February 2006

In 2005, the Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with Save the Children UK program in Montenegro and Professor Radoje Korac, PhD, Law Faculty, department for family law, formed a working group to develop a draft law on the protection from violence in the family. The project also received funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which hopes Montenegro will adopt accessible and effective judicial remedies in combating domestic violence.  In January of 2006, a draft version of the law, entitled “Law on Protection of Domestic Violence,” was circulated amongst local NGOs in Montenegro and international organizations abroad, seeking comments or suggestions for improving and strengthening the law.  Gathering opinions on the draft law from a range of professionals, field-workers, and scholars will assist the working group in developing and refining the eventual document. The domestic violence law is expected to pass in June of 2006.

While the Law represents a sincere step forward in recognizing domestic violence as a societal problem, initial criticisms of the draft law express concern that women who suffer or who have suffered violence will not be adequately protected under the current version. The Law relies upon vague language, and enables the police or non-governmental organizations to apply for protection measures against the batterer without consent of the adult victim. The Law also imposes lighter criminal penalties on perpetrators of domestic violence than those provided by general criminal assault laws. Commentators stress the need to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes in order to provide real protection for victims of domestic violence.

A general evaluation of the first draft Law on protection from violence in the family by the NGO SOS hotline Podgorica is that this draft law does not follow the intensity and the scope of the serious social problem as domestic violence is, nor does it provide adequate protection to the critical target group of women who suffer or suffered violence in the family – the Law is systematically drafted in a wrong way, first of all because it transfers violators’ sanctioning from the criminal-legal regulation to the law of torts by which this incriminated behavior gives lower (lighter) level of social danger.

SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence Podgorica is seeking experts to review and comment on the draft law. Genoveva Tisheva of the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation and Cheryl Thomas of The Advocates for Human Rights have reviewed and provided commentary on strengths and weaknesses of the law. 

To view commentary or to post your own commentary, please click here.

Draft Law on Protection from Violence in Family

Draft Law on Protection from Violence in Family

According to a recent study published in BMC Family Practice, “How and why community hospital clinician document a positive screen for intimate partner violence: a cross-sectional study,” nearly one-third of primary care providers do not record a patient’s disclosure of domestic violence on their medical charts. The study compared the medical records of people who reported having experienced domestic violence on their waiting room screening questionnaires. Only 10% of the charts which documented domestic violence included a referral and safety plan.

The study is available online at www.biomedcentral.com/bmcfampract/

Compiled from: “Domestic Violence Screening Study,” Family Violence Prevention Fund, 15 February 2006.

A draft resolution for the establishment of a new U.N. Human Rights Council circulated among the 191 U.N. member states earlier this month. The Human Rights Council is intended to replace the Human Rights Commission, whose members have included some of the worst human rights violators, including Sudan and Libya. Under the current draft, 45 member countries from all regions would be elected onto the council for three-year terms. Members could serve no more than two consecutive terms at a time, but would be permitted to reapply for membership after one year. Unlike the Human Rights Commission, which meets six times a year, the Council would meet year-round. Unlike the Security Council, the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain would not have permanent seats on the Human Rights Council. Under the current version, members of the new Human Rights Council would be elected by the General Assembly on May 9th, replacing the Human Rights Commission on June 16th.

The draft strikes a balance between the proposals submitted by the United States, which advocates a 30 member council elected by a two-thirds majority, and developing nations, which support a 53 member-council elected by a majority of votes. It has not yet been established whether member states would be elected onto the council following a simple majority or two-thirds vote. Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch argues that “without the two-thirds vote, the risk is that the worst abusers will continue to be elected.” While the draft states that membership should be open to all countries, it also directs member states to “take into consideration the candidates’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and…whether there are any situations that constitute systematic and gross violations of human rights” in that country.

Members would be required to abide by human rights standards and are charged with the duty to respond quickly to abuses worldwide. While member states are subject to review of their human rights records while serving on the council, the draft also requires “universal periodic review” of every country’s human rights obligations.

Compiled from: Edith M. Lederer, “New Draft for U.N. Rights Panel Circulates,” Forbes/Associated Press, 2 February 2006; Warren Hoge, “With its Human Rights Oversight Under Fire, U.N. Submits a Plan for a Strengthened Agency,” New York Times, 3 February, 2006.

