Results from a two-year multicountry study on the health consequences of trafficking in women and girls were recently made available electronically at the website of the London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine.

The qualitative study, entitled The Health Risks and Consequences of Trafficking in Women and Adolescents: Findings from a European Study, was conducted by researchers from the London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine, La Strada Ukraine, Foundation Against Trafficking in Women (STV, Netherlands), the Department of Sociology at the University of Padua, the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (Thailand), the International Catholic Migration Committee (Albania) and the Child and Women Abuse Studies Unit of London Metropolitan University.  The study was supported by the European Commission's Daphne Programme.  Importantly, the report provides a human rights analysis of health and trafficking and sets out principles for promoting the health rights of trafficked women.

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International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights 2003 Annual Report Available
20 April 2004

The first fifteen country chapters of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights' annual report Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003) are available. The countries chapters available include: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Georgia.

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Amnesty International Publishes Trafficking Report on Kosovo
6 May 2004

On May 6, 2004, Amnesty International released the results of its research on trafficking in women and girls in Kosovo. “So does that mean I have rights?” Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls Trafficked for Forced Prostitution in Kosovo details the human rights abuses suffered by victims of trafficking in Kosovo. The report finds that the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the NATO-led international military force in Kosovo (KFOR), and the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo (PISG) have not done enough to protect the human rights of women and girls trafficked to, from and within Kosovo. Amnesty International urges these authorities to create measures to halt trafficking operations, to implement adequate protection and reparations to victims, and to ensure that international military and civilian peacekeeping forces suspected of offenses linked to trafficking are brought to justice. Amnesty International estimates that members of the international community comprise 20% of the patronage of trafficked women and girls in Kosovo.

For more information, please see the Amnesty International press release of the report.

For more information on trafficking in Kosovo, please visit the Kosovo section of this website.

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UNHCHR Releases Findings Regarding the Implementation of the National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina
26 May 2004

According to an Amnesty International report published in May 2004, the Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina released a report in June of 2003 which found that the State Commission, a law enforcement body charged with implementation of a National Action Plan Against Trafficking , and other law enforcement agencies were not given adequate support by the state government and that there were severe shortcomings in the provision of shelter to vulnerable victims. See Amnesty International summary for Bosnia and Herzegovina for more information.

Compiled from the 2004 Amnesty International report on Bosnia and Herzegovina and from a report from the Office of the High Commisioner for Human rights.

For more information, please visit the Trafficking and Bosnia and Herzegovina sections of this website.

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UNICEF Study on Domestic Violence in Albania Published
26 May 2004

According to a 2004 report published by Amnesty International, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a report in September 2003 entitled Domestic Violence Against Women in Albania which found that 40 percent of women in 11 districts were regularly subjected to physical violence in the home. The study further reports that 64 percent of women report physical and psychological violence. 

Compiled from the 2004 Albanian summary by Amnesty International and UNICEF report, Domestic Violence Against Women in Albania.

For more information on violence against women in Albania, please visit the Albania section of this website. For more information on domestic violence in general, see the domestic violence section of this website.

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Amnesty International Publishes 2004 Report
26 May 2004

Amnesty International released its annual human rights report today.  The report provides a regional overview of the human rights situation in Europe and Central Asia and highlights violence against women as a significant human rights concern in each country of this region. 

For more information, please see the What's New section of each country page on this website.

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New Research on Protection Orders and Intimate Partner Violence
1 June 2004

The April 2004 edition of the American Journal of Public Health featured the results of an 18-month study of 150 women in the state of Texas (USA) who qualified for a two-year protection order against an intimate partner.  The study demonstrates that "[a]bused women who apply and qualify for a 2-year protection order, irrespective of whether or not they are granted the order, report significantly lower levels of violence during the subsequent 18 months."  The study results show a significant decrease in threats of assault, physical assault, stalking and worksite harassment over time among all women studied.

For more information about orders for protection, please see the full text of this article that may be purchased here and the section of this website entitled Domestic Violence Explore the Issue: Orders for Protection.

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Seminar Report Finds Albanian Minority Women Face Double Discrimination
2 June 2004

Minority Rights Group reports that a seminar in Tirana, Albania found
that women in Albania and those in majority of South-East Europe are vulnerable because of povery, exclusion and "double-discrimination" (sic). (Cited from: "'Double-discrimination' leaves Albania's minority women vulnerable." Minority Rights. 2 June 2004.) The seminar addressed a number of issues including povery, trafficking, domestic violence and political exclusion. In addition to the burdens faced by many women such as exclusion and poverty, minority women in South-East Europe also face multiple discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or linguistic differences. Trafficking in women is an especially urgent issue for minorities in the region because many victims come from minority groups. A report entitled "Gender and Minority Issues in Albania: Awareness-Raising Regional Seminar (Tirana, 12–13 September 2003)" was published with the findings of the seminar.

Compiled from: "'Double-discrimination' leaves Albania's minority women vulnerable." Minority Rights. 2 June 2004.

For more information, please see the Domestic Violence, Trafficking in Women and Albania section of this website.

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Roma Women's Initiative Launches New Website
3 June 2004

Roma Women's Initiative launched a new website that includes an online library, country-specific information, the history of the initiative, directory of Roma women's organizations in the region among other useful research tools. Of particular importance, the website informs users how to get involved with the Decade of Roma Inclusion project, a program of the Open Society Institute and World Bank. The Roma Women's Initiative is a project of the Network Women's Program of the Open Society Institute.

Compiled from: "Roma Women's Intiative Website Launched." Open Society Institute. 3 June 2004.

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Amnesty International Publishes Report on Domestic Violence in Turkey
8 June 2004

As part of its Stop Violence Against Women Campaign launched in March 2004, Amnesty International published a report entitled Turkey: Women Confronting Family Violence on 2 June 2004. The report presents the cases of individual women who have been victims of domestic violence and examines the causes of and contributing factors to domestic violence. The report also identifies traditional practices, including early marriage, “crimes of honor” like forced suicide or honor killings, and continuing court practices reducing the sentences for rapists if they promise to marry their victim.

In a press release issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, the organization called on the Turkish government to ensure that:

• "Women are provided with protective mechanisms such as shelters, judicial mechanisms and appropriate health care, reparation and redress;"
• "Prosecutors and police investigate and press charges against perpetrators of violence against women;"
• "There is comprehensive recording and statistical monitoring of incidence of violence against women;"
• "Laws to protect women are properly enforced;"
• "Women's rights groups and other NGOs receive support for their work in eradicating discrimination and violence against women."

