Rape

2014
Bahadda F. How NGOs helped change Moroccan law on rapists marrying their victims. The Guardian. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/feb/0...

A suicide case and a campaign to stop rapists avoiding jail via wedlock finally brought change but further reform is necessary. A law that allowed rapists to dodge jail by marrying their victims has been changed by the Moroccan parliament after a campaign by NGOs, including my organisation, the Association Marocaine de Planification Familiale (AMPF).

More Than Bruises Are Left Behind. Matla A Bana. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://matlaabana.co.za/our-projects.php

SECONDARY GOAL

To minimise the secondary abuse children suffer when they report abuse against them. This abuse is often worse than the primary abuse, due to a very unsympathetic reporting system. 

PRIMARY GOALS

“Getting conversation going”

To prevent more child abuse from happening by securing more reporting. To mobilise communities to start speaking about child abuse.

To educate communities on what child abuse is, signs and symptoms and how to report it.

To  educate the public and children on reporting, highlight myths and facts of child abuse and to mobilise the community to start reporting.

Jemia MB, Sedou L, Scott M, Thill M, Pavlou S, Brié F, Alqurah L. Violence against Women in the context of Political Transformations and Economic Crisis in the Euro-Mediterranean Region: Trends and Recommendations towards Equality and Justice. EuroMed Rights - Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://euromedrights.org/publication/violence-against-women-in-the-conte...

On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th of March), the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) published today its regional report “Violence against women in the context of political transformations and economic crisis in the Euro-Mediterranean region; trends and recommendations towards equality and justice”.

This report alerts that violence against women has dramatically increased in the Euro-Mediterranean region during the recent years,  showcasing key patterns of violence against women, through case studies from Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, France, Cyprus and Spain.

The report also underlines the alarming increase and severity of sexual violence in countries such as Libya, Syria and Egypt mounting to sexual terrorism.  In Egypt, women protestors were subjected to systematic and seemingly planned harassment and gang rapes in Tahrir Square. In Syria, women and are subjected to trafficking and sexual exploitation girls in refugee camps.

Cohen DK, Nordas R, Wood E. Four Things Everyone Should Know about Wartime Sexual Violence. The Washington Post. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/06/09/four-thing...

The three-day Global Summit in June 2014 to End Sexual Violence in Conflict co-chaired by Angelina Jolie, offered visitors insight into the summit's message through cinema, art and photography in London. 

Eslick N. Violence against Women in Australia and The National Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, in Initiative on VAW, Research Briefing. Carr Center for Human Rights, Harvard Kennedy School of Government ; 2014.Abstract

Violence against Women (VAW) is a pervasive, global human rights violation. This research memo discusses the current state of VAW in Australia, and the Australian Governments proposed National Action Plan (NAP) addressing VAW across Australia’s diverse community. Noting that women’s rights are not fully protected by the Commonwealth and revealing the current appalling statistics around domestic and sexual violence against Australian women, the memo then provides insight on Indigenous women and VAW, followed by a deeper look at NAP. Finally, after a brief look at the recent study tour of Australia by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Australia’s commitment to addressing VAW is discussed with reference to reporting for CEDAW and UPR. The memo then considers the Special Rapporteur’s study tour in light of the election of a new federal government. It then concludes that if the state shows genuine commitment to its people, and to its obligations under human rights treaties, the onus ultimately rests on it to work with civil society to make use of the human rights mechanisms and seek to honestly and with purpose examine their human rights status and develop and adopt sustainable positive change. 

vaw_in_australia_and_the_national_action_plan_to_reduce_violence_against_women_and_their_children_march_2014.pdf
Gupta R. 'Victim' vs 'Survivor': feminism and language. openDemocracy . 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/rahila-gupta/victim-vs-survivor-femin...

Rahila Gupta argues that the term ‘victim’ needs to be reclaimed by feminist politics; whilst 'survivor' is important because it recognises the agency of women, it focuses on individual capacity, but the notion of 'victim' reminds us of the stranglehold of the system.

2013
Solnit R. Hate Crimes: A Rape Every Minute, a Thousand Corpses Every Year. Tom Dispatch; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.alternet.org/gender/hate-crimes-rape-every-minute-thousand-co...

Here in the United States, where there is a reported rape every 6.2 minutes, and one in five women will be raped in her lifetime, the rape and gruesome murder of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi on December 16th was treated as an exceptional incident. The story of the alleged rape of an unconscious teenager by members of the Steubenville High School football team was still unfolding, and gang rapes aren’t that unusual here either. Take your pick: some of the 20 men who gang-raped an 11-year-old in Cleveland, Texas, were sentenced in November, while the instigator of the gang rape of a 16-year-old in Richmond, California, was sentenced in October, and four men who gang-raped a 15-year-old near New Orleans were sentenced in April, though the six men who gang-raped a 14-year-old in Chicago last fall are still at large.  Not that I actually went out looking for incidents: they’re everywhere in the news, though no one adds them up and indicates that there might actually be a pattern.

EWL Barometer on Rape in the EU 2013. European Women's Lobby; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.womenlobby.org/EWL-Barometer-on-Rape-in-Europe-2013

The European Women’s Lobby is pleased to unveil its 2013 Barometer on Rape in Europe.

