An Islamic Perspective on Violence Against Women
This is a statement describing how those who perpetrate violence against women are not following the true tenants of the Quran.
This report focuses on the realities and prevalence of sexual violence committed against children in conflict. It urges action to recognize and address this issue by global leaders.
European Parliament Report on Female Genital Mutilation in the European Union (pdf)
"This new report found that over 500,000 women in Europe, especially refugees and immigrants, have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). The report highlights various reasons for the prevalence of FGM and incorporates different frameworks for addressing the problem, including the human rights perspective, a women’s rights view, and children’s rights."
Everything Left Behind: Internal Displacement in Colombia (pdf)
"According to a new report there are currently between 3 and 4 million internally displaced people in Colombia, among the highest in the world. Internal displacement disproportionately affects women who are indigenous, Afro-descendant, or peasant farmers. For displaced women and girls, sexual assault, exploitation, and abuse are constant threats from armed groups or people who believe the women and girls are involved with armed groups. Displaced women and girls face discrimination from the communities they move to, presenting a significant barrier to assistance for victims of violence."
Gender Based Violence: Emerging Issues in Programs Serving Displaced Populations (pdf)
This report provides background and current information about gender-based violence programming with populations affected by armed conflict. It gives concrete advice and examples of programming addressing gender-based violence, and lists valuable resources for further information.
This report intends to improve international and local capacities when addressing gender-based violence in refugee, internally-displaced and conflict settings.
Human Rights Watch World Report 2010 (pdf)
"This 20th annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2009 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the country in question."
Immigrant and Refugee Power and Control Wheel
Throughout the world, women are victims of domestic violence just as there are battered women in the United States. Immigrant and refugee women know that in their countries of origin, women have been tortured with sexual abuse by the army/rebels, kidnapped into prostitution, forced into marriages, killed in honor killings, used for sexual slavery, stoned to death and often experience other gender related abuses. This Immigrant and Refugee Power and Control Wheel is an adaptation of the Duluth Power and Conrol wheel created by attendees Immigrant & Refugee Women Support Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Iraq: Insecurity and Violence Against Women
"This document aims to raise awareness about some of the realities facing women in Iraq. The collection focuses more specifically on how current events in Iraq have uniquely impacted Iraqi women and have engendered various forms of violence against women."
Justice Denied: The experiences of 100 torture surviving women of seeking justice and rehabilitation (pdf)
"This report analyzed the experiences of 100 women from 24 countries who settled in the United Kingdom after surviving torture. The report stated that almost all of the women studied had experienced at least one incident of rape or sexual assault. The vast majority were unable to find help when they sought redress and could not access legal aid or the necessary healthcare. "
Lives Blown Apart: Crimes Against Women in Times of Conflict (pdf)
This report attempts to explore some of the underlying reasons for this violence. Evidence gathered by Amnesty International in recent years supports the view that conflict reinforces and exacerbates existing patterns of discrimination and violence against women.
Militarized Zones: Gender, Race, Immigration, Environment (pdf)
This document illustrates relationships between militarism, gender, race, immigration and environment separately and collectively.
More Than A Name: State Sponsored Homophobia and Its Consequences in Southern Africa (pdf)
This report evaluates the effects of State-sponsored homophobia on the human rights of sexual and gender minorities in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Report on the Taliban's War Against Women
Released November 17, 2001. Includes an Executive Summary, information on the Taliban's War Against Women; quotes by and about women in Afghanistan; and electronic resources on women in Afghanistan.
Report on Violations of Women’s Human Rights in Columbia (pdf)
"This report documents the ways in which the long-standing conflict in Colombia combine with government actions to result in the violation of women’s human rights. In addition to the violations committed by guerrilla groups, the report indicates that the Colombian government has carried out extra-judicial executions, groundless detentions, threats, and torture. The government is also implicated in failing to implement strategies to reduce the effects of forced displacements. "
Routinely Targeted: Attacks on Civilians in Somalia
"The report documents sexual violence and killing of Somali civilians by Ethiopian troops, militias, and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces."
Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in the Americas (pdf)
This document highlights the human rights violations (institutional and individual) of sexual minorities in the Americas.
Sexual Violence and its Consequences among Displaced Persons in Darfur and Chad (pdf)
This briefing paper documents how the Sudanese security forces, including police deployed to protect displaced persons, and allied Janjaweed militias continue to commit rape and sexual violence on daily basis. Even as refugees in Chad, women and girls fleeing the violence in Darfur continued to face the risk of rape and assault by civilians or militia members when collecting water, fuel or animal fodder near the border.
So Much to Fear: War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia (pdf)
A Human Rights Watch report on the human rights violations being committed in the ongoing conflict in Somalia. It studies the conflict since late 2006, when the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) came to the aid to Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to overthrow the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The report also includes several recommendations to the parties, as well as the African and European Unions, and the United Nations.
The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur (pdf)
This report offers a glimpse into the ongoing violence against women in Darfur and includes statistics and short stories from survivors. It concludes by giving recommendations for stopping the rapes in Darfur and in the conflicts throughout the world.
The Impact of Conflict on Women and Girls in West and Central Africa and the UNICEF response (pdf)
"This first-of-its-kind study by UNICEF on the situation of war-affected girls and women in the region highlights innovative programmes being implemented with partners to address the impact of conflict, and recommends how UNICEF can more proactively champion the rights of girls - particularly adolescent girls."
The Invisible Exodus: North Koreans in the People's Republic of China.
This report presents a comprehensive overview of this human rights disaster, grounded in first-hand accounts of North Koreans who escaped to the South, and humanitarian workers who aided them and many less fortunate. It examines the complex and harrowing decision of migrants to leave, an illegal act often deemed tantamount to treason; the months and even years of hiding in China; the desperate circumstances that lead women to sell themselves as sexual companions; and the vulnerability these migrants have that open them to every and any abuse.
We'll Kill You If You Cry: Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone Conflict
The report presents evidence of horrific abuses against women and girls in every region of Sierra Leone by the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), as well as other rebel, government and international peacekeeping forces. The report is based on hundreds of interviews with victims, witnesses and officials, details crimes of sexual violence committed primarily by soldiers of various rebel forces —the RUF, the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), and the West Side Boys. The report also examines sexual violence by government forces and militias, as well as international peacekeepers.
Whose Safety? Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcement (pdf)
This comprehensive research report documents how women of color, both immigrant and U.S-born, face violence and the abuse of authority from law-enforcement agencies - from local police to the prison system to INS raids. Drawing on interviews with nearly 100 anti-violence activists as well as published sources, "Whose Safety?" outlines community interactions with enforcement agencies, the impact of enforcement violence on key areas of women's lives, and current anti-violence movements.
Women at the Edge: Colombian Refugees in Ecuador (pdf)
"The study looks at the differential impact of armed conflict on women and men. Women in Colombia represent more than half of the total displaced population and suffer the consequences of conflict to a higher degree putting them in a more vulnerable situation than men. This study analyzes the situation of women that are legally recognized as refugees as well as the experiences of women who have been pressured to migrate by army movements because of their country situation." This publication is printed in Spanish.
Women in Mongolia: Mapping Progress under Transition
This publication tells of Mongolian women's experiences in the context of the political and economic transformation of their country. It shares reports of women encouraged to bear many children, inadequate health care or resources, and high rates of maternal mortality. Recommendations informed through case studies are presented for improving their social and economic status and increasing their political participation.
This report covers many areas of concern, from the gendered dimensions of violence and displacement during conflict to the role of peacekeepers and the need for women to play a central part during peace negotiations and reconstruction. Key recommendations focus on finding ways to protect and empower women.