Monthly Archives: June 2016

Gender, Ideology + Affiliation

Indonesia & Middle East News | Indonesian Women

Indonesian women continue migrating to Middle East for work despite government ban
  • A new report from Migrant Care has found that more than 1,000 women have traveled to the Middle East for domestic work despite government moratorium.
  • The Indonesian government announced a ban on any new labor-based migration to the Middle East in May 2015 after several high-profile reports of abuse.
  • The revelation comes amidst ongoing efforts by the government to formalize labor practices in the domestic services industry both at home and abroad, with an estimated 2.3 million Indonesian domestic workers abroad and an additional undocumented population.

Read more:
“Indonesian women defy ban to work as maids in Middle East: survey” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation)
“Indonesia plans to stop sending new live-in maids abroad” (The Straits Times)
“Six Gulf countries informed of Indonesia domestic workers ban” (Gulf News)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Kenya News | Gay & Bisexual Men

Kenyan court upholds legality of anal examinations as evidence in homosexuality prosecution
  • The presiding judge dismissed a challenge to the state’s subjection of men accused of homosexuality to anal exams, widely decried in the medical community as unscientific and invasive.
  • The ruling comes as part of a case against two men charged with “unnatural acts,” “indecent acts between adults,” and “trafficking in obscene materials.”
  • Though being appealed by Kenya’s main LGBT advocacy group, anal exams can now be used as evidence of “unnatural acts,” whereas historically they were most often used in same-sex rape cases.

Read more:
“Kenyan Court Upholds Anal Exams For Homosexuality Charges” (BuzzFeed News)
“Two Kenyans in gay sex case lose bid to outlaw anal examinations” (Reuters)
“Kenya court rules anal tests on ‘gay suspects’ legal” (AFP via Capital News)

Ideology + Affiliation

U.K. News | Politicians

UK MP assassinated after meeting with constituents
  • Labour Party MP Jo Cox was murdered near near a library in the village of Birstall, near Leeds.
  • The homicide was allegedly the culmination of an altercation between Cox, elected to Parliament in 2015, and 52-year-old Tommy Mair.
  • At least three witnesses reported that Mair shouted “Britain first” while shooting Cox, the slogan and name of a far-right nationalist group pushing for the U.K.’s exit from the European Union in the upcoming referendum on June 23.

Read more:
“Labour MP Jo Cox dies after being shot and stabbed” (The Guardian)
“Labour MP Jo Cox Dies After Shooting” (BuzzFeed News)
“Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack” (BBC)

(Image Credit: via BBC)

Nationality + Migration

Philippines News | Canadians

Second Canadian hostage believed killed in the Philippines
  • Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist separatist group in the southwest Philippines, reportedly beheaded Canadian citizen Robert Hall.
  • Hall had been abducted from a Samal Island resort in September 2015 along with another Canadian (killed in late April), a Norwegian man, and a Filipina woman.
  • The group had demanded an $8 million ransom, which the Canadian government refused to pay to deter future extortion attempts.

Read more:
“Robert Hall, Canadian hostage, killed by Abu Sayyaf militants in Philippines” (CBC News)
“Philippines: Abu Sayyaf group beheads Canadian hostage” (Al Jaxeera)
“Extremists Have Killed Another Canadian Hostage In The Philippines” (BuzzFeed News)

(Image Credit: Site Intelligence Group/YouTube, via CBC News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Mass shooting in Florida gay club leaves at least 50 dead in deadliest shooting in U.S. history
  • A gunman opened fire in the early morning hours at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing at least 50 and wounding at least another 53 in what authorities are investigating as a terror attack.
  • The club was hosting a Latin-themed dance night, drawing patrons from within and beyond the LGBT community.
  • According to the currently released numbers, the attack is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Read more:
Florida nightclub shooting: updates (The Guardian)
Shooting at Pulse Florida Nightclub: Updates (The New York Times)
“Fifty people killed in massacre at Florida gay nightclub: police” (Reuters)
“Here Are The Victims That Have Been Identified In The Orlando Nightclub Shooting” (BuzzFeed News)
“How to Help the Victims of the Pulse Orlando Nightclub Shooting” (TIME)

(Image Credit: Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration

Poland News | Foreigners

Polish parliament expands government surveillance powers ahead of major international events
  • The lower house passed legislation expanding the government’s surveillance and detention capabilities, subjecting foreigners to increased monitoring in the country.
  • Drafted in the wake of the Brussels attacks, the new law allows intelligence agencies the ability to conduct surveillance for three months without court approval, detain suspects for two weeks without charges, and expedite deportation of suspects.
  • In July, Poland will host a NATO summit and World Youth Day, a Catholic event attended by the Pope.

