Violence Against Women Monitor - March 2008

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Stop Violence Against Women - Website:

 

 

 

 

 

Stop Violence Against Women Website

 

The Violence Against Women Monitor

A publication of The Advocates for Human Rights

 

March 2008

 

STOPVAW Website News

 

 

International and Regional News

 

National News

 

New Research

and Reports

 

Expert’s Corner: Domestic Violence in the U.S. Military: Who Commits It, What the Victims Experience, and How the Military Responds

 

UN Secretary General Launches Campaign to End Violence against Women

 Afghanistan

US Study Links Greater Frequency of Health Problems and Risks for STIs to Domestic Violence Victims

New Section: Domestic Violence and Mediation

 

 

The Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women Has Presented a Draft of Agreed Conclusions for Financing

 Armenia

Human Rights Centre of Georgia Releases Report on Human Rights Violations

New Section: 2008 Regional Conference on Domestic Violence Legal Reform

Reports on Lithuania and Slovakia to be reviewed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

 Azerbaijan

 

 

 

 

 

UNIFEM Campaign "Say NO to Violence against Women!"

 Bangladesh

 

 

 

 

 

CoE Commissioner Designated as Regional Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders

 Bulgaria

 

 

 

 

 

CoE Commissioner Report Calls for Effective Implementation of Human Rights Reforms in Azerbaijan

 Cambodia

 

 

 

 

 

CoE Commissioner Hammarberg Recommends Stronger Efforts for Human Rights Protection in BiH

 Democratic Republic of Congo

 

 

 

 

 

Anti-HIV Gel Fails to Pass Final Tests

 India

 

 

 

 

 

UN Human Rights Council Alert

 Iran

 

 

 

 

 

Challenge Grant to End Violence against Women

 Kazakhstan

 

 

 

 

 

Commissioner Hammarberg to Assess the Human Rights Situation in “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”

 Kenya

 

 

 

 

 

Africa's First Ladies Form Conflict-Resolution Group

 Nepal

 

 

 

 

 

UN Conference Addresses Human Trafficking

 UK

 

 

 

 

 

Sexual Violence Grows in African War-Zones

 Ukraine

 

 

 

 

 

Trafficked Women Deserve More Than Just Talk: Equality Now, EWL, and CATW Urge Governments to Make Concrete Plans at Vienna Forum

 

 USA

 

 

 

 

 

CEDAW Now in Geneva and Serviced by OHCHR

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNFPA Announces International Day against Female Genital Mutilation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Violence against Women In Burundi: The UN Confirms Concerns of OMCT and ACAT Burundi

 

 

 

The European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Japanese Comfort Women

 

 

 

 

 

 

The UN Reports on Discrimination against Saudi Arabian Women

 

 

 

National VAW Monitors who contributed to this month’s newsletter include: Armenia.

 

 

 

 

STOPVAW Website News

Expert’s Corner

Loretta Frederick and Connie Sponsler of the Battered Women’s Justice Project discuss “Domestic Violence in the U.S. Military: Who Commits It, What the Victims Experience, and How the Military Responds.” This is an audio file and part of the Women’s Human Rights Speaker Series, sponsored by The Advocates for Human Rights and Briggs & Morgan, PA. (More information)

New Section: Domestic Violence and Mediation

As of February 2008, a new section on mediation in domestic violence has been added. Subsections include Screening for Domestic Violence, Shuttle or Separate Mediation, Power Balancing, and Research and Reports on Mediation. (More information)

New Section: 2008 Regional Conference on Domestic Violence Legal Reform

A new section presenting laws, background information, training materials and presentations from the 2008 Regional Conference on Domestic Violence Legal Reform (12-14 February 2008 in Sofia, Bulgaria) has been added. (More information)

 

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International and Regional News

UN Secretary General Launches Campaign to End Violence against Women

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon initiated a new, multi-year global campaign against violence against women last week. His goal is to bring together members of the United Nations, state governments, and general society to address this issue which he says "cannot wait." (More information)

The Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women Has Presented a Draft of Agreed Conclusions for Financing

The Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women has recently presented a draft of the agreed conclusions for "financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women" from the fifty-second session. (More information)

Reports on Lithuania and Slovakia to be reviewed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

In its 41st Session, June 30th to July 18th, the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will examine the Fourth Periodic Reports from Lithuania and Slovakia. (More information)

UNIFEM Campaign "Say NO to Violence against Women!"

