One Billion Rising Against Sexual Violence: Will It Be Enough for India?

by Chryselle D’Silva Dias -India- I was a schoolgirl when I first experienced harassment on public buses in Mumbai. I still remember the red double-decker #361, the conductor with the pock-marked face and thick black moustache not moving an inch...

Posted by Chryselle D'Silva Dias on January 21, 2013 9:40 AM

Crime After Crime: Director Yoav Potash and Attorney Joshua Safran on Documenting Domestic Violence Survivor Deborah Peagler

by Jessica Mosby -USA- After watching the new documentary Crime After Crime at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, I was angry. I felt an intense call to action – to tell everyone I know that they must see the 93-minute...

Posted by Jessica Mosby on August 6, 2011 6:30 AM

New Law to Address Child Sexual Abuse in India

by Lesley D. Biswas -India- On March 24, 2011 India woke up to a chilling headline that read: “Man held for raping his minor daughter.” The victim, a 13-year-old girl from North Delhi allegedly had been raped several times over...

Posted by Lesley D. Biswas on June 28, 2011 12:00 AM

New Ban Creates Uncertainty and Tension for Palestinians Working in Israeli Settlements

by Sarah Irving - Australia - The past few weeks have brought confusion and uncertainty for many of the estimated 40-50,000 West Bank Palestinians who work in illegal Israeli settlements. Are they breaking the law by not giving up their...

Posted by Sarah Irving on February 4, 2011 12:00 AM

Legal and Social Acceptance of Polygamy Destabilizing Families

by Suad Hamada -Bahrain- Polygamy is both legal and socially accepted in Bahrain and the rest of the Islamic world. Religious leaders defend the right of men to have up to four wives if they ensure equality among them. Yet,...

Posted by Suad Hamada on October 19, 2010 7:37 AM

India’s Bikini Ban: Blaming Women for Rape

by Neeta Lal - India - The alleged rape of a nine-year-old Russian girl in January by two Indian men in Goa has ricocheted far beyond India’s resort state. Famous for its sun, sand and surf, since the assault this...

Posted by Neeta Lal on April 1, 2010 12:00 AM

India’s Fastest Growing Crime: Rape and the Fight for Justice

by Priyanka Bhardwaj - India - Last year’s World Economic Forum study on gender parity gave India a dismal ranking: 114th out of 134 nations. Only 77% of women are literate and just 23% are employed. UNICEF’s 2009 State of...

Posted by Priyanka Bhardwaj on March 22, 2010 12:00 AM

The Hard Way Out: Divorce by Khula

by Suad Hamada - Bahrain - Fadhila is only allowed to go to the toilet after asking permission from her husband, she also puts up with his frequent demands for sex - even when she’s menstruating – but neither is...

Posted by Suad Hamada on March 18, 2010 12:00 AM

California’s Prison Spending Grows While the State Budget Shrinks

by Rachel Meyer - USA - As I sit and write this, a young man sits in County Jail awaiting his sentence. Three years ago he was involved in a fight while in juvenile hall for drug related charges. This...

Posted by Rachel Meyer on January 28, 2010 12:00 AM

Making Farms Friendlier: Watchdogs Expose Myth Behind “Humane” Food Labeling

by Michelle Chen - USA - A typical suburban supermarket aisle today will feature free-range turkeys and grass-fed steak glistening in shrink wrap—a sign, perhaps, that Americans are growing more conscious of the connection between tonight's dinner and the environment....

Posted by Michelle Chen on January 18, 2010 12:00 AM

Defending Human Rights in Colombia is a Deadly Job

by Moira Birss - Colombia - “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid,” Jorge tells me. “Your right to freedom disappears - you have to limit your movements and activities.” I would be afraid, too; Jorge and...

Posted by Moira Birss on January 11, 2010 12:00 AM

Advance Directives, Not “Death Panels”:
Moving Beyond the Hysteria

by Deborah K. Cruze, JD MA - USA - Kareem lays silently, hooked up to a ventilator and numerous other machines in the Intensive Care Unit. His family surrounds him, anxiously discussing what the next step should be. Yesterday he...

Posted by Deborah K. Cruze on November 2, 2009 12:00 AM

Workplace ”Mobbing”: EU Integration Pushes Macedonian Labor Law to the Surface

by Natasha Dokovska - Macedonia - "I have 15 years seniority over the human resources officer and the highest level of education. Eight years ago, I was the head of the department, but in the last two years I have...

Posted by Natasha Dokovska on October 21, 2009 12:00 AM

The International Violence Against Women Act: What Are We Waiting For?

by Patricia T. Morris, Ph.D. - USA - “After the abuse I suffered during the genocide in 1994, I was 16 years old, hopeless and traumatized,” says Marie Chantal Nimugire of Kigali, Rwanda. “I asked God, ‘Why was I left?’...

Posted by Patricia T. Morris on October 12, 2009 12:00 AM

Marital Rape: Still an Underreported Crime in India

by Lesley D. Biswas - India - When Mili held her newborn baby girl in her arms she wept, not with joy but with a deep sense of pain and disgust. The child reminded her of the intense physical pain...

Posted by Lesley D. Biswas on October 5, 2009 12:00 AM

Decriminalizing Same Sex Relations in India: A Legal Beginning

by Aditi Bhaduri - India - A mini revolution is underway in India. On July 2nd the Delhi High Court read down a 149-year-old archaic law that criminalized same sex relations. It is a tiny victory for a battle that...

Posted by Aditi Bhaduri on September 28, 2009 12:00 AM

The Human Cost of Unregulated Arms Trade

by Binalakshmi Nepram-Mentschel - India - In July I spoke before the United Nations General Assembly in honor of the tens of thousands of people who have lost their lives to gun violence in my part of the world. The...

Posted by Binalakshmi Nepram-Mentschel on August 14, 2009 12:00 AM

Refugees and the Risk of Rape

by Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch - USA - “We need the NGOs to bring firewood in lorries [trucks]. If they do not, we have to keep going. We have heard and seen rape with our eyes here outside the camp. In...

Posted by Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch on July 23, 2009 12:00 AM

"Fat Activists" Seek Law Banning Weight Discrimination

by Mridu Khullar - India / USA - In December 2008, Binghamton, New York, became one of just six cities in the United States to enact laws protecting against weight discrimination. The others are San Francisco and Santa Cruz (California),...

Posted by Mridu Khullar on July 8, 2009 12:00 AM

Immigrant Survivors of Abuse Struggle within a Changing System

by Michelle Chen – USA – “I can scream, and nobody can hear me.” The walls had been closing in on Monica Bejar for years. She and her husband had both crossed over the U.S.-Mexico border for work, like countless...

Posted by Michelle Chen on August 4, 2008 12:00 AM

Abuse Survivors Face Systemic Struggles as Resources for Help Dwindle

by Michelle Chen - USA - Tanya McLeod’s marriage was hurting, but her husband thought he could make it up to her when he brought her a cute dog as a “peace offering.” The family stayed together and the dog...

Posted by Michelle Chen on April 9, 2008 12:00 AM

In a Landmark Case, Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada Gets Life in Prison on Corruption Charges

by Imelda V. Abaño Philippines • Anti-Estrada protestors in 2001. Photograph by Imelda V. Abaño. •"It is a political decision…I am innocent!" cried the 70-year-old already ousted Philippine President Joseph Estrada after he was convicted of corruption on a massive...

Posted by Imelda V. Abaño on September 17, 2007 11:40 AM