International
The Bride Price: Consequences of Child Marriage Worldwide (Short Documentary)
The Bride Price: Consequences of Child Marriage Worldwide is a video containing moving images by Stephanie Sinclair - recipient of the 2007 UNICEF Photo of the Year - on the many issues of child marriage. Sinclair's photos include compelling images of child brides in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and India. Sinclair's previous work on child marriage includes a photo essay of Afghani child brides published in The New York Times.
Mobilizing Religious Communities to Respond to Gender-Based Violence and HIV: A Training Manual
Training Religious Leaders and Women of Faith on GBV and HIV
Women of faith have called attention to gender-based violence in their communities, citing a need for religious leaders to raise awareness of the issue and address it. Religious leaders and women of faith are well positioned to identify, validate, and promote best practices on preventing and reducing GBV as it relates to HIV.
Under the USAID | Health Policy Initiative Task Order 1, Futures Group and Religions for Peace initiated a multi-religious activity to prevent and reduce GBV and HIV for women and girls and other vulnerable groups.
This activity included the following objectives:
- Strengthen the capacity of religious communities and networks to respond to GBV as it relates to HIV;
- Equip religious communities with tools to deepen their awareness and understanding of GBV;
- Enhance faith-based activities regarding GBV.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief discusses early warning signs of discrimination and violence on the grounds or in the name of religion or belief.
She gives an overview of her mandate activities with regard to communications sent to States concerning individual cases, her participation in recent conferences and meetings, country visits undertaken by the Special Rapporteur and further follow-up activities of the mandate.In addition, Special Rapporteur discusses early warning signs of discrimination and violence on the grounds or in the name of religion or belief.
Report on the CSW forum on the Women Reclaiming and Re-defining Cultures (WRRC) program and SKSW documentary film screenings
On March 10, the Global Campaign To Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW Campaign) hosted a forum to introduce the Women Re-claiming and Redefining Cultures (WRRC) programme and a screening of two video documentaries on violence against women and girls justified in the name of ‘culture'.
Proceedings of the CSW panel discussion on violence against women and girls justified in the name of culture
On March 3rd, a panel discussion on violence against women and girls justified in the name of culture was held by the Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) campaign during the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Keynote Address of the launch of the Global Campaign by Ms. Yakin Ertürk
On 25 November 1960, Mirabel sisters were assassinated under the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The incident gave impetus to the anti-regime movement, resulting in the fall of the dictatorship the following year. The lives of the Mirabel sisters, now known as the 'unforgettable butterflies', became a symbol for women in Latin America and the Caribbean in their struggle to combat violence against women. They declared Nov. 25 as the day for no violence in 1981, the observance of which soon spread to other parts of the world. In 1999 the UN General Assembly adopted November 25th as the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women. Women from around the world galvanized the 16 days from 25 Nov. to 10 Dec. – International Human Rights Day – as a period of activism to advance their agenda.
Criminalizing Sexuality: Zina laws as Violence against Women in Muslim Contexts
Abstract: Islamic legal tradition treats any sexual contact outside a legal marriage as a crime. The main category of such crimes is zina, defined as any act of illicit sexual intercourse between a man and woman. In the late twentieth century, the resurgence of Islam as a political and spiritual force led to the revival of zina laws and the creation of new offences that criminalize consensual sexual activity and authorize violence against women. Activists have campaigned against these new laws on human rights grounds.