PROTECT aims at contributing to the prevention and reduction of the most serious forms of gender-based violence against girls, young women and their children, such as grievous bodily harm, homicide and attempted homicide, including so-called honour crimes and killings. The project’s target groups are professionals from core agencies responsible for the protection and support of victims and the prevention of violence, organisations and institutions working in the area of violence prevention, policy makers and – last but not least – victims of gender-based violence.
the project includes several strings of action: research on statistics on homicides/femicides and attempted homicides/
femicides, including so-called killings in the name of honour, a summary of intimate partner violence and intimate partner
femicide risk assessment studies (literature review), research on standards of protection and support available to high risk victims, three expert group meetings, and the prOTECT online resource centre which is launched on the WaVE website
Oppose Harmful House Legislation on Domestic Violence
By Ann Rose Greenberg, Jewish Women International
The fight to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) continues this week in the House, where VAWA is expected to come up for a floor vote on Wednesday.
Just as victory was won in the Senate and we finally thought that bipartisan arguments about violence against women (which surely should be a non-divisive issue) were behind us, the House Judiciary Committee approved a version of the bill that leaves out essential protections for underrepresented populations. ANew York Times editorial, Backward on Domestic Violence, which appeared in today’s paper, discusses the problems with the alternative bill being discussed in the House.
In order to combat violence against women, we must reauthorize the version of VAWA that passed in the Senate. Contact your Member of Congress today to urge them to oppose H.R. 4970 and support a bipartisan VAWA reauthorization bill that closely mirrors S. 1925, strong bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate on April 26, 2012.
In the US, women age 17 and over have the legal right to get emergency contraception -- sometimes called Plan B or “the morning after pill -- over the counter and without a prescription at their pharmacy.
However, according to a new roundtable report by the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center, this right is often denied to Native American women who use Indian Health Services to access healthcare. The report surveyed service providers on reservations across the nation and found women are often told they have to see a doctor or have a prescription to get EC. Some find that the pill isn’t in stock on their reservation.
This is especially alarming in light of the fact that 1 in 3 Native American women will be raped in their lifetime. Under current Indian Health Services policy, there isn’t even a consistent mechanism to provide survivors of rape and sexual assault the medication they need to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.
Over the course of the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak about Occupy Patriarchy and why feminism is so important to the success of the Occupy movement at the University of Pennsylvania, at a panel organized by the Lysistrata Gender Working Group at NYU and at a panel discussion at the National Young Feminist Leadership Conference.
El Gobierno de Estados Unidos demanda al ‘sheriff’ Arpaio
El 'sheriff' Joe Arpaio, en 2010. / PAUL J. RICHARDS (AFP)
“Un miembro de la Oficina del Sheriffdel Condado de Maricopa paró a una mujer latina –ciudadana de Estados Unidos y embarazada de cinco meses en ese momento- cuando iba a entrar a su coche. Tras obligarla salir del vehículo, el oficial insistió en que se apoyará en el capó. Ante su negativa, éste le agarró las manos por la espalda y la empujó tres veces, dándose ella con el estómago contra el coche. Después, la trasladó hasta el coche patrulla y la introdujo en el asiento trasero, donde la abandonó, dejándola encerrada durante unos 30 minutos sin aire acondicionado. El oficial le puso una denuncia por negarse a enseñarle la documentación que después se sustituyó por negativa a mostrar el seguro. La denuncia se retiró cuando la mujer presentó la documentación del vehículo en el juzgado local”.
Este es uno de los múltiples ejemplos que el asistente del Fiscal General (ministro de Justicia) en materia de Derechos Civiles, Thomas E. Pérez, incluyó en la demanda que el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos interpuso este jueves contra el sheriff Joe Arpaio y la Oficina delSheriff del Condado de Marcopa (MCSO, en sus siglas en ingles), que él dirige, por violación de los derechos civiles y reincidencia en una “pauta sistemática de prácticas policiales discriminatorias en contra de los hispanos”.
An influential rabbi came last summer to the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, with a message: his ultra-Orthodox advocacy group was instructing adherent Jews that they could report allegations of child sexual abuse to district attorneys or the police only if a rabbi first determined that the suspicions were credible.
The pronouncement was a blunt challenge to Mr. Hynes’s authority. But the district attorney “expressed no opposition or objection,” the rabbi, Chaim Dovid Zweibel, recalled.
In fact, when Mr. Hynes held aHanukkah party at his office in December, he invited many ultra-Orthodox rabbis affiliated with the advocacy group, Agudath Israel of America. He even chose Rabbi Zweibel, the group’s executive vice president, as keynote speaker at the party.