UNIFEM is highlighting an awareness campaign, Say NO to Violence against Women. (More information)

CoE Commissioner Designated as Regional Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders

Following a declaration adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, the Commissioner has taken on a more active role in the protection of human rights within Europe. (More information)

CoE Commissioner Report Calls for Effective Implementation of Human Rights Reforms in Azerbaijan

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, presented a report on the overall human rights situation in Azerbaijan. (More information)

CoE Commissioner Hammarberg Recommends Stronger Efforts for Human Rights Protection in BiH

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, presented his human rights assessment report on Bosnia and Herzegovina. (More information)

Anti-HIV Gel Fails to Pass Final Tests

An anti-HIV vaginal gel, the first of its kind to reach the final-stages of testing, failed to stop HIV transmission in a study of 6,000 South African women. Researchers are currently investigating whether the failure of the gels was caused by infrequent use or misapplication, or if it is a failure of the microbicide itself. (More information)

UN Human Rights Council Alert

The International Service for Human Rights has published its Council Alert for the 7th session of the Human Rights Council (3-28 March 2008, Geneva). (More information)

Challenge Grant to End Violence against Women

The United Nations Foundation announced today its support for the “Say NO to Violence against Women” campaign. The Foundation will donate $1 for each of the first 100,000 signatures to the online campaign that is run by the UN Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM. The contributions will go to the UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. (More information)

Commissioner Hammarberg to Assess the Human Rights Situation in “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Police behaviour, children’s rights, juvenile justice and measures against discrimination were some of the main topics that the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, will assess during his five-day high-level official visit to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” starting on Monday 25 February. (More information)

Africa's First Ladies Form Conflict-Resolution Group

In a bid to support initiatives to restore and strengthen peace on the unrest-prone continent, wives of African heads of state or their representatives have formed a conflict-resolution group. (More information)

UN Conference Addresses Human Trafficking

The first major UN conference to address human trafficking has recently begun in Vienna.  The goal of the conference is to strategize how to end this form of modern slavery. (More information)

Sexual Violence Grows in African War-Zones

The UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde Frafjord Johnson has recently expressed her growing concern about the relationship between deadly conflict and sexual violence. The UN has warned that sexual violence taking place in conflict zones on the African continent is no longer restricted to combatants, but that citizens are perpetuating rape as well, and in astonishing proportions. (More information)

Trafficked Women Deserve More Than Just Talk: Equality Now, EWL, and CATW Urge Governments to Make Concrete Plans at Vienna Forum

A joint statement issued by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW), Equality Now and the European Women’s Lobby (EWL), urging governments to set forth specific commitments to end sex trafficking, has been signed by anti-trafficking grassroots organizations from around the world. (More information)

CEDAW Now in Geneva and Serviced by OHCHR

The move of CEDAW represents a significant step towards a more consolidated United Nations human rights treaty body system, with all of its eight treaty bodies now fully serviced by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. (More information)

UNFPA Announces International Day against Female Genital Mutilation

On February 6, 2008, the United Nations Population Fund called for an end to female genital mutilation. The practice puts nearly 3 million girls at risk every year, and has impacted an estimated 100-140 million women and girls around the world. (More information)

Violence against Women In Burundi: The UN Confirms Concerns of OMCT and ACAT Burundi

On 1st February 2008, as its 40th session came to an end, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted its concluding observations, having examined the combined second, third and fourth periodic report of Burundi regarding the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. (More information)

The European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Japanese Comfort Women

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution urging the Government of Japan to provide justice to the survivors of Japan’s military sexual slavery system.  The European Parliament is one of several Parliaments calling upon the Japanese Government to immediately provide redress in the form of a public apology and compensation to the victims of the so called ‘comfort woman’ system. (More information)

The UN Reports on Discrimination against Saudi Arabian Women

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has recently released a report detailing the systematic and persistent discrimination against Saudi Arabian women. (More information)

 

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National News

 Afghanistan

·          Afghanistan: New Party to Focus on Women's Rights (More information)

