Since the fall of communism in 1989, pornographic and sexually explicit ads have problematically bombarded the Czech Republic on billboards, metro advertisements and magazines. Beth Lazroe, a Prague-based American photographer, was inspired to draw attention to the problem by Czech friends who complained of the prevalence of such advertisement in the city. Her exhibition, “In Our Faces: Visual Assault on the Streets of Prague,” is composed of 50 large-scale photographs of sexually explicit and degrading advertising which opened in early September in Prague City Hall, Old Town Square. It is a response to the degradation suffered by women, men and children who encounter the use of the human body as a sexual advertising tool.

Lazroe’s exhibit opened in conjunction with a September 8th conference attended by representatives from governmental and non-governmental agencies, organizations and the public. In the exhibition Lazroe’s two major objectives were: to provide a greater awareness regarding the impact of gender-based advertising; and, to stimulate discussion of the connections between the use of degrading images and the rise of domestic violence, dangerous lifestyles and trafficking in women.

Prague authorities are taking this problem very seriously and Miroslav Skelnar, vice director of Prague City Hall notes the exhibition proves an awareness of the problem which is a start toward resolution.

Compiled from:

"Czech Exhibit Show Ads That Degrade Women," Dinah Spritzer, http://www.womensenews.org/, September 26, 2005.

"In Our Faces: Visual Assault on the Streets of Prague." http://www.inourfaces.cz

ASTANA, 21 September 2005 - Developing a national action plan to combat human trafficking in Kazakhstan was the focus of an OSCE-organized meeting which brought together representatives of different ministries and non-governmental organizations, as well as international experts.

The two-day event in Borovoe was organized by the OSCE Centre in Almaty, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan.

"Kazakhstan has made considerable progress in addressing the issue of trafficking in human beings," said Ambassador Ivar Vikki, Head of the OSCE Centre. "Our office stands ready to support Kazakhstan's endeavors in this sphere."

Sabyrzhan Bekbosunov, Vice-Minister of Justice underlined the importance of co-ordination between the Government, international and NGOs working in this field.

"We appreciate that the OSCE-organized meeting elaborated recommendations to our national action plan on combating trafficking in human beings," he said.

Participants discussed the preliminary findings of research on human trafficking in Kazakhstan, and national mechanisms for its prevention. The research was undertaken within the framework of OSCE Centre's anti-trafficking activities, which are jointly implemented with the Ministry of Justice and OSCE/ODIHR

For more information please visit http://www.osce.org/item/16305.html or contact:
Madina Bakieva
National Political and Media Co-ordinator

67 Tole Bi
480091 Almaty
Kazakhstan
Tel: +7-3272 79 37 62
Fax: +7 3272 79 43 88
Madina.Bakieva@osce.org

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently released a new document entitled "Addressing violence against women and achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDG's)."  The document addresses the interconnections between violence against women and each of the eight MDG's recognized in the Millennium Declaration of September 2000, in which the General Assembly of the United Nations resolved “to combat all forms of violence against women and to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.”

The document focuses on the connections between the MDG's and prevention of violence against women. It first describes how working towards the MDGs will reduce violence against women.  Second the document concludes preventing violence against women will contribute to achieving the MDG's.  It addresses several audiences:

• politicians and other leaders who wish to take action in the area of violence against women;
• decision-makers and policy specialists working in development, public health, legal reform, social policy and other relevant fields;
• advocacy groups working to raise the profile of violence against women as well as related issues of gender equality and women's empowerment; and
• program and policy staff in donor organizations, development and aid agencies.

The document begins with a discussion of gender and development in the context of the MDGs, and a short overview of violence against women. The main body of the document discusses specific MDGs and their links with the prevalence and prevention of violence against women. The final section has an emphasis on actions needed to move forward.

Compiled from: http://www.who.int/gender/documents/newpublications/en/

To view the full report see:  http://www.who.int/gender/documents/MDGs&VAWSept05.pdf

This year Russia tried a landmark case concerning a woman’s right to self-defense.  On December 8, 2003, Alexandra Ivannikova, 29, hailed a car for a ride home.  The driver, Sergei Bagdasaryan,23, agreed to drive Ivannikova for an arranged fee.  On the ride home Bagdasaryan passed Ivannikova’s house and pulled into a dark side street.  Bagdasaryan stopped the car, locked the doors, and demanded that Ivannikova perform oral sex on him.  Bagdasaryan took off his pants and his underwear.  Ivannikova responded by reaching into her purse for a kitchen knife and stabbed Bagdasaryan in the thigh, puncturing his femoral artery.  Ivannikova got out of the car and ran.  Ivannikova informed a police officer of what had occurred.  When the police reached the scene Bagdasaryan was dead, having bled to death.