Cited from Amnesty International press release of June 2, 2004, AI Index: EUR 44/021/2004.

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European Commission against Racism and Intolerance Releases Third Reports on Czech Republic and Hungary
8 June 2004

On 8 June 2004, the Council of Europe's independent human rights monitoring body, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), released its Third Reports on both Czech Republic (PDF, 40 pages) and Hungary (PDF, 37 pages). The Third Reports discuss whether and to what extent recommendations from ECRI's prior reports have been implemented. The Third Reports also address "specific issues" and make recommendations to the country. Among other recommendations, the ECRI recommended that both countries monitor the status of minorities, taking into account "the gender dimension, particularly from the viewpoint of possible double or multiple discrimination." (cited from the Third Report on Hungary and Third Report on Czech Republic, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, C.R.I. 2004 25).

The Third Reports are also available in Czech (PDF, 38 pages) and Hungarian (PDF, 39 pages).

For more information, please visit the ECRI website.

For more information about these countries, please visit the Czech Republic and Hungary sections of this website.

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Curriculum for Change: An Educator Institute for Stopping Violence Against Women
14 June 2004

Presented by Amnesty International USA's Western Region Human Rights Educators Network

Join concerned educators for an institute to explore ending violence against women. During this four-day event, participants will share experiences, move toward broader understanding, and work together in finding solutions to this complex issue.

From Wednesday, July 21st through Saturday, July 24th at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, come together with teachers, students and community members for presentations, workshops and fieldwork. Participants will examine the roles we can play as educators in ending violence against women.

How do we begin a dialogue about violence against women? What challenges have we faced and how can we build upon our knowledge of those experiences? The Institute will provide opportunities to join others in seeking, sharing and making sense of what we know about violence against women.

The cost for the institute itself is only $125, if you register by June 15th. Three units of course credit (continuing ed) available for $105. Academic (degree applicable) course credit will also be available upon request.

For more information about events and speakers, please visit the Amnesty USA website. The registration form, along with information on housing and meals, is available as well.

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OSCE to Publish Report on Trafficking in Serbia
22 June 2004

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Serbia and Montenegro will present the first survey on human trafficking in Serbia on 23 June 2004. A Serbian version of this news release is also available. The report addresses trafficking of women, children and those trafficked for exploitation of labor. It addresses issues of prostitution, illegal migration and labor, begging and vagrancy.  The report also provides official data and data from NGOs as well as information regarding legislation and previous research available on the subject of trafficking. The objective of the survey is to assist law-makers and NGOs in developing a "national strategy to prevent and combat more efficiently the trafficking in human beings." (Cited from: "OSCE Mission to present first study on human trafficking in Serbia." Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, Belgrade, 22 June 2004). Four researchers from the Victimology Society of Serbia conducted the survey.

Compiled from: "OSCE Mission to present first study on human trafficking in Serbia." Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, Belgrade, 22 June 2004.

For more information, please see the Trafficking in Women and Serbia and Montenegro section of this website.

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New WHO Report on Economics of Interpersonal Violence
30 June 2004

The World Health Organization recently released a 56-page research report, The Economic Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence.  According to the WHO website, the report focuses on the following three areas: 

• The economic effects of interpersonal violence in a variety of socioeconomic and cultural settings.
• The economic effects of interventions intended to reduce interpersonal violence.
• The effects of economic conditions and policies on interpersonal violence – with particular reference to poverty, structural adjustment, income equality and social investment.  (Cited from WHO website Summary, available here.)

The complete summary of the report, as well as a pdf of the full report, is available on the WHO website here.

For more information, see the Community Costs of Domestic Violence section under Domestic Violence on this website.

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World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Publishes “Violence Against Women: 10 Reports/Year 2003”
9 July 2004

The latest publication from the Violence Against Women Programme of the World Organisation Against Torture, “Violence Against Women: 10 Reports/Year 2003”, is a compilation of 10 country reports that have been presented to the five main human rights treaty bodies. The ten countries represented in the report are Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Estonia, Mali, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The report highlights the fact that despite differences of social, cultural and political contexts, patterns and frequency of violence against women span both national and socio-economic borders as well as cultural identities. The lack of appropriate legislation on violence against women, inequality in society’s gender roles, and government laxity on punishing perpetrators of violence are all factors contributing to the continuing and widespread occurrence of violence against women. For more information on the publication of the report, see the complete OMCT press release.

The complete report (PDF, 426 pages) is available on OMCT’s website.

Compiled from: OMCT launches its publication “Violence Against Women: 10 Reports/Year 2003”, 7 July 2004.

For more information, see the Estonia and Russian Federation Country Pages on this website.

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New Handbook on Monitoring Women's Election Participation
16 July 2004

Europe's leading election observation agency, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, has just published a handbook for monitoring women's participation in elections.

The handbook is a part of the OSCE/ODIHR's efforts to enhance equality between women and men by mainstreaming gender issues into all areas of its work.

Improving women's participation was one of the issues discussed at an OSCE meeting on electoral standards and commitments, held in Vienna on 15 and 16 July. The handbook, launched during that meeting, is intended to ensure each election observation mission takes into account how the election process affects both women and men, as the mission draws its general conclusions.

The OSCE/ODIHR has observed around 150 elections and referenda over the last decade and this handbook is based on that experience. It is designed as a working tool to assist international and domestic election observers, both partisan and non-partisan, in identifying the various elements of an election process that may impact on women's equal participation.

The handbook also sets out practical steps to be taken to integrate a gender perspective into election observation.

Cited from: OSCE/ODIHR publishes handbook on women's participation in elections, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe press release, 16 July 2004.

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WHO Study on Domestic Violence Published
19 July 2004

The World Health Organization published a study, the Economic Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence, which found that some countries spend more than four percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on injuries related to violence. Low-income countries, such as Columbia and El Salvador that spend 4.3 percent of their GDP on such injuries, are among those countries most affected by the economic costs of violence. Three percent of the GDP of the U.S. is spent on violence-related injuries.

The study reports that 1.6 million people die from violence each year and that almost half of women victims are killed by male partners. In some countries, the study finds, up to seventy percent of women victims are killed by male partners. Moreover, the study reports that roughly twenty percent of girls suffer sexual abuse compared with five to ten percent of men.

