Tag Archives: Discrimination/Terror/Hate Crimes

Class + Socioeconomics, Gender

U.S. Feature | Poor & Low-income Women

The Haunting of U.S. Housing by Sexual Exploitation

Source: WBAL-TV/YouTube (October 2015)

Each year, hundreds of lawsuits against agencies and individuals associated with housing management in the U.S. are filed, the tip of the iceberg of rampant sexual misconduct and abuse disrupting housing security for poor and low-income women. Landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, security officers, and housing program managers have demanded sexual favors from tenant women in exchange for continued residence or program coverage, including qualification for Section 8 housing. A combination of an affordable housing crunch, long wait times for housing program intake, the threat of homelessness via retaliation, and the consequences of eviction on future housing access have left many women vulnerable to sexual exploitation and many men engaging in coercion with impunity.

While the lack of robust national studies and uneven state reporting practices on sexual harassment in housing have long obscured the problem, legislators have introduced House and Senate versions of a bill to amend the Fair Housing Act with explicit anti-harassment language and federal agencies have announced steps to target exploitation, including piloting an initiative to identify reporting barriers. Similarly, advocates have begun building consciousness amidst the burgeoning national conversation on gender-based sexual misconduct driven by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.

Read

“A woman’s choice – sexual favours or lose her home” (BBC News | January 2018)

“HUD charges Wichita landlord with housing discrimination after alleged sexual harassment” (KWCH-TV | November 2017)

“Justice Department Announces Initiative to Combat Sexual Harassment in Housing” (U.S. Department of Justice | October 2017)

Watch

“Complaints of Sexual Harassment in Public Housing Go Ignored” (The Real News Network | September 2017)

“Justice Department sues KCK Housing Authority for sexual harassment” (KSHB-TV | October 2015)

Study

Fair Housing Act

Combat Sexual Harassment in Housing Act (Proposed Senate bill)

Combat Sexual Harassment in Housing Act (Proposed House bill)

Sexual Harassment and Fair Housing Toolkit (Equal Rights Center)

Memo: Questions and Answers on Sexual Harassment under the Fair Housing Act (U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development)

Connect

National Fair Housing Alliance

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development: Fair Housing

Report

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (fairhousing@usdoj.gov / 1-844-380-6178)

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (1-800-669-9777)

 

Religion + Belief

Afghanistan News | Shiite Muslim

Suicide bombing attack on Shia cultural center in Kabul kills dozens
  • A single suicide bomber infiltrated the Tabian Social and Culture Centre in Kabul’s Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood, leaving more than 40 dead and at least 80 injured.
  • The attack took place as a crowd of more than 100 gathered to mark the 38th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
  • The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of more than a dozen since 2016 targeting Shiites that have left more than 700 dead.
Read

“Suicide bombers kill dozens at Shi’ite center in Afghan capital” (Reuters | December 2017)

“ISIS suicide bombing in Kabul kills dozens” (CNN | December 2017)

“Why is ‘Islamic State’ targeting Shiites in Afghanistan?” (Deutsche Welle | December 2017)

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration

Gabon News | Danish

Danish journalists wounded in knife attack in Gabon capital
  • Two Danish reporters for National Geographic were wounded after a Nigerien national living in Gabon attacked them with a knife in Libreville.
  • The attacker told police the assault was in retribution for the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, although it was unclear if the Danes were mistaken for Americans.
  • The attack was reportedly the first of its kind in Gabon, a Christian-majority country with peaceful interfaith relations.
Read

“2 Danish journalists violently attacked in Gabon” (The Associated Press | December 2017)

“Two Danish journalists wounded in Islamist knife attack in Gabon” (Reuters | December 2017)

“Two Danish journalists wounded in Gabon knife attack” (AFP, via France 24 | December 2017)

Religion + Belief

Pakistan News | Christian

Suicide bombers kill 9 in attack on church in southwestern Pakistan
  • At least 9 were killed and 56 wounded following an attack by two suicide bombers on Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province.
  • Nearly 400 had been in attendance for the pre-Christmas service, and authorities say the toll could have been much higher had the attackers reached the sanctuary.
  • The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, a part of ongoing targeting of the 2 million Pakistani Christians in the country by both IS and the Pakistani Taliban.
Read

“9 killed in suicide attack on Quetta’s Bethel Memorial Methodist Church” (Dawn.com | December 2017)

“Nine killed in terrorist attack on church in Quetta” (Geo News | December 2017)

“Suicide bombers attack church in Pakistan’s Quetta before Christmas, killing nine” (Reuters | December 2017)