Turkey has received attention as one of the largest markets for the illicit sex trafficking of women from former Soviet states, with 5,000 women estimated to be working as sex slaves in the country. The women, usually between the ages of 18 and 24, are mostly from Moldova and the Ukraine and are lured into Turkey with false promises of jobs as waitresses or dancers. Once in Turkey, their passports are confiscated, the women raped and beaten. Nearly one-third of these women are mothers of small children.

The Ankara bureau of the International Organization for Migration has launched an awareness campaign appealing to the high importance Turkish society places on family. A recent television commercial features four children left behind in Moldova, begging in broken Turkish for their mothers. Turkey has also set up free telephone help lines, hoping clients will provide information so that the authorities can locate and rescue these women. Last year 52 women were rescued from calls to these help-lines, and over two-thirds of the callers were clients.

Despite Turkey’s efforts to combat sex-trafficking, the United States has slashed funding for the program citing financial strain. However, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara observes, “we get so much return on our program in Turkey, which is why we would like to continue our support.”

Compiled from: Amberin Zaman, “Sex Trafficking Plagues Turkey,” Los Angeles Times, 1 February 2006.

In April of this year, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Dixon v. United States, a case involving a woman who invokes battered women’s syndrome as a defense to a conviction for the illegal purchase of firearms. Dixon claims that fear for her life and that of her two daughters led her to purchase seven guns for her boyfriend, an ex-felon. In order to purchase the guns at two gun shows, Dixon provided a false address and lied about not facing criminal charges (she was under indictment for a “check-cashing scheme” at the time.) Dixon appealed her conviction stating that the Judge wrongly refused to allow the Jury hear expert testimony on battered women’s syndrome and the effects of domestic violence. However, the Supreme Court will not rule on this issue. Instead, the Supreme Court will decide whether a defendant must prove that she or he was under duress, or whether it is the responsibility of the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant was not under duress. Today, Dixon has completed her prison sentence, and no longer lives with her abusive boyfriend.

Compiled from: “Supreme Court to Hear Domestic Violence Case,” Family Violence Prevention Fund (15 February 2006).

SARBDOR, 13 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Proudly showing off her cow and calf in the village of Sarbdor, around 80 km west of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, Mavliuda Madrahimova says that her livestock, an important source of diary products for her family, has been purchased thanks to a micro-crediting project currently under way in the Central Asian state.

She decided to buy the cow as, in recent years, her family has had fodder available after they harvested crops from their land plot. The scheme has changed the family’s life, Mavliuda said.

After her husband had a heart attack and became bed-ridden in 1998, the family of nine were desperate with no money to live on. “At that time, my children were going to primary school, our collective farm ceased to operate and nobody was there to help us. I had became the head of the household and had to run a small family farm,” Mavliuda explained.

Initiated by the Tajik government and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the local Women in Development bureau is providing assistance to rural women through training and micro-credits.

Following such training, Mavliuda decided to borrow a micro-credit to buy seeds and fertilisers. “It was a very big risk for us. When we used to work for a collective farm, we only worked the fields and did not bear any responsibility. But now we have to learn how to run things, make profit and pay back the loan,” the female farmer said.

The enterprise proved successful and other schemes followed. “After paying back the first loan, we borrowed more, including [money] to purchase a vehicle, equipment for processing agricultural produce and for raising livestock,” Mavliuda maintained, adding that now the family had a stable and sustainable income. “I am so happy that my sons did not have to leave for Russia in search of work as many of our neighbours did.”

While Mavliuda’s income back in 1998 was almost zero, after joining the scheme she has been able to marry two sons and the family have money to buy good quality foodstuff and clothes.

Female-headed households are not unusual in Tajikistan, which is still reeling from the consequences of the five-year civil war that ravaged the country between 1992 and 1997. More than 25,000 women became widows because of the conflict.

Moreover, tens of thousands of men leave for Russia’s main cities in search of work, while their wives remain behind taking responsibility for their extended family. In order to provide for their families women have no choice other than to master new trades and professions.

According to the World Bank, over 60 percent of Tajikistan’s population lives below the national poverty line and the average monthly salary is little over US $20. Observers say that the poverty level in rural areas is even higher.

In an effort to tackle the issue, UNDP launched its micro-credits programme in 1997 for rural women. The project is aimed at promoting rural entrepreneurship and working on the issue of unemployment and sustainable livelihoods.

