Kenyan women win damages for sexual violence during 2007-08 poll violence
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Four rape survivors won four million shillings ($US35,906) each on Thursday, as Kenya’s High Court ruled the government failed to investigate sexual violence cases after a disputed 2007 poll. The landmark ruling came after eight survivors – backed by human rights groups – filed a lawsuit in 2013 seeking accountability from […]
Pakistani Christian who spent six years on death row acquitted of blasphemy
A Christian man who spent the last six years on death row in Pakistan after being convicted of blasphemy charges has been acquitted by the High Court. Sawan Masih, a 40-year-old Catholic father of three, was convicted and given the death sentence in March, 2014, after a Muslim man accused him of blaspheming against Islam’s […]
Elderly black women in South Africa win property rights in landmark ruling
Johannesburg, South AfricaThomson Reuters Foundation Facing destitution when her marriage broke down, 72-year-old Agnes Sithole went to court to challenge a sexist law – and won not only a share of her husband’s property but a legal victory that will protect some 400,000 other black South African women. Under South African law, married couples own […]
Bangladesh court orders government to tackle rise in rapes
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh’s government will set up a commission to investigate a sharp rise in the number of rapes, the deputy attorney general said on Monday, after the country’s top court ordered it to act. Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud said it was clear that the number of rapes had risen as […]
Why doesn’t Bangladesh provide spaces for breastfeeding, court asks
Dhaka, BangladeshThomson Reuters Foundation Bangladesh’s High Court has ordered the government to explain why it has not made more provision for breastfeeding mothers in public spaces and workplaces, saying a failure to do so may be unconstitutional. The court said the government’s failure to ensure proper provision for breastfeeding could violate “the right to life”, […]
Ex-Vatican treasurer Pell makes final appeal to overturn sex offence convictions
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Lawyers for former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell on Tuesday filed an appeal to Australia’s High Court in a final bid to overturn his conviction for sexually abusing two 13-year-old choir boys, the High Court said. Pell is seeking leave to appeal the state of Victoria’s Court of Appeal ruling which upheld his […]
ESSAY: WHY AN AUSTRALIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS IS A MATTER OF NATIONAL URGENCY
In an article first published on The Conversation, GILLIAN TRIGGS, former head of the Australian Human Rights Commission and now Assistant High Commissioner for Protection at the United Nations, argues the need for more rights protections in Australia…
Britain must boost support for modern slaves, court rules
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Survivors of modern slavery in Britain should no longer have support cut off six weeks after they are officially recognised as victims by the government, the High Court ruled on Wednesday. The decision – an interim measure as part of a ongoing legal review into Britain’s system for identifying and looking after […]
UK slave bosses may be “personally liable” for exploitation of workers
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Modern slavery civil suits in Britain got more personal with a high court ruling on Monday that the bosses of trafficked workers – not just the companies they work for – may be “personally liable” for their treatment of victims. Eleven Lithuanian men trafficked into Britain to work on a chicken farm […]
Pakistani Christian says daughter, 12, abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry
World Watch Monitor A 12-year-old Pakistani Christian girl, who disappeared in November, was abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry her abductor, according to her father. Elisha, daughter of Iqbal Masih, appeared in the High Court in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, on Thursday, where she introduced herself by a new Muslim name but told the […]