Religion + Belief

Philippines News | Christians

Filipino Christians in Muslim-majority Marawi caught up in Mindanao violence
  • Clashes between Islamist militants and Philippine soldiers in Marawi City have displaced as much as 90% of the city’s population.
  • Militants have torched churches and reportedly taken hostages in the fight against the government, the extension of decades of conflict driven by increased Christian settlement in the region, the desire for more political autonomy by Moro (Muslim) liberation groups, and the rise of international terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.
  • While the Philippine population as a whole is 90% Christian, Muslims comprise the majority of the population in Marawi City, located on the Philippines’ second-largest island, Mindanao.
Read

“Christians caught up in Philippines’ urban battle with Islamists” (Reuters | May 2017)

“‘They kill defenceless people’: thousands flee Philippine city of Marawi” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Mindanao crisis: A city on fire” (Al Jazeera | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Erik De Castro/Reuters)

Ideology + Affiliation

Afghanistan News | Religious Scholars

Religious scholars in Afghanistan one of Taliban’s most frequent targets
  • Over the last 16 years of war in the country, hundreds and perhaps thousands of ulema have been killed, although official numbers are difficult to track.
  • Taliban members surveil sermons to monitor adherence to Taliban interpretations of sharia, both courting and threatening scholars to buttress their power across the nation’s provinces.
  • Religious leaders note that the targeting of scholars is driven by anxiety over scholars’ influence on communities, a desire for ideological control, and the suppression of criticism.
Read

“Taliban Target: Scholars of Islam” (The New York Times | May 2017)

“Religious scholar shot dead in eastern Afghanistan” (Andalou Agency | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.K. News | Muslims & Ethnic Minorities

Reported hate crimes double in Manchester in aftermath of bombing
  • Some 56 hate crimes were reported in the two days following the bombing in Manchester by a Briton of Libyan descent, a twofold increase over the 28 in the two previous days (the average amount, according to law enforcement).
  • Incidents included bomb threats, intimidation, slurs, and racist graffiti across the city.
  • Community members noted a significant number of incidents had gone unreported and expressed frustration at the expectation of apologizing on behalf of all Muslims while being subjected to anti-Muslim abuse.
Read

“Manchester attack: Hate crime ‘doubles’ after incident” (BBC News | May 2017)

“Muslim leaders in Manchester report rise in Islamophobic incidents” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Manchester sees rise in hate crimes after attack” (Al Jazeera | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters, via The Guardian)

Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.S. News | Racial & Religious Minorities and Allies

Attackers connected to white supremacist groups kill 3, wound another in Oregon and Maryland
  • In College Park, MD, black college senior Richard Collins III was stabbed and killed in an unprovoked attack by a 22-year-old white man on the University of Maryland-College Park campus.
  • In Portland, OR, two white men were killed and another injured after intervening as a neo-Nazi white supremacist yelled anti-Muslim rhetoric at two Muslim women on a train.
  • The attacks follow a number of high-profile incidents and an uptick in reported identity-based terrorism following the election of President Donald Trump, whose campaign was marked by anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric and a willingness to court and promote white-supremacist supporters.
Read

“University of Maryland Fatal Stabbing Investigated by FBI as Possible Hate Crime” (NBC News | May 2017)

“Man shouting ‘anti-Muslim slurs’ fatally stabs two men in Portland” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Spread of Hate Crimes Has Lawmakers Seeking Harsher Penalties” (The New York Times | April 2017)

(Image Credit: via The Baltimore Sun)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Russia News | Gay Men

Russia begins investigation into abduction, torture, and massacre of gay men in Chechnya
  • Government officials reportedly launched an investigation as international pressure increased following reports from human rights organizations about the rounding up of gay men into camps.
  • Gay Chechens have allegedly been held in extrajudicial detention and subjected to physical and psychological abuse including beatings, electroshock torture, outing to family, and murder.
  • President Vladimir Putin was reportedly briefed by the country’s human rights ombudswoman and is set up for a showdown with Ramzan Kadyrov, the authoritarian leader of the republic.
Read

“Russia investigates ‘gay purge’ in Chechnya” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Chechnya’s anti-gay pogrom: Too much even for the Kremlin?” (The Christian Science Monitor | May 2017)

“‘They Have Long Arms and They Can Find Me’” (Human Rights Watch | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Arden Arkman/AP, via The Christian Science Monitor)

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Coptic Christians

More than two dozen Coptic Christians killed in attack in Egypt
  • Gunmen killed at least 29 and wounded two dozen more in Minya Province while they were en route to a monastery in central Egypt.
  • The Islamic State claimed responsibility, the latest in a series of attacks by the fundamentalist group on the religious minority that has left more than 100 dead since December 2016.
  • Thousands mourned the dead at the Church of the Sacred Family in the village of Dayr Jarnous before beginning a defiant march expressing outrage and calling for retribution.
Read