UNDP’s programme on community development in Tajikistan is currently working in 30 districts of the former Soviet republic and has distributed loans worth some $3 million, with around 40,000 beneficiaries, of whom some 30 percent are women.

“We work mainly with vulnerable groups in many provinces. Our customers pay their micro-credits back on time and there have not been any cases of default loans so far,” Mubin Rustamov, senior adviser on economic development in UNDP’s Tajikistan office, said.

Shulamo Khoshakova, director of the local Gender va Tarakkiyot (Gender and Development) NGO providing micro-credits to women, said that new enterprises were very varied.

“We have supported projects on developing livestock and poultry farms, small mills, bakeries and pastry workshops in various places. Our customers also grow fruit and vegetables, flowers, and are active in bee-farming and fishery,” Khoshakova said.

Published in: UN Micro-credit Project Helps Women in Rural Areas, UN IRIN, 13 February 2006. © IRIN.

[This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.]

This unique report issued by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Statistics Division presents sex disaggregated statistics on such topics as health, demographics, education, work, violence against women, poverty, human rights and decision-making.  As the fourth World's Women report issued since 1991, this edition attempts to address some of the concerns raised in previous reports regarding the availability of national statistics on gender.  Strategies for improving national collection of data as well as mainstreaming gender concerns into national statistical frameworks were also included in the report. 

Compiled from: "The World's Women 2005: Progress in Statistics", The United Nations Statistics Division, February 2006.

On 9 February 2006, the Moldovan parliament passed a law in the final reading which requires gender equality in public and private sectors. The law guarantees equality of access for both men and women to governmental posts as well as private sector employment. A proposal to require at least 30% of all candidates on electoral lists to be women stirred debate among the members of Parliament. Some argued that after years of being relegated to a different level of society, women needed the push of a quota to be adequately represented in the new democracy. Others, both men and women, stated that such stipulations would undermine the women candidates' individual qualifications and skills. The specific proposal was opposed by the majority of lawmakers, while the law on equality passed in its first version with 65 votes in favor and 2 against.

Compiled from: "Principle of Equal Chances for Women and Men Legislated in Moldova", www.wunrn.com, 9 Februrary 2006.

Security forces in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, stopped a charter flight to the
United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on the evening of 13 February, akipress.org reported. The plane's passengers included 61 young women-- one Kyrgyz citizen, one Turkmen citizen, and 59 Uzbek citizens --suspected of traveling to engage in prostitution. The women were removed from the flight and an investigation is ongoing. A BBC Uzbek Service correspondent who spoke with some of the women reported that one, a resident of Samarkand, said that she was traveling to work in a restaurant in Dubai. But another woman, a 17-year-old from Ferghana, said that she was going to the U.A.E. to work as a prostitute. The woman
cited a lack of alternative employment opportunities in Uzbekistan as the reasons for her decision.

Cited in: RFE/RL Newsline Vol. 10, No. 29, Part I, www.rferl.org, 15 February 2006.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036. www.rferl.org.

Recognizing the extent and complexity of violence against women that currently exists within the member states of the EU, the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality released a report in December 2005 calling for a resolution to combat the problem. The Committee notes that the right to life and physical safety is the most fundamental of rights and that governments, through the rule of law, "should be regarded as a tool for the defence of fundamental rights." Violence against women is a violation of the women's right to physical safety, a right the state is obligated to protect. Historically, however, governments have been unwilling to extend their protection into the home, where violence against women primarily takes place.  Only within the last several decades have governments acknowledged that women are entitled to this protection even when it takes place within the family structure in the privacy of the couple's own home. A number of international documents now recognize the woman's right to be free from violence as a fundamental human right. The Committee expresses concern that even after a number of international treaties that recognize the  have been drafted and ratified, there are still women throughout the EU that are subjected to this violence with little or no protection from the state.

The Committee's report notes that violence against women is not just a crime, it is "also a major social problem." Recognizing the serious nature of the crime, including its effect on the economy and the devastating effects it has on children, the Committee called on the Parliament to pass a resolution requiring member states to extend the necessary protection to victims and potential victims of domestic violence.

