UN warns Haiti’s capital blockaded, no aid for malnourished children
United Nations/Port-au-Prince, Haiti Reuters Haiti’s capital is almost completely cut off by air, sea and land blockades as gang violence intensifies, stopping aid from getting to 58,000 children with the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, the head of the UN children’s agency warned on Monday. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said two-thirds of Haiti’s children […]
UN team says rape, gang rape likely occurred during Hamas attack on Israel
United Nations Reuters A team of United Nations experts reported on Monday that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred at several locations during the 7th October attack on Israel by Hamas militants. The team – led by UN special envoy for sexual violence in conflict Pramila Patten […]
More than 35,000 suffered sexual violence in Colombia’s conflict – tribunal
Bogota, ColombiaReuters At least 35,178 people have suffered sexual, gender and reproductive violence in Colombia’s armed conflict, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) tribunal said on Wednesday as it opened an investigation. Women, girls and people with diverse sexual orientations, identities and expressions of gender were the most affected, the JEP said. “The court finds […]
Sudanese suffer sexual violence on “sickening scale”, UN says
United NationsReuters Sexual violence is being committed in Sudan on a “sickening scale,” while fighting in the Darfur region is reopening “old wounds of ethnic tension” that could engulf the country, United Nations officials told the Security Council on Wednesday. “The alarming accounts of sexual violence that are heard from people who have fled to […]
Indian women set fire to house of suspect as Manipur sex assault case triggers outrage
New Delhi, IndiaReuters Women in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur attacked the house of the main suspect in a sexual assault case that has enraged the nation, state police said on Friday. The person had allegedly dragged two tribal women onto the streets in May and incited a mob to rape and parade them naked, […]
Essay: Some refugee girls are forced into early marriage for safety – here’s why
UK academic AISHA HUTCHINSON looks at the reasons why the incidence of child marriage increase in communities impacted by conflicts or disasters…
Iran violations may amount to crimes against humanity – UN expert
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Iran’s authorities have committed violations in recent months that may amount to crimes against humanity, a UN-appointed expert told the Human Rights Council on Monday, citing cases of murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape, sexual violence and persecution. Iran has been swept by protests since the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, […]
Nigerian women take action as rape, assault cases surge during pandemic
Lagos, NigeriaReuters When Kehinde Osakede’s university closed due to COVID-19 last year, the visual arts student returned home to Lagos. A visit to a family friend nearby turned into a horrific ordeal. The friend began touching her, she said, and became violent when she asked him to stop. He then raped her, she said. “The […]
Sexual violence being used as weapon of war in Ethiopia’s Tigray, UN says
New York City, USReuters Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where girls as young as eight are being targeted and some women have reported being gang-raped over several days, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock said on Thursday. He told the UN Security Council that the humanitarian crisis […]
One in three women endure physical or sexual violence: WHO
GenevaReuters Nearly one in three women worldwide is subjected to physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, pervasive criminal behaviour that has increased during the pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The UN agency urged governments to prevent violence, improve services for victims and tackle economic inequalities that often leave women and girls […]