·          Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: How To Reach the Women (More information)

 Armenia

·          The General Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia was Commissioned with the Task to Create a Cooperation Plan for CIS Member States to Combat Human Trafficking (More information)

·          “One Out of Four Do Not Object " (More information)

·          Criminal Mosaic 02.12.07  (More information)

·          Criminal Mosaic 18.11.07 (More information)

·          Criminal Mosaic 16.11.07 (More information)

·          Annual Mass Media Monitoring Results, 2007 (More information)

·          Mass Media Monitoring for December 2007(More information)

·          Mass Media Monitoring Results for November 2007 (More information)

·          Mass Media Monitoring Results for October 2007 (More information)

·          Mass Media Monitoring Results for September 2007 (More information)

 Azerbaijan

·          Arrests Made in Human Trafficking Operation in Azerbaijan (More information)

 Bangladesh

·          NGOs in Bangladesh Track and Educate About Acid Burnings and Other Forms of Violence against Women (More information)

 Bulgaria

·          Gender-based Violence in Bulgaria Raises Serious Concerns (More information)

 Cambodia

·          Cambodia Passes New Law against Human Trafficking (More information)

 Democratic Republic of Congo

·          Congolese NGO Combats Sexual Violence (More information)

 India

·          Sexual Violence against Lower-Class Women in Central India Not Investigated (More information)

 Iran

·          Three Iranians to be Stoned to Death for Committing Adultery (More information)

 Kazakhstan

·          OSCE Promotes Monitoring of Women's Rights in Kazakhstan (More information)

 Kenya

·          Kenyan Women Demand Response to Urgent Needs of Kenyan Women and Children (More information)

Nepal

·          Exploitation of Children for Domestic Labor (More information)

 UK

·          Health Officials and Police Respond to FGM in England (More information)

 Ukraine

·          Combating Domestic Violence: Ukrainian and International Experience (More information)

 USA

·          Religious Leaders Learn to Identify and Respond to Domestic Violence (More information)

·          ABA Sets New Standards for Lawyers Representing Domestic Violence Victims (More information)

·          Supreme Court to Hear Domestic Violence Homicide Case (More information)

·          The International Center for Research on Women Launches Action Week Around Child Marriage Legislation (More information)

·          The General Federation of Women's Clubs in US Dedicates a Special Project to Domestic Violence and Teens (More information)

 

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New Research and Reports

US Study Links Greater Frequency of Health Problems and Risks for STIs to Domestic Violence Victims

According to a recent study by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic health problems are more likely to be reported by domestic violence victims. (More information)

Human Rights Centre of Georgia Releases Report on Human Rights Violations

The report Georgia: A Flickering Beacon of Democracy, covers 2007 political and legal events and highlights the still relevant and glaring human rights abuses occurring in the country. (More information)

 

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Subscribe to The VAW Monitor

The VAW Monitor is a free, monthly newsletter sent out on the first of each month. Printable versions of The VAW Monitor are also available on the website at http://www.stopvaw.org/The_VAW_Monitor.html.

 

To subscribe to The VAW Monitor, please fill out the form provided at http://www.stopvaw.org/The_VAW_Monitor.html.

 

 

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About STOPVAW

 

The Stop Violence Against Women website (STOPVAW) is a forum for information, advocacy and change.  Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights developed this website as a tool for the promotion of women's human rights in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the the former Soviet Union (FSU), Mongolia, and the U.N. Protectorate of Kosovo.  STOPVAW was developed with support from and in consultation with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Open Society Institute's Network Women's Program. This site addresses violence against women as one of the most pervasive human rights abuses worldwide. STOPVAW provides women's rights advocates with information and advocacy tools focused on ending the most endemic forms of violence against women in the region, including domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and trafficking in persons.

 

Current staff members of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights involved with the development of STOPVAW include Angela Bortel, Mary Ellingen, Mary Ellison, Mary Hunt, Rosalyn Park, Robin Phillips, and Cheryl Thomas. Current interns and volunteers include Tracy Baumgardt, Karen Bridges, Alexandra Douglas, Joao da Fonseca, Evangeline Simmons.

 

For more information about STOPVAW, please contact the Website Administrator at stopvaw@mnadvocates.org.

 

 

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