At the trial, Ivannikova’s defense attorney pleaded momentary insanity and self defense.  Despite acknowledging the attempted rape, the court found Ivannikova guilty of murder.  Ivannikova received a two year suspended sentence and was ordered to pay Bagdasaryan’s family over $7,000. 

The case drew both national and international attention.  The public responded with an outcry that Ivannikova acted in self-defense and does not deserve her sentence.  A week later, uncharacteristically, the City Prosecutor requested for the court to overturn the verdict, changing it to “no crime was committed.”  The prosecutions support for Ivannikova’s response demonstrates a shift in Russian law regarding use of self-defense.  Late last year Russian legislature abandoned a long practiced policy of “adequate response.”  Under adequate response a victim could only respond with force equal to or less than that of the perpetrator.  The past practice would leave a rape victim optionless. 

The charges against Ivannikova have been repealed.  Her case represents a positive step toward the empowerment of women.

Compiled From: 

http://www.neww.org.pl/en.php/news/news/1.html?&nw=1585&re=2

The Network of East-West Women-Polska/NEWW, accessed 09/19/05. 

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/06/02/rapesentence.shtml

The Mos News, accessed 09/22/05.

http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/96/383/15550_rape.html

Pravda, accessed 09/22/05.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/19/MNGISDB11S1.DTL&type=printable

SFGate, accessed 09/22/05.

In an attempt to provide a centralized holistic approach to victims of domestic violence by moving many county services under one roof, the Family Justice Center in Oakland, California opened in late August 2005.  The Oakland center will provide access to 25 agencies, 60 on-site community partners and six court services. The center is a part of a United States federal pilot project announced by President Bush in 2003. This project is part of a recent national effort to improve the response to victims of domestic violence. It was modeled after the San Diego Family Justice Center that has served thousands since it opened in 2002.

The United States Justice Department has provided $20 million to fund 15 family justice centers. The first center opened in Brooklyn, N.Y. in July and others are planned to open in eight metropolitan areas around the country over the next year.  The centralization of services is another step toward the goal of eradicating violence against women.

Compiled from: "New Centers offer Battered Women Dozens of Services," Rebecca Vesely, www.womensenews.org , September 16, 2005; Office on Violence Against Women: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/pfjci.htm; Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/July/04_opa_499.htm; San Diego Family Justice Center http://familyjusticecenter.org/main.htm

Twenty-three year old Vitore Rreshpja was placed in proceedings for removal from the United States by Immigration in 2002 for entering the country with a fraudulently obtained nonimmigrant visa. Rreshpja indicated a fear of being forced to work as a prostitute if returned to her native country of Albania and requested "asylum or, in the alternative, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT)." In a decision handed down in 15 August 2005, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the asylum claim.

Rreshpja was abducted in Albania in June 2001. She was able to escape but heard the captor claim that "she would end up on her back in Italy, like many other girls." Fearing forced prostitution, her family felt it best for her to come to the United States to stay with her brother in Michigan. Within months of her arrival, the INS initiated removal proceedings against her.

An Immigration Judge (IJ) reviewed and rejected her claims for asylum, CAT and withholding of removal. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) then reviewed the decision of the IJ and affirmed, without issuing an opinion. Rreshpja appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviewed the decision of the IJ.

To grant asylum, a court must find that the applicant is a refugee, unable to return home "because of persecuation or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." The applicant's fear must "be both subjectively genuine and objectively reasonable." In this particular case, Rreshpja had to prove that she fit into a defined social group. United States courts have indicated that to constitute a social group, there must be "a group of persons all of whom share a common, immutable characteristic" and "it must be one that the members of the group either cannot change or should not be required to change because it is fundamental to their individual identities or consciences." In addition, the group must have a common tie other than a common risk of persecution. This category tends to be limited as courts have been reluctant to classify broad and generalized classifications as a social group for purposes of asylum. Gender alone, does not constitute a social group.