Read more:
“Poland approves closer surveillance of foreigners ahead of NATO summit, pope visit” (Reuters)
“Panel: Poland’s New Police Law Allows Privacy Infringement” (AP via ABC News)
“Watchdog says surveillance powers in Poland too broad” (Radio Poland)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

South Africa News | Hate Speech

South African woman slapped with $10,000 fine for racist remarks
  • The woman faced charges from the African National Congress (ANC) for comparing black South Africans to “wild monkeys” in a Facebook rant about beaches in the country.
  • The Umizito Equality Court ordered her to pay the 150,000-rand fine to charity within 60 days.
  • South African hate speech laws stem from constitutionally guaranteed protections against the incitement of hatred and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000.

Read more:
“South African woman fined $10,000 for racist comments” (Reuters)
“Racism: Penny Sparrow fined R150K, community service for Theunissen” (News24)
“SA’s laws are set against hate speech” (Times Live, January 2016)

Additional:
The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Interregional News | Yazidi Women

IS to be tried for crimes against Yazidi women in international court
  • Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will prosecute the Islamic State for crimes against the Yazidi community including sexual slavery, rape, and genocide.
  • The prosecution follows a campaign by Yazidi advocates like Nadia Murad Basee Taha, who petitioned the U.N. Security Council and the international community to take action.
  • IS has accused Yazidis of being devil-worshippers, driven more than 700,000 from their homes in northern Iraq, and enslaved more than 7,000 women and girls.

Read more:
“Exclusive: Amal Clooney to represent ISIS survivor Nadia Murad and victims of Yazidi genocide” (The New York Times)
“Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to defend Yazidi women, ISIS sex slaves” (Reuters)
“Amal Clooney to represent Yazidi sex slaves and demand Isis genocide investigation at The Hague” (International Business Times)

(Image Credit: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images, via The New York Times)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel & Palestine News | Israelis & Palestinians

Israel revokes travel permits for tens of thousands of Palestinians following Tel Aviv killings
  • Four Israelis were killed and six wounded after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire in a Tel Aviv market.
  • In response, the government cancelled entry permits for some 83,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza for three days, revoked work permits for more than 200 of the attackers’ relatives, and increased its security presence in the occupied West Bank.
  • Following a condemnation of the homicides, the U.N. warned Israel that their response could be classified as collective punishment, illegal under the Geneva Conventions.

Read more:
“Tel Aviv Terror: What We Know So Far About the Sarona Shooting” (Haaretz)
“Palestinian Gunmen Open Fire in Tel Aviv, Leaving Four Dead” (The New York Times)
“Palestinians barred from entering Israel after Tel Aviv killings” (The Guardian)
“U.N. says Israeli move on Palestinian permits may be collective punishment” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Tomer Appelbaum/Haaretz)

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Germany News | Turkish-German Politicians

Turkish-German lawmakers receive death threats following Armenian Genocide resolution
  • Germany’s 11 MPs of Turkish descent received the threats following the passage of a resolution to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Turkey as genocide.
  • Targets included Cem Oezdemir, the leader of Germany’s Greens Party who had pushed for the resolution.
  • Officials have been advised against travel to Turkey after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan publicly accused them of betraying their Turkish heritage.

Read more:
“After threats, security concerns for German MPs with Turkish roots” (Reuters)
“Report: German MPs advised not to visit Turkey” (Deutsche Welle)
“German-Turkish war of words intensifies after ‘genocide’ vote” (euronews)

(Image Credit: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration

Iran News | Dual Citizens

Canadian-Iranian arrested in Iran as detentions of dual citizens continue
  • Homa Hoodfar, an anthropology professor at Concordia University in Montreal, was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran.
  • Her family indicated that she had been detained and transferred to Iran’s notorious Evin prison on unspecified charges following extended interrogation.
  • Iran, which doesn’t recognize dual citizenship, has imprisoned a growing number of dual nationals traveling from abroad in recent years under allegations of espionage and foreign collaboration.

