Welcome to the 71st edition of The Pixel Project’s e-News Digest!
Protests erupt in Kenya when rapists were given a sentence of cutting grass, and South Africa reels from a brutal rape and murder. In the United Kingdom, a video capture of imams marrying underage girls and a false petition in support of female genital mutilation raise questions about crossing the line from multi-cultural acceptance to moral relativity.
A number of activists who strove to eliminate violence against women were honoured this fornight. Among them include Waris Dirie, a supermodel who campaigned against FGM, and Dr. Denis Mukwege, who worked in the healing of rape survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Street harassment had a major focus in the United States with several projects to combat harassment of women highlighted: Hannah Price photographs street harassers, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh takes on gender based street harassment in her street-art project, “Stop Telling Women to Smile”,
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Violence Against Women General News
- WORLD – Network of civil societies in Europe and Latin America launch campaign to address violence against women
- ASIA PACIFIC – Efforts to stop violence against women must focus on social and cultural norms
- AFGHANISTAN – Violence against women in Afghanistan is a pandemic
- AFGHANISTAN – Afghan women may gain education and rights to vote, but still face abuse and forced marriage
- PAKISTAN – Pakistan calls for urgent steps to address violence against women at the United Nations
- INDIA – Reviewing popular mythologies concerning violence against women in India
- SRI LANKA – Report on marginalisation and sexual violence against women in the Northern and Eastern areas of the country
- UGANDA – Introducing the SASA! method in preventing violence against women and HIV
- UNITED STATES – Study shows that violence against women costs the state of Tennessee USD 880 million annually
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Domestic Violence
- AUSTRALIA – Changing provocation law could legitimize lethal acts of domestic violence
- CHINA – China’s Henan province launches anti-domestic violence activity
- CHINA – Southwest Chinese city of Nanning establishes shelter for domestic violence victims
- INDIA – Critics slam art campaign on domestic violence that show goddesses as victims of abuse
- RUSSIA – One woman dies in Russia every hour as a victim of domestic violence, as ‘crimes of passion’ are not considered crimes
- UNITED KINGDOM – Police criticized on the way it handles domestic violence
- UNITED KINGDOM – Campaigners state that British courts endanger domestic violence victims
- UNITED STATES – The fight againt black women’s higher rates of intimate partner violence
- UNITED STATES – One size doesn’t fit all in domestic violence issues – cases frequently become distorted in court
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Rape and Sexual Assault
- ASIA – A more detailed analysis at the study’s results on men who admit to rape in Asia
- AUSTRALIA – State of Victoria considers tougher rape laws
- CAMBODIA – Khmer Rouge sexual violence survivors break silence
- KENYA – Protests in Nairobi after rapists given punishment of cutting grass
- INDIA – Why another high profile rape case will fail to tackle the causes of sexual violence against women
- NEW ZEALAND – Funding refused to rape survivor
- SOUTH AFRICA – Two life sentences for rape and murder that shocked South Africa
- UNITED STATES – Campaign to persuade Pentagon to break its silence concerning rape in the armed forces
- UNITED STATES – Many colleges lack sexual assault policies
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Human/Sex Trafficking
- CANADA – Anti-sex trafficking ad creates controversy, was meant to create upset
- CANADA – Human trafficking arrests made
- INDIA – Journey to Kolkata: Canadian activists bringing an end to teenage sex trafficking in Kolkata, India
- SOUTH KOREA – Sex trafficking victims fight social stigma
- THAILAND – Thailand must do more to end human trafficking
- THE PHILIPPINES – A look at sex trafficking in Asia (Filipino focus)
- UNITED KINGDOM – Human traffickers to get life sentences in tough move against slavery
- UNITED STATES – New court system helps out victims of sex trafficking in New York
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Forced Marriage and Honour Killing
- AUSTRALIA – Putting an end to forced marriage in Australia
- CANADA – Racist ads on buses related to honour killing pulled from Edmonton Transit
- INDIA – Suggestion by KhapPanchayat leaders to impose a dress code on women to stop honour killing criticized
- NEPAL – Forced marriage still practiced in Bajura villages
- NIGERIA – Why underage marriage is a national problem
- UNITED KINGDOM – Lawyer warns that there are dangers in the changes on laws related to forced marriage
- UNITED KINGDOM – Britain’s underage Muslim marriage epidemic – editorial following the reveal of by ITV Exposure on clerics performing underage marriage
- YEMEN – 15-year old girl burned to death by father for contacting fiancé before wedding
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Female Genital Mutilation
- WORLD – Over 125 million girls and women subject to FGM across 30 countries, 86 million girls to be subject to the same if current trends continue
- ETHIOPIA – UN Women mobilizes religious leaders against FGM
- IRAQ – Film on female genital mutilation is changing Kurdistan
- IRAQ – How Iraqi Kurdistan ended FGM
- KENYA – Kenyan girls fight back against FGM
- KENYA – Men told to join war against FGM
- NIGERIA – Borno state government affirms that there is no place for the tradition of FGM
- UNITED KINGDOM – Is multi-culturalism encouraging moral relativism? What happened when an anti-FGM campaigner asked people on the streets to sign a petition in favour of FGM
- UNITED KINGDOM – Health bodies draw up joint guidelines to help fight FGM
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Activism
- GENERAL – Science of harassment: consequences of sexual harassment known but effective solutions lacking.
- WORLD – Fighting harassment of women on the streets is a global issue
- AUSTRALIA – Reclaim the Night march packs Sydney Road in Melbourne
- CANADA – Ottawa activist fighting violence against women and harassment gets Governor General Award
- CANADA – ‘Harassment on TransLink’ website allows victims of sexual harassment to speak out
- INDONESIA – Two women activists receive the 2013 N-Peace Award for their efforts to reduce discrimination and violence against women
- NEPAL – International youth activists join anti-VAW campaign
- UNITED KINGDOM – Waris Dirie receives Sacla Women Campaign of the Year Award for her work in eradicating FGM
- UNITED STATES – Student groups march against sexual and street harassment in Take Back the Night campaign
- UNITED STATES – YWCA in Tennessee leads effort to change men’s views of women, address violence against women