The court interpreted Rreshpja's application to indicate that the social group to which she belongs is "young attractive Albanian women who are forced into prostitution." This was deemed an inadequate classification for two reasons. First, it is too broad, without adequate proof that forced prostitution is so pervasive as to affect all or even most Albanian women, as was shown with female genital mutilation in Somalia. Second, the group cannot be "circularly defined by the fact that it suffers persecution," in this case as those who are forced into prostitution. Eliminating that portion of the definition and leaving only "young attractive Albanian women" implies that any young Albanian woman deemed attractive is eligible for asylum. The court agreed with the IJ that Rreshpja does not have a well-founded fear on account of membership in a particular social group.

Rreshpja then requested a "humanitarian grant" of asylum, which requires "compelling reasons for being unwilling or unable to return to the country" based on the severity of past persecution or fear of serious future persecution. The court found that she had not suffered past persecution and that although she had a subjective fear of persecution, she did not prove that there was an "objectively reasonable possibility" of future persecution and her request for a humanitarian grant of asylum was denied.

The burden of proof for withholding of removal is "more stringent" than that for asylum. For this reason, the court determined that Rreshpja was not eligible for withholding of removal. To prove her CAT claim, Rreshpja had to show that she would be tortured if removed and that government officials, with prior knowledge of the torture, had or would in the future, fail to intervene to prevent it. The Sixth Circuit recognized that trafficking is a "serious problem in Albania" but found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the government acquiesces in forced prostitution. Moreover, the court noted the government's attempts to suppress human trafficking and "to penalize local police officers who are directly or indirectly involved in these activities."

In addition to the three abovementioned claims, Rreshpja also claimed that her due process rights were violated with the decision by the BIA to affirm the IJ decision without opinion. This claim was also rejected by the Sixth Circuit.

Cited in: 2005 WL 1941284 (6th Cir.)

The Committee for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reviewed the initial report by Tajikistan on 13 and 14 July 2005. The concluding observations were adopted on 22 July 2005.

The Committee noted the progress made by Tajikistan and noted a number of issues that still need to be addressed to be in compliance with the Covenant. The gender-related issues discussed by the Committee included concern about the high rate of domestic violence, the gender imbalance in government positions and the general status of women in society, and Tajikistan's status as a major source country for trafficking. Tajikistan was commended for establishing legal sanctions against forced marriage and polygamy. The Committee encouraged them to continue to work towards improving the status of women in society and decreasing the gender imbalance. To combat trafficking, Tajikistan was encouraged to ensure that no state actors are involved in the practice and urged to "redouble its efforts to combat" trafficking, with the cooperation of other countries in the region. Moreover, efforts must be made to protect the rights of the victims.

The Committee requested Tajikistan to submit follow-up information on certain specific recommendations given, none of which relate to gender, within one year. For all other recommendations, including the gender-related issues noted above, Tajikistan was asked to include follow-up information in its next periodic report.

Cited in: "Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant: Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee - Tajikistan," United Nations (CCPR/CO/84/TJK), 18 July 2005.

The Committee reviewed the second periodic report by Slovenia on 14 and 15 July 2005. The concluding observations were adopted on 25 July 2005. After noting that the report was submitted seven years after its due date, the Committee acknowledged the progress that Slovenia has made in compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and noted the improvements that still must be made.

The Committee commended Slovenia for drafting a new democratic constitution and for making the Covenant "directly enforceable as part of the domestic legal order" and " enforced by the Supreme and the Constitutional Courts." In addition, Slovenia was praised for creating a number of positions and offices for the protection of human rights and the creation of equal opportunities, one of which is the Interdepartmental Working Group on the Fight Against Trafficking in Human Beings. The Committee welcomed the 2004 action plan created by the Working Group to combat trafficking.

Despite the progress that was made, the Committee noted with concern a number of gender-related issues, including the high rate of domestic violence in Slovenia, the low level of participation of women in public affairs, and the occurence trafficking in women and children. In the Concluding Observation, Slovenia is encouraged to enact and effectively implement laws that address the problem of domestic violence and is urged to raise public awareness about the issue. The Committee calls for an increase in the "effective participation of women in public affairs and in political and economic sectors." To combat trafficking, the Committee advised Slovenia to prosecute and punish the traffickers and increase available services for the protection and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.

The Committee addressed a number of other issues that arise under the Covenant, including a backlog of cases in the judiciary and discrimination of Roma.

The next periodic report by Slovenia is due on 1 August 2010.