Mr. Hynes has won election six times as district attorney thanks in part to support from ultra-Orthodox rabbis, who lead growing communities in neighborhoods like Borough Park and Crown Heights. But in recent years, as allegations of child sexual abuse have shaken the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, victims’ rights groups have expressed concern that he is not vigorously pursuing these cases because of his deep ties to the rabbis.
Rolling Back Protections for Domestic Violence Victims
EXERPT: The Adams bill adds burdensome, counter-productive requirements that compromise the ability of service providers to reach victims, fails to adequately protect Tribal victims, lacks important protection and services for LGBT victims, weakens resources for victims living in subsidized housing, and eliminates important improvements to address dating violence and sexual assault on college campuses. Among the most troubling components of this bill are those that jettison and drastically undercut existing and important, long-standing protections that remain vital to the safety and protection of battered immigrant victims.
Valencia, 06 may. 12. AmecoPress.- Hoy se está conmemorando el Día de la Madre. Pero habrá muchas criaturas que no lo podrán celebrar, puesto que a sus madres las mataron. Y las mataron por ser mujeres.
Según la Red Estatal de Organizaciones Feministas contra la Violencia de Género, a fecha de hoy, seis de mayo, son ya veinticuatro las mujeres asesinadas en el ámbito intrafamiliar, de las cuales, diecisiete han sido asesinadas por sus parejas o exparejas. O lo que es lo mismo, sus asesinos las han matado por que eran mujeres. Por nada más que eso.
Poco importa que fueran mujeres cultas, madres o obreras del campo. Ahora, estas mujeres, están muertas. Y esa realidad es incontestable.
“Tina,” who is pregnant and works as a health aide in a nursing home, is told by her doctor that she should not lift more than 35 pounds. Her job description requires lifting 40 pounds regularly, but lighter duty jobs, such as answering the phone and working at the reception desk, are available. Nevertheless, her employer stops scheduling her for shifts and tells her she must take unpaid Family Medical Leave, which would run out before the delivery of her baby and leave her without the income she needs to pay the 50% of her medical insurance her employer does not cover. Left with no choice, Tina loses her job.
“Jessica,” who is pregnant and works as a pharmacist’s assistant, needs to sit down occasionally throughout her day. Chairs are available for customers, but the pharmacy does not permit the staff to use them. As a result, Jessica loses her job.
Introduced on May 8, 2012 by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and other representatives in the House, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would:
Require employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees who have limitations on the job related to their pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.
Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who need an accommodation.
Prohibit employers from forcing a pregnant employee to accept an accommodation she does not want.
Prohibit employers from forcing a pregnant employee to take unpaid or paid leave if a reasonable accommodation is available.
This show is always a call to action! We're bringing women as well as men together, and having some honest conversation about Black sexual politics and changing what has been destructive. We're producing insight into the historical context and detailing the stories that expose abuse based on race, sex, gender, class and other intersecting oppressions in the lives of women (and men) in our communities.
One important thing we haven't been able to do is to publish this guide in Spanish as we've done with all our other guides. This time we need your help!
Good text translations are expensive. But they're also more than worth it. Women's Justice Center is one of only a few organizations committed to putting all our information in Spanish.
Your donation will help reach the great populations of Spanish-speaking people in the U.S. and around the world. And your donation will also produce tangible results you can see.
Plus, it's easy! Just go to the red DONATE NOW button at the top left of the this page.
Yes, we're tax deductible. And we're passionate about ending the violence against women and girls!. As always, we promise to put your donation to very good use! Thank you very much.
Sexual Harassment in school is a violation of a student's federal civil right to an equal education. The most prevalent victims are girls. But read this article in which the key dynamic of this girl's death, even in a classic case of school sexual harassment, has been buried under the new, nebulous, gender neutral term, bullying....Ed
Rachel Ehmke, 13-Year-Old Minnesota Student, Commits Suicide After Months Of Bullying
Rachel Ehmke, a 13-year-old seventh grader in Mantorville, Minn., died April 29 after hanging herself at her home. The months leading up to the tragedy were a whirlwind of peer abuse instances, her parents say.
Now following Rachel's Friday funeral that was met with widespread community condolences, Rick and Mary Ehmke are speaking out against the bullying they say their daughter endured at Kasson/Mantorville Middle School and online.