The study concludes that domestic violence prevention is a cost-effective approach to curtailing the economic costs of this violence, yet more research is needed into the costs of interpersonal violence in order to allow for international comparisons.

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New Resource on Working with Abused Women
19 July 2004

The Center for Children and Families in the Justice System has published a new resource for people working with abused women. It is called “Helping Children Thrive/ Supporting Woman Abuse Survivors as Mothers: A Resource to Support Parenting.”

The resource is written for service providers assisting women who have survived abuse. It includes sections describing abused women as mothers, how abusive men parent, ways that abusive men affect family dynamics, the effects of abuse on power and control tactics on mothers, the potential impact of abuse against mothers on children of different ages, and strategies used by young people to cope with violence in their homes.

A free version of the resource is available on the Center’s website.

Compiled from:

The Network of East-West Women Newsletter, No. 40, 18 July 2004.

Center for Children and Families in the Justice System website.

For more information, please see the Domestic Violence: Child Custody and Domestic Violence: Effects on Children sections of this website.

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New Research Available
12 August 2004

• The Family Violence Prevention Fund reports that Abuse is "Common Among Postmenopausal Women"

This 16 July 2004 article from The Family Violence Prevention Fund reports that, according to the National Elder Abuse Incidence Study (NEAIS), "postmenopausal women experience violence - including physical, sexual and psychological abuse - at the same rate or at an even higher rate than do younger women." This study is believed to be the first to estimate the incidence of physical and verbal abuse in a large sample of postmenopausal women.

• Synthesis of Literature on Educator Sexual Misconduct Now Available

Featured on the National Electronic Network on Violence Against Women (VAWnet) website, Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University and Interactive, Inc., has prepared "Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature" for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, Policy and Program Studies Service. This literature review of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct responds to the mandate in Section 5414 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, to conduct a study of sexual abuse in U.S. schools. To satisfy this mandate, the Department of Education contracted with Dr. Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University. Using existing available research, her literature review describes, among other topics: prevalence of educator sexual misconduct, offender characteristics, targets of educator sexual misconduct, and recommendations for prevention of educator sexual misconduct. Shakeshaft also offers several new recommendations that may be worth consideration, though they may present tensions with existing laws.

• Report on Gender, Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Launched

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has recently published "Gender, Minorities and Indigenous Peoples," a report examining the intersection of gender, minority, and indigenous status. MRG argues that while it is generally acknowledged that women suffer discrimination, women who are also members of minority or indigenous communities are particularly marginalized. Like male members of minority and indigenous communities, they lack access to political power and face discrimination in their access to services and rights. However, as women they face these problems and more.

The aim of this report is to encourage those working on minority and indigenous peoples' rights to consider the issues from a gender perspective, and to encourage those working on gender equality and women's rights to include minorities and indigenous peoples within their remit.

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The Family Violence Prevention Fund reports that Abuse is "Common Among Postmenopausal Women"

This 16 July 2004 article from The Family Violence Prevention Fund reports that, according to the National Elder Abuse Incidence Study (NEAIS), "postmenopausal women experience violence - including physical, sexual and psychological abuse - at the same rate or at an even higher rate than do younger women." This study is believed to be the first to estimate the incidence of physical and verbal abuse in a large sample of postmenopausal women.

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Synthesis of Literature on Educator Sexual Misconduct Now Available

Featured on the National Electronic Network on Violence Against Women (VAWnet) website, Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University and Interactive, Inc., has prepared "Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature" for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, Policy and Program Studies Service. This literature review of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct responds to the mandate in Section 5414 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, to conduct a study of sexual abuse in U.S. schools. To satisfy this mandate, the Department of Education contracted with Dr. Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University. Using existing available research, her literature review describes, among other topics: prevalence of educator sexual misconduct, offender characteristics, targets of educator sexual misconduct, and recommendations for prevention of educator sexual misconduct. Shakeshaft also offers several new recommendations that may be worth consideration, though they may present tensions with existing laws.

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Report on Gender, Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Launched

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has recently published "Gender, Minorities and Indigenous Peoples," a report examining the intersection of gender, minority, and indigenous status. MRG argues that while it is generally acknowledged that women suffer discrimination, women who are also members of minority or indigenous communities are particularly marginalized. Like male members of minority and indigenous communities, they lack access to political power and face discrimination in their access to services and rights. However, as women they face these problems and more.

The aim of this report is to encourage those working on minority and indigenous peoples' rights to consider the issues from a gender perspective, and to encourage those working on gender equality and women's rights to include minorities and indigenous peoples within their remit.

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New Funding Opportunities Announced
12 August 2004

IHRD Call for Proposals: Sex Work Advocacy Programs

The International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD) invites applications for funding of policy and advocacy activities to advance harm reduction efforts for sex workers in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The goal of this new funding initiative will be to change environments affecting the health and rights of sex workers.

All organizations are invited to apply to IHRD for funding, including sex worker advocacy groups, human rights organizations, legal service providers, harm reduction providers and others. Funding can be used for a 12-month project or for a one-time activity or outcome. IHRD welcomes proposals for innovative projects and activities. From this application process, IHRD hopes to fund approximately 10 projects in late 2004. All funded projects will be eligible for on-going training and technical assistance.

The application deadline is September 10, 2004. For more information, click here.

CPS Announces International Policy Fellowships

The Central European University Center for Policy Studies (CPS) is calling for proposals for its year 2005-2006 International Policy Fellowships (IPF) program, which is affiliated with the CPS and the Open Society Institute-Budapest. Broadly speaking, an open society is characterized by a reliance on the rule of law, the existence of a democratically elected government, a diverse and vigorous civil society, and respect for minorities and minority opinions.

The CPS International Policy Fellowships are intended to support the analytical policy research of open society leaders and connect these Fellows with professional policy networks and opportunities. The program aims to improve the quality of analysis in countries where the Soros foundations network by ensuring that these leaders are able to conduct research in their home region while maintaining local affiliations and a high degree of mobility and intellectual freedom. The product of each fellowship will be a detailed analysis of a major issue to be published in English and translated into other languages.

Fellows will be provided with a one-year stipend, research-related expenses including travel, needed communications equipment, publication costs, etc. to work full-time on research of their design in one of the above areas. The amount of the award will vary depending on standards in the Fellow's country of residence and the budgetary needs of the proposal. Online applications are due September 15, 2004. For more details and information on how to apply, click here.