Cited in: "Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant: Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee - Slovenia," United Nations (CCPR/CO/84/SVN), 25 July 2005.

The European Training Foundation invites young people (between the age of 18 to 29 years) in the ETF Partner Countries* to participate in a competition by writing an article on their vision for “Women in education and employment in 2010”.

The authors of the four best articles selected by a jury appointed by the ETF will be invited to the awards ceremony as part of the event “Women in Education and employment” organised by the ETF in Turin, Italy, to mark the International Women’s Day in March 2006. Among the four winners one will be selected as beneficiary of a four month traineeship at the ETF headquarters.

The final date for submission of articles is 31 October 2005. For more information, please visit http://www.etf.eu.int/

*The ETF partner countries and territories are: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Moldova, Morocco, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo), Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Cited from: Essay Competition: "Women in Education and Employment 2010," European Training Foundation, last visited 2 September 2005.

The Protection Project, a research institute based at the Foreign Policy Institute at The Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies has released its  "2005 Human Rights Report on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children" that examines the issue of human trafficking in countries around the world.
 
The individual country reports are broken into sections that cover trafficking routes, factors that contribute to trafficking, forms of trafficking, government responses, non-governmental and international organization responses, and multilateral initiatives.  Countries from Europe and Central Asia, Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and North Africa and the Middle East are included. 

The reports are available online and can be viewed at:

http://www.protectionproject.org/main1.htm

Compiled from: “2005 Human Rights Report on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,” The Protection Project, 2005.

The deputy chief prosecutor of Russia's Khanty-Mansii Autonomous Okrug in western Siberia, Vladimir Tyulkov, was quoted by Interfax on 30 August as saying there that "the necessary documents for the extradition [of Bosnian Serb war crimes indictee Dragan Zelenovic] have already been prepared and will be sent to the Russian prosecutor-general on 31 August," Reuters reported. Russian and Bosnian Serb media have noted in recent days that Zelenovic was arrested on 25 August in the oil town of Khanty-Mansiisk after working as a construction worker under the assumed name of Petrovic for several years. Of eight men from Foca indicted in 1996 by the Hague-based tribunal for crimes there during the 1992-95 conflict, Zelenovic is the last man still at large. Three have been tried and convicted, two are awaiting trial, and two were killed while trying to avoid arrest (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 July 2002 and 18 May 2005). The indictment against the eight says that they held women as captives and that "many of the detained women were subjected to humiliating and degrading conditions of life, to brutal beatings and to sexual assaults, including rapes."

Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

Published in: "Russia Holding Bosnian Serb War Crimes Indictee," RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 9 No. 165 Part II, 31 August 2005.

Based on a 2003 request by the General Assembly, the UN Secretary General will conduct a detailed study on violence against women. The UN Division for the Advancement of Women has taken responsibility for carrying out the study. The report will be released in September 2006 and aims to provide information about the causes, consequences and costs of violence against women. Those working on the study expect that the process as well as the report will raise awareness about all types of violence against women around the world, inspire impetus for change and provide best practices for effective prevention and elimination of violence against women. In the meantime, there are scheduled activities, including workshops, discussions and consultations that will highlight the study.

Compiled from: "UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Women: Schedule of Activities," UN Division for the Advancement of Women, 15 August 2005.

United Nations, New York — A new report, released by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in anticipation of the 2005 World Summit, argues for closer attention to the role of women, particularly working poor women, in the informal economy, and the impact of this on efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

UNIFEM's report, Progress of the World's Women 2005: Women, Work and Poverty, is the third publication in a biennial series first introduced in 2000 to track and measure the world's commitments to gender equality. Taking its cue from the Millennium Declaration, adopted by world leaders in 2000, which recognizes the link between poverty and gender inequality, and notes the centrality of gender equality to efforts to combat poverty, hunger and to stimulate sustainable development, Progress 2005 makes the case that unless women's economic security is strengthened, progress towards these goals will be limited.

Within this context, the report looks at employment, especially informal employment, and the potential it has to either perpetuate or reduce poverty and gender inequality. It provides the latest data on the size and composition of the informal economy in different regions and compares official national data on average earnings and poverty risk across different segments of both the informal and formal workforces in several countries.