“Grief, rage in Egyptian church after Copts attacked by gunmen” (Reuters | May 2017)

“Gunmen in Egypt Force Coptic Christian Pilgrims From Buses and Kill 28” (The New York Times | May 2017)

“Egypt Coptic Christians: IS claims attack” (BBC News | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Amr Nabil/Associated Press, via The New York Times)

Gender, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Italy News | Black

Italian MEP convicted of defamation for racist remarks
  • Mario Borghezio was convicted for comments against former Italian MP Cécile Kyenge, Italy’s first black national minister.
  • Borghezio had stated in a 2013 interview that Kyenge, who immigrated from the DRC, wanted to “impose her tribal traditions from the Congo” and was “a good housewife, but not a government minister.”
  • Kyenge has faced numerous racial attacks as a result of her political visibility, and the ruling is the latest in a series of successful defamation cases she has brought.
Read

“Northern League MEP must pay €50,000 to ex-minister over racial slurs” (The Local | May 2017)

“Italian in Europe’s Parliament Convicted of Defamation for Racial Insult” (The New York Times | May 2017)

“Italian MEP Cecile Kyenge: ‘I feel vindicated’” (BBC News | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Gianni Cipriano/The New York Times)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Russia News | Gay Men

Scores of gay men reportedly sent to concentration camps in Chechnya
  • According to reports from human rights organizations, more than 100 men have been imprisoned in camps the Russian republic of Chechnya where they have been tortured.
  • The abducted men have ranged in age from 16 to 50, some having been lured via social media and with three among them having reportedly been killed.
  • The abductions began as an LGBT advocacy group began applying for permits to hold parades in provincial cities around the country, although the group avoided applications in much of the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region given the volatile climate.
Read

“Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men, Russian Paper Says” (The New York Times | April 2017)

“Chechen police ‘have rounded up more than 100 suspected gay men’” (The Guardian | April 2017)

“More than 100 gay men ‘sent to prison camps’ in Chechnya” (The Independent | April 2017)

(Image Credit: Musa Sadulayev/AP, via The Guardian)

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Christians

At least three dozen killed in church bombings in Egypt
  • At least 25 were killed and 78 injured at St. George’s Church in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, while a second targeted St. Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Pope in Alexandra, killing at least 11 and wounding 35.
  • The bombings, claimed by the Islamic State, came during Palm Sunday observances, a week before Easter and ahead of a planned visit by Pope Francis.
  • The attacks are the latest in a series committed by fundamentalist Islamic militants, with the Islamic State having shifted its strategy in Egypt to targeting the country’s Coptic Christian minority.
Read

“Bombings at Egyptian Coptic churches kill 36, injure more than 100” (Reuters | April 2017)

“ISIS Claims 2 Deadly Explosions at Egyptian Coptic Churches on Palm Sunday” (The New York Times | April 2017)

“Egypt: Isis claims responsibility for Coptic church bombings” (The Guardian | April 2017)

(Image Credit: Khaled Elfiqi/European Pressphoto Agency, via The New York Times)

Gender

India News | Women

Female students locked in hostels to avoid harassment during Holi festival in Delhi
  • Two women’s hostels at the University of Delhi were put on lockdown over the Holi holiday out of safety fears.
  • India’s minister for women argued the restrictions were necessary to defend against consequences of “hormonal outbursts.”
  • Women have long reported being sexually assaulted during the festival, but some activists expressed outrage at women’s rather than men’s mobility being targeted as a response.
Read

“Holi festival: Delhi women forced into lockdown amid sexual harassment fears” (The Guardian | March 2017)

“Delhi University hostels ‘lock up’ girls on Holi” (The Asian Age | March 2017)

“Delhi University hostels prohibit women students from playing Holi outside the premises” (International Business Times | March 2017)

(Image Credit: Reuters, via International Business Times)

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration

U.S. News | Indians

Man kills two Indian-born engineers in Kansas hate attack
  • Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both employees at the tech company Garmin, were shot and killed by Adam Purinton in Olathe, Kansas as anti-immigrant sentiment surges in U.S.
  • Eyewitnesses reported that the killer believed the men to be of Middle Eastern descent and shouted “go back to your country” before the attack.
  • A third man, Ian Grillot, was injured after being shot while attempting to defend the men.
Read

“Hate Crime Is Feared as 2 Indian Engineers Are Shot in Kansas” (The New York Times | February 2017)
“Man charged with killing Indian said to have shouted ‘go back to your country’” (The Guardian | February 2017)
“After this, do we really need to go and work in the U.S., asks father of Indian injured in Kansas shooting” (The Hindu | February 2017)

(Image Credit: Amy Stroth/The New York Times)