Welcome to the 101st edition of The Pixel Project’s VAW e-News Digest.
Criticism of Fifty Shades of Grey for glamourizing domestic violence continues. Closely linked is news that Papua New Guinea tops search engines for pornography, sparking debate on whether there is a correlation between pornography and erotica with violence against women.
The killing of a rape victim in Turkey has sparked protests and dialogue on violence against women in the country. One of the more interesting protests is a campaign by men wearing miniskirts, drawing attention to the issue and creating a powerful statement on being an ally.
Elsewhere around the world:
Rape survivors write love letters to themselves. Their words are a powerful witness and testimony on what it means to survive rape.
The annual One Billion Rising campaign continues to grow as a movement.
Every contribution matters. If you have any news you’d like to share about violence against women, please email The Pixel Project at info@thepixelproject.net. If you prefer to receive up-to-the-minute news concerning violence against women, follow us on Twitter . It’s time to stop violence against women together.
Best regards,
The Pixel Project Team
General Violence Against Women
AFGHANISTAN: Violence against women on the rise in Herat
AUSTRALIA: Editorial – does violence against women start in childhood?
BANGLADESH: Women in Bangladesh: silenced victims of state terror
CANADA: Missing and murdered aboriginal women inquiry a must, says report
NIGERIA: Violence against women – time to pass bill
SOUTH AFRICA: Too little, too late – Ministry of Women races to report on Beijing +20
TURKEY: Student’s killing turns spotlight on Turkey on violence against women
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Forensic meet sheds light on gender violence, assault
Domestic Violence
WORLD: Fifty Shades is the Worst of Us
AUSTRALIA: Domestic violence rising in Queensland according to new report
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Domestic violence revives Bosnian women’s war nightmares
MEXICO: Latinas rise from history to raise voices against domestic violence
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand failing to reduce high rate of domestic violence
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: PNG tops porn searches on Google, experts divided over link between pornography and violence
SAMOA: Samoa’s domestic violence hotline reflects on 10 years
UNITED STATES: Two new Florida bills designed to help domestic violence survivors
Rape / Sexual Assault
WORLD: Rape survivors’ love letters to themselves are powerful messages of hope.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: New smartphone app hopes to help prosecute rape in war zones.
LIBERIA: 12-year old rape victim detained and allowed to die on the way to hospital.
NEPAL: Nepal Supreme Court rejects amnesty for war crimes (including sexual violence)
MALAYSIA: Rape survivor responds to a Muslim cleric’s statement that women’s bodies invite rape
SOUTH SUDAN: The voice of South Sudan’s women must be heard to give peace a chance
SUDAN: George Clooney writes about the rape of Darfur
TURKEY: Men are wearing miniskirts to protest the killing of a woman who defended herself against a rapist
Human/Sex Trafficking
WORLD: United Nations shines spotlight on human slavery and trafficking on World Social Justice Day
AFRICA: ‘Witchcraft’ used to fight sex trafficking in Africa
BELARUS: Dealing with slavery and human trafficking in Belarus
BURKINA FASO: Nigerian sex slave dies in Burkina Faso
CUBA: US Senator Robert Menendez seeks to focus on human trafficking in Cuba
SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa vows to fight human trafficking
UNITED KINGDOM: Sex trafficking kingpin jailed
UNITED STATES: Virginia on its way to enacting first sex trafficking law
Female Genital Mutilation
EGYPT: Female genital mutilation persists in rural Egypt
ETHIOPIA: Princess Mary of Denmark visits Ethiopia, is horrified by FGM
FRANCE: French lessons for tackling FGM
KENYA: Alternatives to FGM on the rise in Kenya
MALAYSIA: FGM in Malaysia is increasing, and it is disheartening for women everywhere
NIGERIA: 60% of families in Oyo State still practice FGM
UNITED KINGDOM: More than 2600 treated for FGM since September
UNITED STATES: Legislator seeks to outlaw FGM in Pennsylvania
Honour Killing and Forced Marriage
AFGHANISTAN: 10-year old girl exchanged for marriage in Balkh province
AUSTRALIA: Victoria police concerned over number of forced marriage going unreported
INDIA: Mystery in Dalit woman’s death, suspected honour killing
MALAWI: Malawi sets minimum legal age of marriage to 18
NEPAL: Kidnapped at 13: Nepal’s Dalit child brides
TANZANIA: Educating parents and community to curb child marriages
UNITED KINGDOM: Review of ‘Catch Me Daddy’, a film about honour killing
ZIMBABWE: Teens to take government to court over marriage age
Activism
WORLD: Photographs of One Billion Rising around the world
MIDDLE EAST: Female laureates unite for peace in the Middle East
AFGHANISTAN: “Why are you still driving? One day they will kill you.” – feature on Afghanistan’s first female taxi driver
KENYA: Kakenya Ntaiya exchanged female genital mutilation for an education, now runs school for girls in Kenya
MALAYSIA: Introducing Sumitra Visvanathan, new executive director of the Women’s Aid Organization
NIGERIA: Nigerian pastor and women’s rights activist awarded prize
SWEDEN: She is the first ambassador of her kind – Annika Molin Hellgren is Sweden’s first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
UNITED KINGDOM: Domestic violence and forced marriage survivors demand Welsh Government educate school children on healthy relationships
UNITED STATES: Students raise money for women’s shelter at ‘Fifty Shades’ premiere