The European Parliament answered the Committee's call with a resolution on 2 February 2006. The provisional edition of the text calls for action to address currently occurring violence as well as action to prevent the violence. The resolution calls for futher study to determine the full extent of the problem in the EU, including the frequency and type of violence, the economic effect of the violence and the effect of the violence on children. The resolution includes a long list of recommendations for the Commission and for member states, regarding everything from formulation of a zero-tolerance policy to cooperation between member state governments and NGOs to training, education and funding. It sets a minimum standard of protection for women. It calls on Member States to answer the call to protect women's fundamental right to physical safety.

Compiled from:
"Texts adopted by Parliament," European Parliament, (P6_TA-PROV(2006)00382), February 2006; "Report on the current situation in combating violence against women," Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, European Parliament, (A6-0404/2005), 9 December 2005.

From 27 February to 10 March 2006, the Commission on the Status of Women will hold its 50th session at UN headquarters in New York.  The Commission was established as part of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council in 1946, with the two main functions of presenting recommendations and reports to the Council which promote women's rights in all fields, and of making recommendations to the Council on urgent problems in the field of women's rights. Its object is to promote women's rights within the framework of the principle of equal rights for all. The Commission meets annually for ten working days. This year, the two thematic issues are enhanced participation of women in development, and equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels. To learn more about the Commission, read the Commission on the Status of Women 50th Session webpage.

Compiled from:  "50th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women", Division for the Advancement of Women: CSW 50th Session, January 2006.

What does a fair representation of female judges on the bench of the
International Criminal Court augur for women's rights?

By Kathambi Kinoti


On January 26, 2006, three more women were elected to the bench of the
International Criminal Court (ICC), bringing the total number of women
judges to eight out of a total of 18 judges. This proportion of 44% is
unprecedented in international courts and tribunals; only 49 out of 260
judges in other international justice organs are women. [1]

The Rome Statute that sets up the ICC requires that there be fair
representation of male and female judges and, according to Kaari Murungi of
Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, fair representation would mean
anything from 40% to 60%. The results of the recent elections have
therefore been lauded as a step in the right direction, [2] and the
precedent they set promises to have significant implications for justice
and the upholding of women's rights.


Raised confidence in the international justice system

The Rome Statute endeavours to ensure that, as the old adage goes, justice
is not only done but is seen to be done. In terms of women's rights, it
does this by integrating gender in the substance of the law, as well as the
structure and procedures of the court. The Statute squarely places crimes of
sexual violence, which were for a long time not treated with the gravity
they deserve, in the category of war crimes, crimes against humanity and
acts of genocide.

Not only does the Rome Statute require fair representation, it also
requires that the court endeavour to hire personnel with legal expertise on
violence against women. In the past, the absence of prosecutions for acts of
violence against women in war has been attributed to 'the inferior treatment
of crimes of sexual violence and the lack of gender sensitivity and balance
in the composition of the prosecutors, investigators and courts that have
dealt with war crimes.' [3] Rather than being relegated to certain pockets,
women's rights implicitly cross-cut the way that the ICC is set up, operates
and is required to apply international human rights law. This is likely to
instil confidence in the international criminal justice system.

Another area in which the Rome Statute promises to improve on the delivery
of justice is in its ability to ensure compliance with its provisions.
Whereas other international human rights organs can usually only resort to
diplomatic or ethical pressure to ensure compliance, the ICC has strong
legal enforcement mechanisms, and its jurisdiction can be applied to
individual perpetrators directly. This will provide opportunities to women
victims whose states are reluctant to prosecute gender based human rights
violations to seek justice directly from the ICC.

Model for women's rights activism

The integration of women and women's rights within the ICC provides a model
for other institutions, whether national, regional or international. This
integration is largely the result of sustained advocacy by women's
organizations. The Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, which was a grouping
of women's organizations from all over the world, made a significant
contribution to the shaping of the Rome Statute. However, advocacy did not
stop with the adoption of the Statute. The Women's Initiatives for Gender
Justice continues to influence the practical realization of the intentions
of the Statute by informing women about job openings in the ICC, lobbying
to ensure that equal numbers of women are elected to the court, and
providing gender-legal advice and training to the court's staff. [4] The
court itself encourages civil society groups to help ensure that that it is
effective as a human rights instrument. [5]

Organizations working on women's rights can use the provisions of Rome
Statute on the administration of the court, the recruitment of personnel
and court procedures, as well as its provisions on substantive law as a
model for other international organs and also national ones. They can also
gather inspiration for their own work from the advocacy of women's
organizations that contributed to making the ICC a tool for gender
justice.

