur systemic reforms in law and policy in the U.S.

http://www.wola.org/publications/hidden_in_plain_sight_violence_against_...

This publication addresses the problem of violence against women in Mexico and Guatemala by carefully analyzes the roots and effects of the violence and offering concrete proposals for positive change.

The report looks at the role the Mexican and Guatemalan public security and judicial institutions have played with respect to violence against women. A criminal justice approach alone will not eradicate the problem, but the criminal justice sector has an obligation to ensure respect for women’s rights and protection under the law.

The gap between the law and its implementation is disturbingly wide, creating numerous barriers to justice for women victims of violence. Authorities fail to adequately and promptly investigate cases and punish and prosecute those responsible.  They tend to blame the victims and fail to see gender-based violence as a serious crime. In some cases, anachronistic laws remain on the books. The issue’s low priority is reflected in the lack of resources, equipment, and training within police and judicial institutions.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur27/002/2007/en/

This report discusses the insurmountable barrier confronted by girls and women seeking justice for rape in Hungary. It outlines the current situation in Hungary, including statements from interviewees, and details a series of recommendations from Amnesty Intenational to the Hungarian government.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0386.2007.00364.x/abst...

*The full article is available through this link. This article may be available free of charge to those with university credentials.

This article examines the evolving EU policy against human trafficking, especially trafficking that targets migrant women for sexual exploitation. It maintains that even though action against trafficking is now firmly on the EU agenda, current policies excessively focus on repressive measures and lack attention to the broader setting in which the exploitation of migrants takes place. This means that current EU anti-trafficking policy remains ineffectual, and may in some cases even be counterproductive.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=973959

This article examines the evolving EU policy against human trafficking, especially trafficking that targets migrant women for sexual exploitation. It maintains that even though action against trafficking is now firmly on the EU agenda, current policies excessively focus on repressive measures and lack attention to the broader setting in which the exploitation of migrants takes place. This means that current EU anti-trafficking policy remains ineffectual, and may in some cases even be counterproductive.

http://chinatoday.sinoperi.com/en20073/610959.jhtml

*The full article is available through this link. This article may be available free of charge to those with university credentials.

PILES of books on women's issues cover every working surface of Guo Ruixiang's office. On its wall is a poster bearing the slogan: "curb domestic violence."

http://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-development/43041409.pdf

http://www.omct.org/violence-against-women/urgent-interventions/japan/20...

This report was designed to supplement the NGO Shadow Report on the general situation of torture in Japan, in order to ensure that women’s issues are brought to the attention of the United Nations Committee against Torture (“CAT”) in its consideration of, and response to, torture and ill-treatment in Japan, given the Government’s failure to recognize the scale and seriousness of gender-based violence. The report was presented by OMCT and AJWRC at the CAT’s 38th session held in May 2007 in Geneva.1 Torture and other manners of ill-treatment of women in Japan, including rape, domestic violence and trafficking, persist in Japanese society under silent acquiescence, open tolerance, inaction and sometimes direct involvement of state agents including: police, immigration control officers and the judiciary. Further, the Japanese State continues to fail to provide redress and remedy for the victims of such crimes, including the military sexual slavery during the Second World War. Even though several international bodies, such as the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”) and the International Labour Organization (“ILO”), have made recommendations to the Japanese State, for it to address these issues in a responsible manner, it has failed to take necessary actions.

http://www.iolaw.org.cn/global/en/shownews.asp?id=18172

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted unanimously by UN General Assembly in 1979, taken as one of the core human rights treaties of the United Nations, is the milestone of the movement for gender equality. To achieve the aim of gender equality, CEDAW endows women with comprehensive rights in civil, political, economic, social, cultural and domestic aspects, and imposes state parties to take all appropriate measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.

People’s Republic of China ratified CEDAW in December 1980, and made a reservation on Article 29(1) of the Convention. China has not ratified the optional protocol. According to Article 18 of the convention, till now, China has handed in 6 periodical reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.