WSIS Gender Caucus Announces Small Research Grants

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Gender Caucus is launching a program of small grants to support innovative research on gender and information communication technologies (ICTs) during 2004-2005. It is anticipated that there will be two rounds of calls for proposals and that the supported research will be completed in time to be presented on Gender Caucus panels at the second World Summit on the Information Society scheduled to be held in November 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia. The overall objective of the research program is to enlarge the knowledge base for gender-sensitive policy on ICTs. Projects, which can be related to activities anywhere in the world, are expected to fall into one of three general areas: documentation, analysis and evaluation of efforts to mainstream gender into ICT policy; applications and content; and theories and methodologies. To be considered for the first round of research grants, interested parties should submit their proposals by 15 August 2004 to research@genderwsis.org. Click here for more information.

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IHRD Call for Proposals: Sex Work Advocacy Programs

The International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD) invites applications for funding of policy and advocacy activities to advance harm reduction efforts for sex workers in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The goal of this new funding initiative will be to change environments affecting the health and rights of sex workers.

All organizations are invited to apply to IHRD for funding, including sex worker advocacy groups, human rights organizations, legal service providers, harm reduction providers and others. Funding can be used for a 12-month project or for a one-time activity or outcome. IHRD welcomes proposals for innovative projects and activities. From this application process, IHRD hopes to fund approximately 10 projects in late 2004. All funded projects will be eligible for on-going training and technical assistance.

The application deadline is September 10, 2004. For more information, click here.

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CPS Announces International Policy Fellowships

The Central European University Center for Policy Studies (CPS) is calling for proposals for its year 2005-2006 International Policy Fellowships (IPF) program, which is affiliated with the CPS and the Open Society Institute-Budapest. Broadly speaking, an open society is characterized by a reliance on the rule of law, the existence of a democratically elected government, a diverse and vigorous civil society, and respect for minorities and minority opinions.

The CPS International Policy Fellowships are intended to support the analytical policy research of open society leaders and connect these Fellows with professional policy networks and opportunities. The program aims to improve the quality of analysis in countries where the Soros foundations network by ensuring that these leaders are able to conduct research in their home region while maintaining local affiliations and a high degree of mobility and intellectual freedom. The product of each fellowship will be a detailed analysis of a major issue to be published in English and translated into other languages.

Fellows will be provided with a one-year stipend, research-related expenses including travel, needed communications equipment, publication costs, etc. to work full-time on research of their design in one of the above areas. The amount of the award will vary depending on standards in the Fellow's country of residence and the budgetary needs of the proposal. Online applications are due September 15, 2004. For more details and information on how to apply, click here.

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WSIS Gender Caucus Announces Small Research Grants

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Gender Caucus is launching a program of small grants to support innovative research on gender and information communication technologies (ICTs) during 2004-2005. It is anticipated that there will be two rounds of calls for proposals and that the supported research will be completed in time to be presented on Gender Caucus panels at the second World Summit on the Information Society scheduled to be held in November 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia. The overall objective of the research program is to enlarge the knowledge base for gender-sensitive policy on ICTs. Projects, which can be related to activities anywhere in the world, are expected to fall into one of three general areas: documentation, analysis and evaluation of efforts to mainstream gender into ICT policy; applications and content; and theories and methodologies. To be considered for the first round of research grants, interested parties should submit their proposals by 15 August 2004 to research@genderwsis.org. Click here for more information.

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Amnesty International To Release Report on Human Rights Concerns in Georgia
13 August 2004

As part of its ongoing series of reports on "Concerns in Europe and Central Asia, January," Amnesty International has released extracts of its upcoming 2004 version, which details its ongoing human rights concerns in Georgia.

Specifically, it documents incidences of excessive police force, torture and ill-treatment in police custody, implied persecution of religious minorities, and vague mechanisms of accountability. Anyone wishing further information on other Amnesty International concerns in Europe and Central Asia should consult the full document, which is scheduled to be released in full in September 2004. The extract on Georgia is available here.

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ABA/CEELI Releases Social Advocates Training Manual
18 August 2004

In 1996, the Moscow office of the American Bar Association Central and European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA CEELI) established the Gender Justice Program in recognition of the fact that promotion of the rule of law in Russia must also include improving the legal status of women. Since then, CEELI has recognized that the lack of legal solutions to the problem of domestic violence is an area of critical concern in Russia and has carried out a number of projects which attempt to improve this situation.

The "Social Advocates" program is one of the most successful of these projects. It aims to increase the basic knowledge of local partner nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), activists, law enforcement, the judiciary and other government officials about the problem of domestic violence as well as other issues that disproportionately affect women in Russia. The program itself consists of a series of trainings, the goal of which is to create a group of advocates who are equipped with the fundamental legal skills and knowledge necessary to provide competent legal aid and effective advocacy for Russian women when the services of professional paid attorneys are unavailable.

Over the years, the Social Advocates program has become well-known throughout Russia and in other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). After receiving requests for basic information about the history, design and content of the Social Advocates training, the Gender Justice Program decided to create a simple resource containing the essential elements of the program.

This manual (in Russian with the introduction translated into English) contains a basic introduction to the program, templates to each of the core subjects taught to the Social Advocates, written by the trainers, as well as sample materials referred to in the text. It is intended as a guide to those who wish to learn more about CEELI's Social Advocates program and to as a tool to adapt the program to their own needs.

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UNDP and UNIFEM Release New Report on Gender and Information and Communication Technologies
20 August 2004

UNDP Regional Centre for Europe and the CIS and UNIFEM Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have announced the release of a new report, "Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: A Regional Report on Gender and Information and Communication Technologies in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States" (PDF, 128 pages). The report examines the gender dimensions within Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and stresses the need to address gender inequality in terms of access to and participation in ICTs in the region. It also highlights the importance of ICTs as a mechanism to promote gender equality.