The ICC has already established worthy precedents in several areas, and it
will now be under scrutiny for the precedents it sets in its decisions on
violations of women's rights. Hopefully, women's rights activists will also
be able to use its decisions to advance women's rights in their own
contexts.

----------------------
Notes:
1. Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice 'Three women elected to the bench
of the ICC.' January 26, 2006. http://www.iccwomen.org/news/2006_01_26.php
2. Ibid.
3. Afrin, Z. and Schwartz, A. 'A human rights instrument that works for
women: the ICC as a tool for gender justice,' ''Defending our dreams'' Ed.
Wilson, Sengupta and Evans. London and New York: Zed Books and AWID, 2005,
p. 152.
4. Ibid. p. 156.
5. Ibid.

Published in: The International Criminal Court: A Model for Gender Integration, Kathambi Kinoti, AWID Resource Net Friday File 261, 10 February 2006.

Dear colleagues,

"We need to stop viewing violence against women as a problem which only affects women. In its entirety it is a grave social and public health issue, due to both its magnitude and the serious repercussions it carries for the collective safety and health of families and society." Elena Salgado, Minister of Health, Spain and President of the World Health Assembly 2005, in her editorial to "Responding to Violence against Women", the new Entre Nous - The European Magazine for Sexual and Reproductive Health (No 61). This special issue on violence against women published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the United Nations Family Planning Association (UNFPA) is a contribution to the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, the international campaign to end violence against women. This campaign bridges between the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), the World AIDS day (1 December), and the International Human Rights day (10 December). The theme of this year's campaign, "For the health of Women, for the health of the World: NO MORE VIOLENCE", offers an opportunity to more strongly engage the public health community. The Entre nous issue "Responding to violence against Women" sheds light on violence against women in the European Region: its magnitude and burden, national action and regional networks policy implications and responses, adolescents experience and the social context.

Please visit the following website: http://www.euro.who.int/violenceinjury/violence/20050208_1 and read more in this special issue on: - inequalities in health - the greatest challenge of this century - violence against women and HIV: linked or parallel epidemics? - sexual violence against children and adolescents: adolescents view on it - partner violence during pregnancy as a threat to maternal health - need for national action plan and a multi-sectoral response.

With best wishes,

Dr Gunta Lazdane Regional Advisor, Reproductive Health Principal editor, Entre Nous

Dr Inge Baumgarten Technical Officer, Prevention of Violence Violence and Injury Prevention
WHO Regional Office for Europe Scherfigsvej
8 DK-2100 Copenhagen East Denmark
Tel: +45 3917 1502
Fax: +45 3917 1892
e-mail: IBA@euro.who.int
New website launched at: www.euro.who.int/violenceinjury

A call for NGO input on the 2006 Trafficking in Persons report produced by the U.S. Department of State has been made by Ambassador John R. Miller, director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The U.S. State Department reports that in past years, information and input supplied by NGOs has significantly contributed to the decisions of the Department in how to coordinate a response to trafficking. A questionnaire, including four sections labelled General Law Enforcement, Health-Related Issues, Prevention of Trafficking, Victim Assistance and Protection, has been sent to NGOs working on issues of trafficking, and is due to the State Department by 1 March 1 2006.

Compiled from: Call for NGO Input on 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. State Department, February 2006.

Azerbaijani Deputy Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov, the senior
official responsible to combat human trafficking, reported on 2 February
that police have arrested 269 individuals on charges of human
trafficking, Turan reported. Eyvazov explained that the Azerbaijani
authorities have uncovered and dismantled some 50 criminal gangs
involved in human trafficking operating in the country. Eyvazov also
reported that counseling services were being provided to victims of
human trafficking and added that victims are "illegally sent to Turkey,
the United Arab Emirates, and other foreign countries."

Published in: Azerbaijani Security Official Reports on Human Trafficking, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, 3 Februrary 2006.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

The Bulgarian Law on Combating the Illegal Trafficking in Human Beings is now available on Legislationline.org.

The Moldovan Draft Law on the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Human Beings is now available on Legislationline.org

The Ukrainian Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine Criminalizing Trafficking in Persons is now available on Legislationline.org.

Compiled from: "Country Legislation", Legislationline.org, January 2006.