Thanks to the work and expertise of the experts to the EWL Observatory on violence against women, the EWL has produced a strong policy document analysing the incidence of Rape in Europe.

The Barometer is a very important tool to get a European overview of national actions on violence against women and compare European countries with regards to their commitment to eradicate such violence.

 

Report of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law, 2013. New Delhi: PRS Legislative Research; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/report-summaries/justice-verma-committee-report-summary-2628/

Justice Verma Committee was constituted to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.  The Committee submitted its report on January 23, 2013.

 Background: On December 23, 2012 a three member Committee headed by Justice J.S. Verma, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was constituted to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.  The other members on the Committee were Justice Leila Seth, former judge of the High Court and Gopal Subramanium, former Solicitor General of India. 

The Committee submitted its report on January 23, 2013.  It made recommendations on laws related to rape, sexual harassment, trafficking, child sexual abuse, medical examination of victims, police, electoral and educational reforms.  We summarise the key recommendations of the Committee. 

Pakistan: Domestic violence, including effectiveness of the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006; state protection and services available to victims. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=454350

Sources indicate that domestic violence in Pakistan is a "serious problem" (US 24 May 2012, 1; Human Rights WatchJan. 2012). Sources report on several forms of domestic violence, including torture (US 24 May 2012, 42; WEWA 18 Dec. 2012), forced marriages (ibid. 9 Dec. 2012; AHRC 25 Nov. 2011), physical disfigurement (US 24 May 2012, 42), amputation (HRCP 2012, 166), the denial of food (AHRC 25 Nov. 2011), rape (ibid.; WEWA 9 Dec, 2012), and shaving hair and eyebrows (US 24 May 2012, 42).

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) indicates that perpetrators of domestic violence can be the victim's husband, or men or women in the victim's family or her husband's family (25 Nov. 2011). The US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 states that in-laws have abused and harassed the wives of their sons (US 24 May 2012, 43).

The AHRC states that victims are often stigmatized and blamed for the gender-based violence that they have experienced, and have often been labelled as the "false accuser" (2012, Sec. J.3). The AHRC adds that when a woman is beaten, society portrays it as being because the woman cannot take care of her husband's needs (25 Nov. 2011). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

UN survey of 10,000 men in Asia and the Pacific reveals why some men use violence against women and girls. United Nations Development Programme. 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2013/...

A UN study of 10,000 men in Asia and the Pacific, released today, found that overall nearly half of those men interviewed reported using physical and/or sexual violence against a female partner, ranging from 26 percent to 80 percent across the sites studied.  Nearly a quarter of men interviewed reported perpetrating rape against a woman or girl, ranging from 10 percent to 62 percent across the sites.  

Rosche D. Ending Violence Against Women, The case for a comprehensive international action plan.; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/ending-violence-against-women-0

This Oxfam policy paper outlines a proposal for a comprehensive international action plan that addresses this issue politically, with time-bound targets and explicit accountability mechanisms – a roadmap to fast-track the implementation of existing agreements.

2012
Kubiak SP, Nnawulezi N, Karim N, Beeble ML, Sullivan CM. Examining Disclosure of Physical and Sexual Victimization by Method in Samples of Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 2012;51 (3) :161-175. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10509674.2011.618528

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

Definitions vary on what constitutes sexual and/or physical abuse, and scholars have debated on which methods might yield the most accurate response rates for capturing this sensitive information. Although some studies suggest respondents prefer methods that provide anonymity, previous studies have not utilized high-risk or stigmatized populations. In this article, the authors report on serendipitous findings when using two methods to assess the past year incidence of sexual and physical violence among women involved in the criminal justice system. Women who participated in an anonymous survey reported higher physical and sexual victimization than did the women who were interviewed, even though the questions were identical. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Supplement to the Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women, "Harmful Practices" Against Women. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; 2012. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2012/12/handbook-...

The Handbook serves as a useful tool in supporting efforts to provide justice, support, protection and remedies to victims and to hold perpetrators accountable.

The Handbook first outlines the international and regional legal and policy frameworks which mandate States to enact and implement comprehensive and effective laws to address violence against women. It then presents a model framework for legislation on violence against women, divided into fourteen chapters. Finally, the Handbook provides users with a checklist of considerations to be kept in mind when drafting legislation on violence against women.

This Handbook intends to provide all stakeholders with detailed guidance to support the adoption and effective implementation of legislation which prevents violence against women, punishes perpetrators, and ensures the rights of survivors everywhere.

 

Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; 2012. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2012/12/handbook-...

The Handbook serves as a useful tool in supporting efforts to provide justice, support, protection and remedies to victims and to hold perpetrators accountable.

The Handbook first outlines the international and regional legal and policy frameworks which mandate States to enact and implement comprehensive and effective laws to address violence against women. It then presents a model framework for legislation on violence against women, divided into fourteen chapters. Finally, the Handbook provides users with a checklist of considerations to be kept in mind when drafting legislation on violence against women.