Read more:
“Canadian-Iranian professor arrested in Tehran by Revolutionary Guards” (The Guardian)
“Arrest of Homa Hoodfar in Iran Shines Light on Dangers for Dual Citizens” (The New York Times)
“Concordia University prof jailed in Iran’s Evin prison, family says” (CBC News)

(Image Credit: Amanda Ghahremani/Associated Press, via The New York Times)

Age, Gender

South Africa Research | Youth

Child Sexual Abuse in South Africa

Commissioned by the UBS Optimus Foundation, the Optimus Study is a first-of-its-kind national survey of the annual incidence and lifetime prevalence of child sexual abuse in South Africa, providing both a point-in-time and longitudinal perspective on South African child victimization. In the context of the study, sexual abuse is defined in both its contact and non-contact forms, including exposure (subjection to voyeurism, exhibitionism, and forced pornographic viewing), exploitation (involvement in sexual activities for pornography and/or prostitution), and contact (sexual assault and rape). With more than a third of schoolchildren reporting having experienced some form of sexual violence, the report offers a framework for addressing not only the high levels of abuse incidence, but also the negative outcomes associated with abuse including mental illness and lowered educational outcomes.

35.6%

Percentage of South African schoolchildren reporting having experienced some form of sexual abuse

36.8% (boys) / 33.9% (girls)

Percentage reporting having been sexually abused, by gender

15 (boys) / 14 (girls)

Average age of first incidence of sexual abuse

11.3%

Percentage who reported unwanted sexual touching by an adult

9.4%

Percentage who reported being made to do sexual things by another child or teen

11.7%

Percentage reporting being forced to have sex

12.9%

Percentage reporting exposure abuse

0% (boys) / 31.0% (girls)

Percentage who reported abuse by a familiar adult to police

~20%

Percentage experiencing trouble with schoolwork and/or school attendance in wake of abuse

2x (anxiety and depression) / 3x (PTSD symptoms)

Likelihood of those who experienced abuse to report symptoms of mental illness relative to young South Africans as a whole

Read:
Optimus Study South Africa: Technical Report (The Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention and the University of Cape Town)

Additional:
“Perfect Storm of kids at risk: Why a third of SA’s children are sexually abused” (The Daily Maverick)
“1 in 3 young South Africans sexually abused” (UBS Optimus Foundation press release, via Parent24)

Commissioning Organization: UBS Optimus Foundation

Gender

Brazil News | Women

Gang rape of 16-year-old sparks protests in Brazil
  • The case garnered international attention when a video went up on Twitter showing more than 30 men participating in the rape of the girl, apparently unconscious, in a Rio favela.
  • The crime was exacerbated by a slow, victim-antagonistic police response and a flood of misogynistic messages on social media.
  • Thousands marched in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in protest of high levels of gender-based violence in the country, with upwards of 10% of Brazilian women reporting cases of sexual violence along and a larger number of unreported cases.

Read more:
“Brazil and Argentina unite in protest against culture of sexual violence” (The Guardian)
“Massive Protests in Brazil After a Girl Was Blamed for Being Gang-Raped in Rio” (VICE News)
“Gender violence protests in São Paulo” (The Buenos Aires Herald)

(Image Credit: Xinhua/Barcroft Images, via The Guardian)

Gender

Argentina News | Women

Thousands protest violence against women in Buenos Aires
  • The #NiUnaMenos (“Not one less”) campaign brought thousands into the streets of the Argentinian capital to call attention to high levels of violence Argentine women of all ages have been subjected to.
  • The demonstration took place in the wake of the recent murders of three 12-year-old girls in separate incidents involving domestic as well as gang violence.
  • According to one report, 275 women have been killed in gender-based homicides in the year since the last public demonstration, including 165 from domestic violence and 40 involving women who had previously reported attacks by men.

Read more:
“Argentines Protest Violence Against Women” (The New York Times)
“NiUnaMenos: 275 femicidios entre una marcha y otra” (La Nación, in Spanish)
“60% of femicides committed by partners” (The Buenos Aires Herald)

View:
“Ni una menos, en fotos: imágenes de la concentración en Buenos Aires” (La Nación)

(Image Credit: via La Nación)