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Book Highlights Human Trafficking Problem in Tajikistan
20 August 2004

Karim Soliev, a staff member at the academy of Tajikistan's Interior Ministry, presented a book on 19 August with practical recommendations for fighting human trafficking in Tajikistan, Avesta reported. He noted that the Interior Ministry's Department for Fighting Racketeering, Kidnapping, and Human Trafficking has opened 14 criminal cases since its creation on 28 April. Frederick Chenais, who heads the International Migration Organization's mission in Tajikistan, told attendees at the book presentation that human trafficking is an increasingly serious problem in Tajikistan and Central Asia. According to Chenais, burgeoning labor migration provides fertile ground for human traffickers. He said, "Criminal groups are taking advantage of this and luring gullible people, especially women, into their network." DK

Cited from:

Book Highlights Human Trafficking Problem in Tajikistan, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, 20 August 2004. Copyright (c) 2004. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

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New Resources Available for Child Welfare Workers in Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Cases
24 August 2004

Two recent publications from the Family Violence Prevention Fund are designed to assist caseworkers in helping families dealing with both child abuse and domestic violence. Family Team Conferences in Domestic Violence Cases: Guidelines for Practice provides guidelines for child welfare workers on the appropriate use of Family Team Conferencing, an emerging tool involving family and community members as well as other service providers in deciding how best to protect children facing abuse.

Accountability and Connection with Abusive Men gives caseworkers concrete information about abusers in general, and about sensitive issues of race, class, culture and ethnicity in domestic violence situations. It is designed to enable caseworkers to better understand and connect with abusers, to hold them accountable for their actions, and to thereby improve the child welfare system’s response to families experiencing domestic violence and child abuse. Esta Soler, FVPF President, noted that “(m)any families that experience child abuse also experience domestic violence. But we haven’t done enough to support families facing multiple forms of family violence. As a result, these families often have enormous difficulty getting the services they need. These tools can make a real difference in ensuring that Family Team Conferences are used appropriately, and in finding ways to provide both sanctions and support to abusive men.” (Cited from Family Violence Prevention Fund News Flash, 19 August 2004) 

Both resources are available on the FVPF’s website here.

(Compiled from Family Violence Prevention Fund News Flash, 19 August 2004, complete text here.)

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Sex Worker Harm Reduction Initiative – Policy and Advocacy Funding Opportunity
24 August 2004

The International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD) invites applications for funding of policy and advocacy activities to advance harm reduction efforts for sex workers in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The goal of this new funding initiative will be to change environments affecting the health and rights of sex workers.

All organizations are invited to apply to IHRD for funding, including sex worker advocacy groups, human rights organizations, legal service providers, harm reduction providers and others. Funding can be used for a 12-month project or for a one-time activity or outcome. IHRD welcomes proposals for innovative projects and activities. From this application process, IHRD hopes to fund approximately 10 projects in late 2004. All funded projects will be eligible for on-going training and technical assistance.

The application deadline is September 10, 2004. Please see the attached application form at the bottom of this page for complete instructions on how to apply.

Background Information

Beginning in late 2000, IHRD began funding sex worker harm reduction projects in 11 countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This IHRD funding initiative was established in recognition of the vulnerability of sex workers to the potential harms related to drug use and HIV. From 2000 to 2004, IHRD succeeded in supporting many organizations to initiate and pilot new service projects that linked, for the first time, harm reduction services to the needs of sex workers.

During this time, projects funded by IHRD reported that many sex workers, particularly those injecting drugs, working on the street, and working alone, continue to face significant risks. Projects recommended that IHRD support policy and advocacy efforts, such as:

• documentation of sex work population risks in terms of health, violence, discrimination and poverty, and development of policy analyses and recommendations to reduce these risks;
• education and training of sex workers, health providers, police and militia, government officials, media, and community members about current and potential policy changes to reduce stigma and discrimination and to create a more welcoming environment for sex worker policy initiatives;
• changes in policy and practice through legislation, litigation, and other legal means, to ensure that the civil and human rights of sex workers are respected and upheld;
• and mobilizing alliances of communities and organizations, especially those alliances involving vulnerable populations of sex workers, drug users, and people living with HIV/AIDS, so that these populations will be empowered to advocate for their needs as a cohesive group.  

For more information and application documents please click here.

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New GEM Website
2 September 2004

GEM (Gender Evaluation Methodology) has a new, more easily navigable web site. The new site features: a revised GEM Tool and the new GEM Practitioners Network. The website will enable you to find GEM Testers' evaluation reports, including an evaluation of Karat News. The new site also includes the section, Understanding GEM, in which you will find GEM's conceptual documents.

For more information:  http://www.apcwomen.org/gem/practitioners/reports.shtm

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Karat Launches Two New Websites Dedicated to Women in the Labor Market
2 September 2004

Karat Coalition has launched two new websites, www.womenslabour.org and www.kobietypraca.org. www.womenslabour.org is in English and focuses on the link between the position of CEE women in labor and the enlargement of the European Union. It aims to serve gender-focused NGO's, as well as individuals. www.kobietypraca.org is in Polish and provides information about women in Poland's labor market while focusing on the adoption of Polish policies to the European Union employment strategy standards.

For more information, please see the EU Enlargement section of this website.

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New Publication on Croatia
2 September 2004

A new book about the use of the Internet by women within Croatian society has been published. "Women & Internet: Croatian Perspective" by Kristina Mihalec and Nevenka Sudar, 2004 (ISBN 953-6967-08-1) explores different analytical perspectives on the subject and links the analysis with the lives of women in Croatia and South Eastern Europe. The main objective of the book is to contribute, from a regional level, to the discourse on women and ICTs, as well as the identification of problems and creation of solutions from a local perspective.

Compiled from: Kristina Mihalec, Women's Information Technology Transfer, 19 July 2004.

For more information, please visit the Croatia section of this website.

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Sexual Violence Research Initiative
14 September 2004

In response to the lack of reliable data regarding the magnitude, health impacts and risk factors of sexual violence (particularly from developing and middle income countries), the Sexual Violence Research Initiative has been launched. The SVRI is funded by the Global Forum for Health Research and hosted by the the World Health Organization (WHO). The initiative aims to form a network of researchers, policy makers, activists and donors who will cooperate and work towards the goal of addressing the many aspects of sexual violence. The primary objective of the SVRI is to reduce and respond to sexual violence through the promotion and dissemination of action-oriented research. For more information, visit www.who.int

Compiled from: The Network of East-West Women-Polska/NEWW

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UN-NGLS New Millennium Development Goals Internet Portal
14 September 2004

The United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service has a new Millenium Goals Internet Portal. The portal provides access to information on MDG Basics, United Nations, Civil Society, and Country-Regional Action, connects you to tools, links and listservs and a calendar of events, and allows visitors to make suggestions.