This Handbook intends to provide all stakeholders with detailed guidance to support the adoption and effective implementation of legislation which prevents violence against women, punishes perpetrators, and ensures the rights of survivors everywhere.

2011
Rape and sexual violence: Human rights law and standards in the International Criminal Court. London, UK: Amnesty International; 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/IOR53/001/2011/en/

This document identifies how the crimes of rape and sexual violence must, as a requirement of its own statute and a matter of international human rights law, be interpreted and applied with equality between men and women by the International Criminal Court (the Court). The Court has yet to rule on this matter in its jurisprudence.

Such incorporation of human rights law and standards in the prosecution of rape and sexual violence should be undertaken by other international courts, as well as national courts, in order to discharge states’ duties under treaty and customary law.

In order to incorporate human rights law and standards in its practice, the Court’s interpretation of the definition of the crimes should address the behaviour and actions of the perpetrator, and how this affects the victim’s ability to exercise free and genuine choice, that is, to enjoy his or her human right to physical and mental integrity and sexual autonomy, without discrimination. The Court’s deliberation should not just address the victim’s purported ‘consent’ in isolation.

Human rights law and standards requires that investigations and prosecutions of the crimes of rape and sexual violence must be undertaken with careful attention given to the task of challenging stereotypes, which tend to undermine women’s equality before the law. The integrity of investigations and prosecutions should not be tainted by stereotypical assumptions, including assumptions about sexual violence towards men and boys, as well as towards women and girls.

Law of rape in India. Fylfot Group of Advocates; 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.legalhelplineindia.com/law-of-rape-in-india/

The word rape is Latin term ratio, which means seize i.e. forcible seizure which constitutes the main ingredient of the offence of rape. Law of rape in India however further widens the definition and means intercourse with a woman without her consent by force, fear or fraud. Several explanations of force fear and fraud has been incorporated to make the law of rape in India more comprehensive and stringent. Law of rape in India is contained in Indian Penal Code; Section 375 defines rape which can be reproduced as under:

Kleinsorge T. Legal protection of children from sexual exploitation: The “Lanzarote Convention” and the One in Five campaign. 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://srsg.violenceagainstchildren.org/knowledge/law_reform

It is estimated that one in five children fall victim to sexual violence – a serious human rights violation the Council of Europe has decided to combat through: 1. legislative harmonization - The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) is the most advanced and complete standard in this field 2. awareness-raising and political action – The Council of Europe campaign ONE in FIVE to stop sexual violence against children and its parliamentary dimension aims to raise awareness of the full extent of sexual violence against children in our societies and promote appropriate policies to stop this violence
2010
Campbell R, Sprague HB, Cottrill S, Sullivan CM. Longitudinal Research With Sexual Assault Survivors: A Methodological Review. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2010;26 (3) :433-461. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://jiv.sagepub.com/content/26/3/433

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

Longitudinal research designs are relatively rare in the academic literature on rape and sexual assault despite their tremendous methodological rigor and scientific utility. In the interest of promoting wider use of such methods, we conducted a methodological review of projects that have used prospective longitudinal designs to study the occurrence of sexual victimization throughout the lifespan and/or the process of change during rape recovery (N = 32 projects). Five questions were examined: (a) What were the substantive foci of these longitudinal studies? (b) How were survivors recruited? (c) What participation rates were typical? (d) How long were participants followed over time and with what success rates? and (e) What incentives were used to increase participation? Most studies focused on postassault sequelae and recruited survivors from hospital emergency departments and other first-response help-seeking sites with highly variable participation rates. Retention rates were comparable across studies (approximately 70%).

2009
Saha A. Rape as a War Crime: The Position of International Law since World War II. Journal of East Asia & International Law. 2009;2 (2). Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://journal.yiil.org/home/archives_v2n2_10

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

International attention first focused on the use of rape as a tactic of warfare in Bosnia between 1991 and 1995. Rape was also employed by Hutu troops against Tutsi women in the genocidal campaign in Rwanda in 1994. In December of 1993, The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and with that the international community acknowledged its global dimensions. What became clear to the world was that women's distinctive needs, experiences, vulnerabilities, and perspectives were being excluded in the development of both the substantive and procedural rules of international humanitarian law, as well as the remedies it offered victims. A community of elite women legal policy makers comprised of judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and investigators evolved to try these cases in International Criminal Tribunals in Europe and Africa. During the Bosnian war of 1992-95 Yugoslav women and hundreds of other Muslim women were systematically raped and tortured in a clear attempt to advance the cause of ethnic cleansing. Several of the women took to court, and testified against, three Bosnian soldiers in the courtrooms of the Yugoslav war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. The ruling made on the rape cases between Yugoslav women and the Bosnian Serb army is a landmark in establishing that systematic rape during conflict is not merely a violation of the practice of war but a crime against humanity. In turn, sexual assault during slavery has been recognized as an independent crime under humanitarian and human rights laws. The ruling is very significant because it opens the door for many other victims of sexual violence to press for their recognition as victims, for penalties, and for compensation. It also means that effort will consequently be made to promote its application. However, whether the codification of such laws can be translated into the practical protection of women during conflict remains to be seen.

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