Rachel's family and friends say the teen fell victim to school bullying last fall when her chewing gum was stuck to her textbooks and the word "slut" was scrawled across her gym locker, the Austin Daily Herald reports. And while she was outgoing, athletic and friendly, the same group of girls reportedly threatened Rachel and kept calling her a "prostitute," though she had never kissed a boy, according to KMSP.
Melinda Gates' New Crusade: Investing Billions in Women's Health
She plans to use the Gates Foundation's billions to revolutionize contraception worldwide. The Catholic right is pushing back. Is she ready for the political firestorm ahead?
In the 12 years since Melinda Gates and her husband, Bill, created the Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organization, she has done a lot of traveling. A reserved woman who has long been wary of the public glare attached to the Gates name, she comes alive, her associates say, when she’s visiting the foundation’s projects in remote corners of the world. “You get her out in the field with a group of women, sitting on a mat or under a tree or in a hut, she is totally in her element, totally comfortable,” says Gary Darmstadt, director of family health at the foundation’s global health program.
All she had to do was show up, put in a couple minutes of face time in court and then she could be on her way.
But the 17-year-old girl once jailed on a material witness warrant stuck it out. She took the stand. She testified for 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, and she identified the man accused of raping her.
It wasn't easy. First, she had to admit she had been working as a prostitute the night she saidFrank William Rackley Sr. raped her. Then, she had to recount the assault repeatedly in precise detail in Sacramento Superior Court, in front of a dozen strangers.
When she was finished, she walked out of the courthouse able to move on in a life marked so far by foster care and group homes and dangerous streets she walked at night, dangling on the edge of a drug-dealing underworld.
"Basically, this is the final chapter in that past life," said her attorney, Lisa M. Franco. "She can go and heal now."
The girl's case shook the local criminal justice community last month after it was revealed the District Attorney's Office had jailed her on a material witness warrant to force her to appear in court. Though an alleged victim in the case, she was jailed for 27 days.
Nueva York, 03 may. 12. AmecoPress/SEMlac.- La violencia sexual sistemática perpetrada por miembros del clero de la Iglesia Católica en este y otros países llevó al no gubernamental ni confesional Centro de Derechos Constitucionales de los Estados Unidos (CCR por sus siglas en inglés) a representar a víctimas denunciantes de esas presuntas violaciones a los derechos humanos en un caso ante la Corte Internacional Penal.
El CCR representa a la Red de Sobrevivientes de Personas Abusadas por Sacerdotes (SNAP, por sus siglas en inglés), creada en Chicago en 1988. La Red no gubernamental nació hace dos décadas en Ohio, Estados Unidos, y se extendió por el mundo, hasta contar hoy día con más de 9.000 afiliadas y afiliados.
Barbara Blaine, trabajadora social estadounidense, fundadora y presidenta de SNAP, explicó que hace apenas dos semanas presentaron un suplemento adicional del caso a la Corte Internacional Penal, porque la respuesta ha sido tan grande que ya cuentan con 500 casos adicionales provenientes de 65 países más.
El CCR es dirigido por sobrevivientes "para proteger a niños y adultos vulnerables, poner fin a la violencia sexual e impedir que otros vivan los graves daños sufridos por víctimas y sobrevivientes y los riesgos que corren muchos católicos mientras no se haga justicia", dice su pronunciamiento.
Cinco querellantes individuales -víctimas y sobrevivientes de esa forma de violencia- presentaron el 13 de septiembre del año pasado los primeros casos ante la Fiscalía de la Corte Internacional.
Sus testimonios concretos documentan tres décadas de tales abusos contra más de 100.000 personas que, durante su niñez y adolescencia, fueron presuntamente abusadas por sacerdotes.
Dra. Núria Querol i Viñas Médico y Bióloga. Investigadora del Instituto de Neuropsiquiatría y Adicciones (INAD) - Parc de Salut Mar. Miembro de la National Link Coalition. Miembro de la Asociación Americana de Criminología, Especialista en crueldad hacia animales. Miembro de la American Sociological Association, secciones "Animals and Society" y "Crime Law and Deviance". Miembro de la Sociedad Española de Investigaciones Criminológicas. Miembro de la Societat Catalana de Psiquiatría i Salut Mental. Miembro de la Sociedad Americana de Psicología-División de Estudios Humano-Animal. Miembro de la International Association for Women's Mental Health.
Desde hace más de 20 años se están llevando a cabo estudios en el ámbito de la violencia doméstica que incluyen el maltrato a los animales como uno de los aspectos importantes a considerar. Estados Unidos fue el pionero, pero se están realizando estudios en Australia, Reino Unido, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda, Japón y también en España.