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Online Discussion Regarding Beijing Platform for Action
29 October 2004

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will undertake a Review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) and of the outcome document of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000) during its forty-ninth session from 28 February to 11 March 2005.

From 11 October 2004 to January 2005, WomenWatch, the website of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), is hosting a series of online discussions on the critical areas of concern on the Platform for Action and other important issues to provide input into the review and appraisal. The discussions will be facilitated and moderated by UN entities that are members of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality. The discussions can be accessed at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/forums/review/.

A summary of the discussions will be available at the CSW in February 2005 and posted on WomenWatch.

Cited from: United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS)

For more information, please visit the International Law: Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action section of this website.

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New Website Available on Gender Equality
28 October 2004

A new website, Siyanda, has been launched, which focuses on the goal of mainstreaming gender equality. An online database providing gender and development materials, Siyanda also has an interactive section allowing gender practitioners to share resources, ideas, and experiences.

For more information, please visit the Research Gateway section of this website.

Call for Papers by the Essex Human Rights Review

The Essex Human Rights Review (EHRR) is now accepting submissions for its December 2004 issue.

EHRR welcomes articles, book reviews and other contributions on contemporary human rights issues, primarily (but not exclusively) in the areas of law, political science, sociology, and philosophy, covering both the academic and the practical aspects of human rights. For our next issue, we would particularly welcome submissions that focus on the following topics:

• Implementing the Right to Health
• From the Rules of War to the Rule of Law? Iraq at the Crossroads
• The Rule of Law in Central Asia and Former Soviet Union

All submissions should be in English. The contributions must be original, previously unpublished material. Submissions must not already be under consideration for any other publication. The length of submissions should not exceed 8,000 words for articles and 3,000 words for other items (e.g. book/conference reviews), including footnotes.

Submissions exceeding the word limit will be considered only in exceptional circumstances. The initial appraisal of all submissions will be carried out on an anonymous basis; the final decision on the publication of a paper rests with the EHRR's Editorial Board.

Please e-mail your submissions in Microsoft Word format, together with full contact details, to: ehrr@essex.ac.uk, by 1 November 2004. The subject line of your e-mail should include the title of your article.

All submissions have to follow the EHRR style sheet, available on our website, or else they will not be considered for publication.

Visit the Essex Human Rights Review websites: http://projects.essex.ac.uk/ehrr/ http://www.ehrr.org.uk

Cited from and with the permission of the Essex Human Rights Review.

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Amnesty International Releases Report on Mass Rape in DRC
Amnesty International has produced a report describing the systematic rape and torture of women, children and men in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where over twenty groups have been fighting for control over the land and its resources. The report documents that survivors of such violence lack effective access to adequate medical care and calls on the Government of the DRC and the international community to prioritize the rehabilitation of the health care system in the country.

View the full report here.

Compiled from:  "Democratic Republic of Congo: Mass rape leaves a public health crisis." News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, AI Index: AFR 62/02/2004, 26 October 2004.

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A Call for Contributions: Building Feminist Movements and Organizations
21 October 2004

AWID is gathering insights into feminist organizational strengthening and movement building that we intend to share with AWID members and others around the world. What processes make a strong women’s organization? How can we move beyond our fragmented feminist and women’s movements?

This is a call to acknowledge the diversity and wealth within women’s organizations and movements and to share our hard-won experiences, our knowledge and our best practices. We are seeking essays and case studies from all regions of the world. Those that are selected will receive an honorarium of $1000 USD to be used towards organizational strengthening activities. Selected contributions will also be published by AWID and highlighted at the 10th International AWID Forum on Women’s Rights in Development, October 27-30, 2005, in Bangkok, Thailand

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Priorities Across Borders: A Global Front Against Genital Cutting
21 October 2004

This article is reprinted from and with permission from the UN Wire / UN Foundation.

It may seem hard to believe now, but a decade ago in Cairo, as nations met to redefine population policy by putting women and their rights to good reproductive health care at the center of the debate, the question of how to deal with female genital mutilation was a very delicate one. There were both African women and women from Europe and North America who thought that it was not the business of outsiders to condemn a cultural tradition they did not understand.

Ten years later, the climate has changed completely, and African women –and men – have led the way. Across the continent now the practice of genital cutting -- usually slicing off the clitoris of a little girl and sometimes other external genital organs – is being not only condemned widely but also outlawed in some nations. This is not to say that the brutal ritual is not still practiced widely, because it is. But the tide has turned irreversibly against this tradition, however long it may take from place to place to put an end to it.

In two nations – Ghana and Egypt – I met recently with people who have led the battle against FGM, as most people have come to call the practice. How they built their campaigns, taking care to frame the cause within the context of their own cultures, is instructive. Similar stories are being played out in other African countries.

Significantly, women from the global South and North have now found common cause and common ground to discuss the issue without misunderstanding or rancor bred of insensitivity. FGM has begun to appear in industrial countries too, brought by immigrants from Africa, though this is not the primary reason for more North-South partnership. Donor governments have begun to respond. In mid-2004, Italy gave Unicef 1.8 million euros to help in saving girls from the practice. Joint work on the FGM issue reflects a larger, positive trend. That is, that when women can unite across and within cultures to focus tightly on an issue of this magnitude, they can effect real change, and often with the minimum of resources. The experience suggests that women could organize a similarly effective campaign against the spread of HIV-AIDS, which is now a woman’s disease in Africa and parts of Asia.

In Ghana, where FGM was categorically outlawed in 1994, a leading organization in the continuing battle to see the law enforced is the Ghana Association for Women’s Welfare, a nongovernmental organization operating with great dedication out of a room and a half of space in the compound of the Ghana National Commission on Children. GAWW is part of the Inter-African Committee, which has been campaigning since 1984 to eradicate what it calls “negative traditional practices affecting the health of women and children.”

At the GAWW headquarters, Florence Ali, the program director and acting president, and Clare Bandeng-Yakubu and Osman Chilala, who are volunteers, talked about the reasons women give for having girls’ genitals – the clitoris and in many cases the labia – cut off. Although Muslim religious leaders have joined the campaign to teach families that this practice has nothing to do with Islam, FGM is still pervasive in the country’s northern regions, along the border with Burkino Faso, where Muslims predominate.