Informal employment, a widespread and persistent feature of today's global economy, accounts for 50 to 80 per cent of total non-agricultural employment in developing countries, with the percentage higher still if agriculture were included. In the developed world, self-employment, part-time and temporary work comprise about 20 to 30 per cent of total employment. Rather than informal work becoming formalized as economies grow, work is moving from formal to informal, from regulated to unregulated, with workers losing job security along with medical and other benefits, and working in conditions that are frequently unhealthy and unsafe.

Progress 2005 provides data which shows that informal employment is a significant source of employment for women in both developing and developed countries. In developing countries, 60 per cent or more of women workers are in informal employment (outside of agriculture). In developed countries, part-time and temporary wage employment and own account self-employment are a more important source of employment for women than for men.

Women also tend to be concentrated in the more precarious types of informal employment, where earnings are not only meagre but highly unreliable. The average earnings from these types of informal employment are too low, in the absence of other sources of income, to raise households out of poverty.

"The working poor, both men and women, make up a significant number of those in informal employment. However, the further down the chain of quality and security you go, the more women you find," said Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of UNIFEM. "Women generally earn less than men, have less access to quality jobs, and fewer opportunities for the education that could help them find better, safer means of income."

"Furthermore, the totality of women's work remains poorly understood and measured," she added. "In virtually all countries and traditions of the world, women still bear the primary responsibility for providing care, which impacts their ability to participate in the labour market. Unpaid care work in the household and community puts demands on women's time, posing constraints on the kind of employment they can take up, especially in the context of HIV/AIDS."

"Progress 2005 is based on the premise that decent work is fundamental to economic security and poverty reduction," said Martha Chen, coordinator of the global research-policy network Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), and one of the co-authors of the report. "We have provided a cost-benefit analysis of informal work and a strategic framework for promoting decent work for the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy."

Four strategic priorities are recommended: increasing the assets, access and competitiveness of the working poor, both self-employed and wage-employed, in the informal economy; improving the terms of trade for the working poor, especially women, so they can compete more effectively in the global marketplace; securing appropriate legal and social protection and rights of informal workers; and ensuring that informal workers are visible and that the totality of their work — especially in the case of women — is valued and supported in policy-making. The starting point for meaningful policy decisions is to make women's informal work visible through gender-sensitive, disaggregated statistics on national labour forces for use in developing policy that focuses firmly on economic security and rights.

"There is a need to strengthen strategies to transform basic structures that perpetuate gender inequality, aligning the policies and rule-setting of international economic institutions with international women's human rights standards," stressed Heyzer. "Closing gender income gaps and ensuring safe and healthy working conditions for all must be a priority. Socially responsible corporations can lead the way in this."

Published in: "UNIFEM Report Calls for Increased Focus on Women's Informal Employment Efforts to Combat Poverty and Gender Inequality," UNIFEM, 31 August 2005.

PRISTINA – The Victims’ Advocacy and Assistance Unit (VAAU) of UNMIK Department of Justice and the Post and Telecommunication of Kosovo (PTK) today signed an agreement to establish a toll-free ‘HelpLine’ for victims of gender based violence, including victims of trafficking in human beings.

The HelpLine will ensure access to justice for victims of crime by offering them the opportunity to receive help from la w enforcement authorities. Additionally, it will facilitate victims’ access to medical, legal and psychological services as well as other forms of support available in Kosovo through VAAU and other providers.

In pursuance of its core mandate to ‘institutionalise the rights of victims of crimes’ the VAAU has been particularly active in combating human trafficking in Kosovo from both legal and humanitarian perspectives. Apart from advocating with policy makers and legislative bodies, the Unit has built up a network of Victims’ Advocates across Kosovo who support victims in their involvement with the justice system.

Besides legal advice, VAAU provides victims with other forms of assistance including interpretation, psychological, medical, shelter, training and educational assistance through its Interim Secure Facility (ISF). Since VAAU’s creation in 2002, the Unit has assisted over 1430 victims of crime, mainly victims of domestic violence, sexual offences and human trafficking. Comprehensive support is ensured through VAAU’s close cooperation with other related units of UNMIK as well as Kosovo’s Provisional Institutions of Self Government (PISG), the OSCE, local and international Non-Governmental Organizations and many other stakeholders.

With the PTK now joining the endeavour, VAAU will be able to establish a HelpLine that will be free of charge for victims calling from PTK operated lines. This will complement the existing ‘Hotline’ for victims that VAAU is currently operating.

Published in: "Toll-free ‘HelpLine’ for Victims of Human Trafficking," UNMIK (UNMIK/PR/1402), 18 August 2005.