La crueldad hacia los animales está tipificada como en España, se recoge en el artículo 337 del CP (“El que por cualquier medio o procedimiento maltrate injustificadamente a un animal doméstico o amansado, causándole la muerte o lesiones que menoscaben gravemente su salud, será castigado con la pena de tres meses a un año de prisión e inhabilitación especial de uno a tres años para el ejercicio de profesión, oficio o comercio que tenga relación con los animales”). A pesar de ello, habitualmente no se realizan preguntas relativas a los animales en casos de violencia doméstica ni existen los recursos necesarios integrados en los protocolos para ayudar a los animales y, por ende, a la mujer y los hijos.
ESTUDIOS CIENTÍFICOS Varios estudios norteamericanos han encontrado una conexión entre la violencia doméstica y el maltrato animal. En la literatura científica encontramos datos muy relevantes:
El 71% de las mujeres que acudieron a una casa de acogida y tenían un animal referían que su agresor había herido, amenazado o matado a su animal de compañía como venganza o para ejercer control psicológico; el 30% explicó que sus hijos habían herido o matado animales.
El 68% de mujeres maltratadas refirieron maltrato a sus animales. El 87% de estos incidentes ocurrieron en su presencia, y un 75% en presencia de los hijos, para controlarlos y coaccionarlos psicológicamente.
Entre el 25% y el 54% de las mujeres maltratadas no son capaces de dejar una situación de violencia a causa de la preocupación por sus animales de compañía o de granja.
En un estudio, el 70% de los maltratadores de animales también tenían otros antecedentes delictivos. Las víctimas de violencia doméstica cuyos animales eran maltratados, identificaban este maltrato como otro episodio más en una larga historia de violencia indiscriminada contra ellas y su vulnerabilidad.
Más del 80% de las mujeres y más del 70% de los niños maltratados refieren que los maltratadores han amenazado con matar a los animales domésticos o lo han hecho.
Los niños testigos de violencia doméstica, maltratan animales de 2 a 3 veces más a menudo que los niños que no sufren violencia doméstica;
El abuso de animales realizado por niños es uno de los indicadores más importantes y tempranos del trastorno de conducta;
Los niños abusados sexualmente son 6 veces más proclives a cometer maltrato a los animales que los niños que han sufrido otro tipo de abusos;
Then-Republican congressional candidate Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), now sponsor of the House VAWA bill, in Orlando, Fla.
WASHINGTON -- The House Republican version of the new Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would dramatically roll back confidentiality protections for abused immigrant women, make it more difficult for undocumented witnesses to work with law enforcement officials, and eliminate a pathway to citizenship for witnesses who cooperate with police on criminal cases.
The provisions are tucked into a bill that reauthorizes the act, and have received scant media attention. But the legislation is picking up steam in the House. The bill, officially sponsored by freshman Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), has the backing of the full House leadership, and is headed for a vote in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act is typically a bipartisan affair lacking in contention. This year, however, Republicans are pressing for significant changes that would weaken protections for victims of domestic violence, arguing that the current law is being taken advantage of by undocumented immigrants looking for legal citizenship.
According to a 2009 report from the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) Institute On Women & Criminal Justice, a whopping 75 percent of imprisoned women are Mothers. Unlike the disproportionate numbers in male prisons, White women make up the majority of female prisoners at 45 percent, according to the WPA’s findings. Black women accounted for 32 percent, while Hispanic women came in last at 16 percent. However, recent arrests of Black women, especially Mothers, may skew the facts as there appears to be a growing trend that suggests numbers are increasing for women of color.
According to an older NAACP Legal Defense Fund report, Black women were incarcerated at rate increase of 828 percent over a five-year period. The report found that African-American women were eight times more likely to be imprisoned than their European counterparts. Additionally, Black women make up nearly half of the prison population, with many in jail over minor offenses or nonviolent drug-related charges. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD)released a rough estimate that states about 9 percent of women in prison are pregnant, a number that certainly will fluctuate at any time.
Black Mothers have been unfairly treated in the court of law, with judges handing down sentences for charges that normally wouldn’t garner prison time. Homeless Ohio Mother Kelley Williams-Bolar was made an example of after being sentenced for 10 days in jail and three years’ probation, when she was caught sending her kids to a different school district outside her zoning area. Additionally, first-time drug offenders, such as Mother of four Tonya Drake, who was given 10 years of prison time for her role in attempting to mail 232 grams of crack cocaine.
One important thing we haven't been able to do is to publish this guide in Spanish as we've done with all our other guides.