Beginning January 1, 2006, Kazakhstan reduced the state registration fees for all legal entities, including NGOs.  Kazakkstani NGOs, which had been paying the equivalent of $146 in registration fees, will now pay the reduced rate registration rate of $57.  90% of all NGOs applying for registration will benefit from the change. 

Compiled  from: "NGO State Registration Fees Reduced in Kazakhstan", International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, January 19, 2006.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has signed the Trafficking Convention of the European Council.  Find the complete Convention here.

It was reported that today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (parliament) adopted amendments to Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which criminalises trafficking in human beings. The amendments were adopted by way of 270 votes in favour. The amendments seek to bring Ukraine in line with the commitments resulting from signing the Additional Protocol to the UN Transnational Organised Crime Convention, on the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children (otherwise known as the "Palermo Protocol"), 2000.

Cited in: "Ukraine Adopts Amendments to Criminal Code Criminalizing Trafficking in Human Beings", Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, January 2006.

© OSCE, 2004. Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated.

The United  Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has announced two new publications dealing with gender-related issues.  Discussion Paper No. 17, entitled "Violence Against and Trafficking in Women as Symptoms of Discrimination: The Potential of CEDAW as an Antidote", examines the relevance of CEDAW in promoting gender equity and thereby reducing trafficking in women.  Discussion Paper No. 18, "Gender and HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific Region", analyzes the gender dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including such factors as poverty, gender discrimination, substance abuse, and violence against women.  Lastly, UNESCAP announces the creation of a new webpage, providing reports, documents, and sources on combating Commerical Sexual Exploitation of Chilidren (CSEC). 

Compiled from: "Gender and Development Discussion Paper Series No. 18: Gender and HIV/AIDS in the Asia and Pacific region", UNESCAP, 7 February 2006. 

The European Union passed a resolution concerning the rising trend of trafficking of women and children.  The resolution recognizes the contributions of international human rights documents, EU reports and communications, and international conventions, conferences, and action plans in creating the body of the resolution.  It recognizes the proportions, the geographical dimensions, and the causal factors of the trafficking industry, stating that previous treaties on trafficking have caused no improvements and that the industry continues to expand and develop.  Trafficking is a serious crime and a gross abuse of fundamental human rights, the resolution declares, and in order to prevent this transnational crime governments must be willing to work together on all levels -- regional, national, international -- to address all aspects of the trafficking process, including push and pull factors.  Furthermore, the resolution suggests passing treaties with a goal of halving trafficking numbers in the near future, and suggests studies on the links between migration, trafficking, and demand for prostitution.  Calling on all member nations to actively work against trafficking by providing education and employment and enforcing laws, the resolution also demands all relevant bodies of the EU to make the reduction of trafficking a central programmatic goal. 

Compiled from: "European Parliament resolution on strategies to prevent the trafficking of women and children who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation (2004/2216(INI))", European Parliament, 17 January 2006.

Public Statement

AI Index: EUR 11/001/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 023
26 January 2006

Amnesty International welcomes recent initiatives to introduce legislation in Albania to prevent violence against the family and to protect victims of such violence.

“This is a much-needed step forward in tackling violence against women in the family”, said Amnesty International, a human rights organization which has campaigned world-wide against violence against women.

On 23 January 2006 a coalition of Albanian non governmental organizations (NGOs), led by the Citizen’s Advocacy Organization and including the main Albanian women and children’s NGOs, presented a draft law on the prevention of violence within the family to the legislative commission of the Albanian parliament by citizens’ petition. The draft law includes provisions for both the prevention of such violence and for measures to protect victims, who lack effective remedy under current legislation.

Statistics suggest that around 40 per cent of Albanian women have experienced such violence in its physical or psychological forms. The citizens' petition, signed by 20,000 Albanians, is an indicator that a significant sector of Albanian society condemns this widespread and deeply damaging phenomenon and calls for effective action against it.

In a report to be published in March 2006 Amnesty International will also ask the Albanian government to go further, and amend the Criminal Code so that such violence may be defined and criminalized under domestic legislation, as recommended in 2003 to the Albanian government by the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Amnesty International's report will highlight the failure of successive Albanian governments to abide by their responsibilities under international law to prevent domestic violence, and in particular to protect women and girls, the most frequent victims, from such violence, and to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators.