In those border regions, where the incidence of genital cutting is thought to be as high as 79 percent among girls, people say that an uncircumcised woman cannot perform the ablutions required for worship. There are other myths -- that an uncut clitoris will grow longer and longer, resembling a penis, that a child will go mad if left uncircumcised and, most tragic, that a baby doesn’t feel pain. Girls who are spared in babyhood are likely to be cut between the ages of 6 and 12, the GAWW experts said.

GAWW has matched its extensive community education work with tougher actions, enlisting local police officers to arrest women performing the ritual, for example. School health teachers are asked for assistance in spreading the message that the practice is unsafe and unnecessary, as are traditional chiefs, district politicians and children, who are helped to form clubs against FGM. Brochures with gory illustrations are distributed widely, as is a very useful book of questions and answers about FGM. Publications remind Ghanaians that FGM is a criminal offense punishable by a minimum of three years in prison.

If anti-FGM campaigners in Ghana see their first challenge now as spreading education and getting a good law enforced, women in Egypt are still in a more tenuous place.

In Cairo, I went to see Marie Assad, a social scientist who has worked for decades against the practice of genital cutting in Egypt, were a staggering 90 percent or more of women have endured the practice in girlhood. Assad said that the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which fired up strong NGO activity in the country, also fueled the first public discussion of genital mutilation. Around the time of the conference, CNN made a graphic, pathbreaking film about the practice in Egypt, as local women’s groups were preparing a conference workshop on the issue.

“What helped us all was that CNN film,” Assad said. “It created such a shock in the country that for the first time the practice was discussed.” After the conference, 50 people turned up for an informal brainstorming session and decided to launch a public campaign. They were backed by several American organizations and UNFPA. the United Nations Population Fund.

“It took us five years, in discussions and writing papers,” Assad said. “We found out we had to produce credible information, and that we had to listen to the people who do the practice. The big decision we made from the very beginning is that we are saying No to any form of the operation when we are talking to the women. We don’t call it ‘purification.’ We call the devil by its name.”

She added that the goal was to put FGM on every agenda involving women as a harmful practice. By 1995, they had organized a meeting within the ministry of health, the beginning of a sometimes up-and-down partnership with government. In that same year, a national demographic and health survey added a question on FGM prevalence. “This was the second shock,” Assad said. “The result came that regardless of education, regardless of class, there was 97 percent prevalency.”

The campaign soon got a significant boost when Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of President Hosni Mubarak, took up the cause. “She had the courage to put it on the agenda,” Assad said, adding that the president’s wife had to be careful “because it became a political issue and a religious controversy.”

Assad said researchers knew the practice predated Islam, but have yet to discover where it originated and how it took root so firmly in Egypt. Over the centuries women, believing the ritual be connected with marriagebility and chastity, became its most fervent advocates.

“Women in the Middle East are the custodians of culture,” Assad said. “So it’s their duty, even if it is painful. They suffer in silence.” As a shifting strategy to meet this reality, she said, the campaign does not seek to condemn women but to inform them, from the grassroots up, about the harm caused by FGM , and by staying silent in the face of its widespread persistence.

In order not to humiliate women untutored in the understanding of the clitoris and its role in sexuality, Assad said, she has adopted a posture of some penance. “We who are educated, because we knew better, we protected our daughters,” she said, and now “we are sharing this knowledge now because we robbed you of the right of knowledge.”

The advocates of ending genital cutting have been backed by some Islamic scholars and a ban has been upheld in the highest court. But the health ministry made what Assad sees as a bad compromise. Genital cutting is forbidden in law unless medically necessary, and this has allowed doctors too much leeway, she said. Who is to say that this practice is needed at all? The battle goes on.

Suzanne Mubarak continues to address the issue through the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood, which she chairs. Around the country, villages are preparing concept papers for further action, helped by the development office of the Coptic Church and the United Nations Development Program. Assad said that progress at village level has been heartening. “we are now working in 60 villages with Christian and Muslim NGOs and the government,” she said.

Hala El Damanhoury, an obstetrician now working full time at the New Women Research Center in Cairo, has learned that, as in other developing countries, a woman’s knowledge of how her body works may be extremely low or nonexistent. What most children in richer countries learn quite early in schools, children, especially girls, in many poor countries are never taught. A dearth of frank discussion in the media about sexuality leaves many young women unaware, for example, of what an orgasm means, and how that sensation is lost in genital cutting. If you can’t read, even what published information exists is out of reach.

“The main problem with women in Egypt is illiteracy, “ said El Damanhoury. “The second problem is health awareness. Women needs skills to increase their incomes and afford to find medical services. Then there is the availability of doctors who will perform services for women, which is very low. You can find doctors who will do genital cutting but not abortion, for example. Even women doctors don’t always help.

“The empowerment of women, the teaching of women, should be the main goals in this country,” she said. “After that, you can do anything you want.”

As for genital mutilation, Marie Assad feels a sense of confidence that the while it may take a very long time to end the practice, there will be no turning back now that basic knowledge in beginning to spread in rural villages and urban neighborhoods.

“We are at the right moment for bringing the issue to the forefront,” she said. “How far we go – that’s a different story.”

Cited from: Priorities Across Borders, A global front against genital cutting, Barbara Crossette, Media Center, UN Foundation, 2004.

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Priorities Across Borders: For Many Women Violence Shuts out Hope
21 October 2004

This article is reprinted from and with permission from the UN Wire / UN Foundation.

In Brazil, a video is making the rounds starring some well known comic actors with a message that’s no laughing matter. Their faces also appear on posters. Their pitch: “Violence against women isn’t funny.” Family planning is fine. Good health care for women is fine. But these services can mean nothing to women who may be abused for trying to use them and who live in fear of violence from not only an intimate partner – a husband or boyfriend – but also a pimp or a male relative.

As the crucial importance to national development of birth control and good reproductive healthcare for women sink into the thinking of governments and societies around the world, attention is turning in many places to the men who buck the trend. They may be individuals prone to domination and violence in any culture, or they may be boys and men who grow up in milieus casually demeaning of women. Call them macho or misogynist or just uneducated about the place of women in the contemporary world and in all major religions, where beliefs may have been warped by militants. Whatever the source, the behavior it is being tackled in the developing world with new organizations and some redirection in older institutions such as churches, mosques, the schools, parliaments and the courts.

