External Publications and Resources
The following is a list of publications and resources that have been created by other groups that we find relevant to the VNC Campaign. If you have a publications you would like to share with us, please write to:
A Guide To Human Rights Standards & Mechanisms Relevant To Fundamentalisms
UN declarations and treaties of relevance to the protection and promotion of human rights in contexts of rising fundamentalisms.
Human Rights Declarations are non-legally binding human rights standards. Their force and legitimacy lies primarily in the fact that in adopting such declarations, member states of the UN (or other relevant human rights systems) have made a strong moral commitment to use them as blueprints for building more just societies. Therefore, while declarations are, strictly speaking, non-enforceable most governments do not wish to be censured by the international community for ignoring or actively impeding the provisions of human rights declarations.
Secularism vs Communalism: Learning from the Ban on Full Face Covering Veil in France
Three days after the enforcement of the French law that prohibits full face covering, and after the first women law breakers have been fined, international media focus on ’protesting Muslims’, while the voices of the vast majority of presumed Muslims in France are ignored.
One has to raise issue with the absence of proper coverage by English language international media regarding the public stands taken by French citizens of migrant Muslim descent.
Iraq: Shadow Report on UN Universal Periodic Review
Stakeholder Report the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Process by Karama - Feb. 2010
1. Executive Summary
1.1 Improvements since 2005
Iraq has demonstrated certain efforts to improve the human rights of women in these past four years. The quota in effect for elections of 2005 and 2009 increased women's representation in national and provincial legislative bodies to 25%, one of the highest levels in the region. Also, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq amended its Personal Status Law in 2008 to place restrictions on polygamy, created emergency shelters to provide a measure of protection to women from violence, established a Cabinet-level Committee on Violence against Women, and set up a Directorate to Follow up Violence against Women in each KRG governorate.
Mapping Violence Against Women: A Tool To Map The Prevalence Of Violence Against Women And The Interventions Addressing It
This mapping-tool supports NGO's and service providing organisations to get an overall picture of Violence Against Women (VAW) in their country / region. What is the prevelance of the various forms of VAW? What measures are being taken by governments, service providing organisations and NGOs to address VAW? Who is working on which topic, and what are the blind spots? The tool helps to collect, to structure and to evaluate relevant information.
Solutions to End Child Marriage: What Evidence Shows
Child marriage is increasingly recognized as a serious problem, both as a violation of girls' human rights and as a hindrance to key development outcomes. As more resources and action are committed to addressing this problem, it becomes important to examine past efforts and how well they have worked. ICRW summarizes a systematic review of child marriage prevention programs that have documented evaluations. Based on this synthesis of evaluated programs, the authors offer an analysis of the broader implications for viable solutions to child marriage.
Child Marriage Factsheet
What do we mean by Child Marriage?
Child marriage, defined as marriage before age 18, is a violation of human rights, compromising the development of girls and often resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation, with little education and poor vocational training reinforcing the gendered nature of poverty. Most child marriages are also forced marriages, where the consent of the child is not considered before the consummation of the union. While boys are affected by child marriage, the issue impacts girls in far larger numbers and with more intensity.1
World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development
The state of women as development actors A view from the World Bank in its 2012 Development Report. The World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development details big strides in narrowing gender gaps but shows that disparities remain in many areas. The worst disparity is the rate at which girls and women die relative to men in developing countries:
Intersections of Violence Against Women & Militarism
This report chronicles the key discussion points of the Strategic Conversation on Militarism and Violence Against Women, convened by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University from June 9-11, 2011.
The meeting brought together thirty feminist activists, academics and experts from around the world to: (i) identify and explore feminist perspectives of militarism; (ii) examine the intersections between militarism and violence against women; and (iii) develop global feminist strategies to challenge militarism.
Direct link to full PDF report:
Religiosity, Christian Fundamentalism, And Intimate Partner Violence Among U.S. College Students
Student survey data show general religiosity did not correlate with violence approval, psychological aggression, or intimate partner violence, but Christian fundament
Emergency Contraception: Catholics In Favor, Bishops Opposed
While polls of Catholics show that they support access to emergency contraception both after rape and as a fallback contraceptive method, Catholic bishops around the world continue to oppose access.
Emergency contraception (EC) is a term used to describe contraceptive methods that can be used up to five days after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. Whether because of a broken condom, a moment of passion, a calendar miscalculation or the tragedy of rape, women frequently find themselves needing a second chance to prevent a pregnancy. EC gives women that second chance. The most widely available EC method is levonorgestrel-alone pills; this publication refers only to the levonorgestrel form of EC, sometimes referred to by its brand name, Plan B, in the United States. The Vatican opposes artificial methods of contraception, although the majority of Catholics around the world support the use of contraception.