Document - SVAW Newsletter 11: Domestic violence exposed (Web Text)

WEB TEXT

SVAW Newsletter 11 AI Index: ACT 77/009/2006

18 May 2006

Domestic violence exposed

Women from all countries and from all religions, cultures and social backgrounds - living in war or peace times - suffer from violence at the hands of their partners, husbands or ex-husbands.

"Violence shatters the peaceful image of the home, the safety that kinship provides. None the less, the insidious nature of domestic violence has been documented across nations worldwide."

- UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women 1996

Engage in a new series of online features exposing domestic violence in a different country every month.

This month’s feature focuses on Albania:

"Unequal partners: Not all women in Albania have the same rights as men."

At least a third of all women in Albania are estimated to have experienced physical and psychological violence at the hands of their husbands or partners. In some parts of the country, the figure is much higher.

Women in some areas of Albania are brought up to believe that domestic violence is a normal part of marriage. Many women are threatened, injured or killed with guns, including pistols or automatic rifles. Read more

Watch this spacefor June’s feature on domestic violence in Jamaica.

Poor and HIV-positive in the Dominican Republic

"I don’t have the money or the strength to go to the capital where I might get help," says Rita who is HIV-positive and seriously ill. "When the fever, the headache and the diarrhoea hit me, I get scared and I think I am going to die."

Red card to trafficking during World Cup

Between 9 June and 9 July 2006, the World Cup in football for men will take place in Germany. In the 12 cities which will host matches it is expected that large numbers of men, possibly over a million, will travel to Germany and that there will be an increase in demand within the German sex sector.

Council of Europe: Call on member states to ratify the European Convention against Trafficking

Trafficking is a violation of human rights and an offence to human dignity and integrity. Governments must ensure protection and respect of the rights of trafficked people -- including women and children trafficked into forced prostitution. The Convention sets out the minimum requirements for such protection.

TAKE ACTION

Make Some Noise: act for Darfur

Since 2003, thousands of girls and women have been raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence in Darfur. While the world waits for justice, the perpetrators continue to rape and kill with impunity.

Join artists Snow Patrol and demand justice

Voices from the frontline

"I am considered to be [from] the young generation so they consider me to be more [of] a youth than a female activist."

- Beata Olahova, Slovakia

[Stories]

In Greece...

Creative competition

Watch the flash presentationof four portraits of women.

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