The national campaign to stop violence being launched this year in Brazil is a joint effort by men’s organizations and feminist groups – not always friendly partners in the past – backed by Ecos, a research organization in gender and sexuality.

“We’re actually talking about a movement, not a campaign,” said Bendito Medrado of the Program in Support of the Father, or Papai in Portuguese, which means “Dad.” Papai is based in the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, one of two areas where women say a machismo culture still defines a male image. The other region is in the south, where a cowboy tradition and conservative social mentality come together to the detriment of women. Medrado was among a group gathered one Saturday in May at in the small boardroom at Ecos headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, to strategize the next moves in the anti-violence drive. He and others were pleased that Brazil seemed ready for this movement and was already ahead of most of Latin America in serious work on other women’s issues.

With a considerable amount of equality written into Brazil’s 1988 constitution and new family laws that give women broad rights, Brazilians were focused reducing on domestic violence by the early 1990s, said Jacqueline Pitangui, a former president of Brazil’s National Council on Women”s Rights and a leader on gender issues for several decades. “Brazil got domestic violence included as a human rights issue at the Vienna conference on human rights in 1993,” she said. Within the country, the government has created centers for women who are victims of sexual violence, she said.

In Sao Paulo, Sandra Unbehaum, the director of Ecos, said that the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing the following year produced “a real comprehension of what women’s issues mean.” In Brazil, the results of these conferences only underscored what strong local feminist organizations had already been demanding, with considerable success. “Those international conferences were turning points,” Unbehaum said. Brazil’s 1997 family planning law, which opened the way for a range of previously forbidden procedures, including sterilization, was a direct outcome of Cairo, Pitangui told me.

“Brazil seized the Cairo and Beijing agendas right away,” Medrado said. “Men should support women.” Papai has extended that mandate to a sustained effort to stop violence against women,a fundamental and crippling violation of their rights. Medrado, a social psychologist, and others are also researching and writing about men and masculinity to better understand the roots of their behavior and the cultural factors (including the role of media) that may reinforce it.

In Ghana, Fred Sai, a former adviser to the World Bank on public health and a founder of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, says that the unequal position of women that makes them vulnerable to abuse may start with early marriage, which weakens a girl’s heath and denies her education and a chance of employment early in life. According to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, projections for the 2000-2005 period, Ghana has a fertility rate of 78.2 per thousand for women between the ages of 15 and 20. That is more than double the rate in Egypt and higher than Brazil. For comparison, the figure is about 17 per thousand in the Czech Republic “The threat of violence ensures that women will defer to and comply with men’s decisions about sexual behavior and contraceptive use,” Sai wrote in Adam and Eve and the Serpent, a book based on a series of lectures he gave at the University of Ghana in 1994. This may be reinforced, he said, by a legal requirement that a woman have spousal consent for family planning.

“And sadly, violence by only a few men may be sufficient to keep many women in fear,” he said. “If one woman in a village is beaten by her husband for using contraception, many other women may become reluctant to raise the subject in their own homes.”

Sai is also concerned that the trokosi system, under which a pre-pubescent girl is given to a local deity to atone for a sin committed by someone in her family, institutionalizes abuse of women because the girl is often forced to serve as a sexual slave to the priest in charge of the deity’s shrine.

In 1998, trokosi was outlawed, but still persists in some areas. Ghana’s National Population Council, which has made a survey of the places where it exists, is demanding that the government enforce the law, monitor shrines and seek a culturally effective way to replace the system – with, for example, the offer of an animal or other gift -- and not a girl -- to a deity.

In every country where AIDS is a threat, there is concern that the rapid spread among women of the virus that causes it can be linked in numerous cases to the women’s inability to protect herself because of the possibility of abuse.

A study in South Africa found in 2004 that women who were beaten by male partners are significantly more likely to become infected with the virus that causes AIDS than women who do not report violence. The study, whose findings were published by the British medical journal The Lancet, concluded that women who face violence were 48 percent more likely to be infected. If the women were also financially dependent or dominated emotionally by a partner, the figure rose as high as 52 percent.

The assumption drawn from the study was that men who abused women also imposed risky sexual practices on their partners or forbade women from introducing protective measures, such as the regular use of condoms. The abuse of woman and girls is a reality in both developing and industrialized countries. Sex trafficking, for example, often brings girls still in their teens from poor countries to richer ones, where young virgins fetch a premium price in the sex trade. In several countries on several continents I have listened as health officials described treating little girls as young as three who had been sexually violated, often within their extended families. Young boys are also victims of the international sex trade or of abuses closer to home.

In Ghana, Richard Turkson, the executive director of the National Population Council, said that in stopping the spread of AIDS by men through casual sex, which brings the infection home to monogamous wives, “The problem that we are facing now is behavior change.” He said that the council has hired a consultant to look for new strategies. “Behavior change is incredibly slow,” Turkson said. “We are wondering whether the message and the material that we have are appropriate.”

Internationally, violence against women has become a debilitating part of refugee life and the fallout of vicious civil wars that kill many more civilians than combatants. Several United Nations agencies, including the UNFPA, Unicef, the World Health Organization and the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees have waged a difficult battle to make women’s reproductive health, including the provision of emergency contraceptives (the“morning after” pill) for rape victims an integral part of relief work.

The United Nations peacekeeping department has also been forced by anti-trafficking advocates to face the ugly reality that its peacekeeping missions become magnets for prostitution and sometimes centers of trafficking. In Liberia, for example, young women from Morocco and eastern Europe have been found in brothels and clubs around troop bases. In East Timor, there were Thai prostitutes.

Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Security Council – prodded by advocates for women’s rights inside and outside the organization – have ordered peacekeeping officials to stop these practices and to incorporate experts in human rights and women’s issues among mission staffs. Reports from the field say progress has not been very good in most places. This sets a tragic example in devastated countries hoping to rebuild.

When the new International Criminal Court was established by a conference attended by a majority of U.N. member nations, it was able to enshrine sex abuse as a war crime, building on groundbreaking work done in ad hoc war tribunals set up in the 1990s for the Balkans and Rwanda, which convicted men for crimes against women . It may take a long time to completely erase the notion that “boys will be boys.” But those who harbor such ideas can longer act on them with impunity without the possibility – even if still remote in too many cases – that they will some day pay the price with a criminal conviction.

Cited from:  Priorities Across Borders, For many women, violence shuts out hope, Barbara Crossette, Media Center, UN Foundation, 2004