Good text translations are expensive. But they're also more than worth it. Women's Justice Center is one of only a few organizations committed to putting all our information in Spanish.
But this time we need your help!
Your donation will help reach the great populations of Spanish-speaking people in the U.S. and around the world. And your donation will also produce tangible results you can see.
Plus, it's easy! Just go to the red DONATE NOW button at the top left of the this page.
Yes, we're tax deductible. And we're passionate about ending the violence against women and girls!. As always, we promise to put your donation to very good use! Thank you very much.
Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico y su proyecto Justicia Integral para Mujeres presentan video sobre situaciones de violencia doméstica y agresión sexual que enfrentan las mujeres jóvenes y que se manifiestan en las redes sociales y medios electrónicos. Incluye referencia a remedios legales disponibles.
On the eve of the 12th AWID International Forum happening in Istanbul, Turkey, the "Where is the Money for Women’s Rights?" Initiative is pleased to release preliminary results from the 2011 AWID Global Survey of women’s organizations!
We would like to thank the 1,119 organizations that participated in the survey, making it possible for us to analyze the funding situation and sustainability of women’s organizations around the world. We hope that you enjoy reading the results and will join us at the first session of theResource Mobilization Hub entitled "The Funding Landscape: Setting the Tone" to discuss the results and help us make sense of the data. You can also join in the conversation through ourFacebook Group. In the coming months, we will be sharing further analysis and information based on the survey. (We apologize that the results are presently only in English; translations forthcoming after the Forum.)
In just a matter of days, Honduras could become the only state in the world to punish the use or sale of emergency contraception with a jail term. But we have the power to stop this.
Working with Avaaz and other international partners we’ve already collected 675,000 signatures demanding that Honduran Congressional President Juan Orlando Hernández use his significant power to persuade congress to defeat the bill. Hernández is running for president of the country and it’s well-known that he cares deeply about his reputation abroad.
Take action—Help us reach one million signatures by midnight on May 15th and we’ll deliver them personally to Congressional President Juan Orlando Hernández the following day.
Susan Manheimer recalls looking at the portraits on the wall of the numerous police chiefs who preceded her as top cop of the San Mateo Police Department when she was named to the post in May 2000.
Her smiling picture, in bright color, stood out from the black-and-white portraits of sober-faced male ex-police chiefs.
Someone suggested that a nameplate below her picture be put up to read, “The First Female Police Chief in the History of San Mateo.”
Marissa Alexander looks toward family and supporters in the gallery during her hearing Thursday morning. Attempts to use the Stand Your Ground claim to free Marissa Alexander from a possible 20 years in prison on three counts of aggravated assault fell short Thursday morning in the Duval County courtroom of Judge James Daniel, May 3, 2012.
By Charles Broward
A judge denied a Jacksonville woman convicted in a 2010 shooting a new trial Thursday morning despite her Stand Your Ground claim against an abusive husband.
Marissa Danielle Alexander, 31, now faces a 20-year mandatory term in prison in her sentencing set for May 11. A jury found her guilty of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Circuit Judge James Daniel is considering, however, acquitting Alexander on one of her three charges as the result of the testimony of one of the three victims. That victim, the son of her husband, Rico Gray, recounted his previous accounts to authorities when he testified at Alexander's trial that he was not in fear of his life during the shooting.
Authorities said Alexander shot in Gray's direction during a dispute at their home with his two children in the house. Alexander said she was in fear of her life and only fired the single shot as a warning to get Gray to leave. She said she had tried to leave through the garage before getting her gun but could not because the garage door would not work and she had left the keys to her vehicle in the home where Gray stood, threatening her life.
Según la Red Estatal de Organizaciones Feministas contra la Violencia de Género, a fecha de hoy, seis de mayo, son ya veinticuatro las mujeres asesinadas en el ámbito intrafamiliar, de las cuales, diecisiete han sido asesinadas por sus parejas o exparejas. O lo que es lo mismo, sus asesinos las han matado por que eran mujeres. Por nada más que eso.
Today's Show: 
Desde hace más de 20 años se están llevando a cabo estudios en el ámbito de la violencia doméstica que incluyen el maltrato a los animales como uno de los aspectos importantes a considerar. Estados Unidos fue el pionero, pero se están realizando estudios en Australia, Reino Unido, Canadá, Nueva Zelanda, Japón y también en España.
In just a matter of days, Honduras could become the only state in the world to punish the use or sale of emergency contraception with a jail term. But we have the power to stop this. 