Violence against women is an abuse of the human rights of women and girls, including their rights to mental and physical integrity, to liberty and security of the person, freedom of expression and the right to choice in marriage. Violence may lead to treatment amounting to torture, to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and in extreme cases, may violate the right to life. Violence against women prevents the full enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms such as the right to health and employment.

AI Index: EUR 11/001/2006

26 January 2006

Cited in: Albania, A Step Forward For Justice For Women: Public Statement, Amnesty International, 26 January 2006.

Take Back The News
P.O. Box 110-945, Brooklyn, NY 11211 · TakeBackTheNews.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Brandt
718/599-8857

Amnesty International recently published a report concluding that one in three people believes that women who behave flirtatiously are at least partially responsible for being raped, and a similar number think that women are partially or wholly responsible for being raped if they are drunk.  Recent statistics (National Center for Policy Analysis, U.S. Dept. of Justice) estimate that only 6% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail for their crime. Rape may be the only crime where the victim is blamed and the perpetrator nearly always escapes punishment.  Yet, rape is one of the most devastating crimes that can happen to a person.  What is it about rape and sexual assault that causes society to blame the victim, to allow the perpetrator to escape punishment, and to largely ignore its very existence?  More importantly, how can these attitudes be changed?

February 13^th marks the launch of Take Back The News’ new website, www.takebackthenews.org.  Take Back the News works to raise public awareness about the epidemic of rape, in order to foster greater public dialogue and ultimately greater public responsibility.  The new site reflects the incorporation and revamp of this anti-rape organization, including the formation of a Media Response Project to streamline communications with media outlets, and the distribution of free Community Print Project Kits that college activist groups can use to gather and publish rape survival stories. 

Jen Curley, who organized a Take Back The News Community Print Project at La Salle University in Philadelphia, said, “The impact was incredible. It served as the catalyst for the first Speak-Out on campus. We were worried that people wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing their stories in a large group, but the Speak-Out lasted for three hours, with woman after woman sharing her story—some for the first time ever. Take Back the News made it possible to start. There was a noticeable shift in community awareness after this—no longer could the University pretend that it didn’t happen on our campus. We also had to reprint the publication—we ran out of copies very quickly. The impact on the women who wrote their stories was really powerful—for some of us, it was the first time that we had written them. The women who wrote their stories talked about the power they felt in doing it and about the movement towards healing in the writing.”

Takebackthenews.org continues to publish rape survival stories told in survivors’ own words, as was the project’s original mission beginning in 2001.  These stories are the very heart of the organization’s mission to confront the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of sexual assault by mainstream media. 

The revitalization of this nonprofit organization is due, in large part, to the formation of a Board of Directors comprised of four sisters, Emily Brandt, the project’s founder and a New York City public school teacher; and Julia Brandt, a public school teacher and veteran activist; Laura Blasberg, an attorney; and Maria Brandt, a college literature professor.  The Board has established four main components of the project:

• Media Response Project: a streamlined system to track and archive media articles regarding rape and to contact editors and reporters regarding our concerns of how rape is misrepresented or underrepresented in the media
• Creative Writing Program: a program for colleges to use to encourage survivors to write about the circumstances surrounding their assault
• Book Project: a published book of compiled rape survival stories intended to increase public awareness that sexual assault is an epidemic that must be addressed with greater urgency by our lawmakers, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies
• Community Print Project Kits: Take Back the News print kits to be sent to community centers and campus women’s centers with instructions on how to raise community awareness through newspaper print projects and related events

In addition to these projects, Take Back the News is building a resource of information on police reporting experiences.  To learn more about these projects, visit www.takebackthenews.org today.

For more information, contact Emily Brandt at Emily@takebackthenews.org or at

718-599-8857.

Published in: Take Back The News: Four Sisters Confront the Rape Epidemic, Press Release, Take Back The News, 5 February 2006.

Press Release

18 January 2006

PUTIN SIGNS NGO BILL INTO LAW
President Putin signed controversial legislation on nongovernmental organizations into law on 10 January, but the move was not reported in the official "Rossyskaya gazeta" until 17 January in an apparent effort not to have the matter cloud German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to Moscow, "The Moscow Times" reported (see End Note, "RFE/RL Newsline," 17 January 2006). The law will come into force on 10 April. Asked why "Rossyskaya gazeta" waited a week to publish the announcement, Deputy Editor Timofei Kuznetsov said that it is "not a pressing law. It does not come into force from the moment it is published, but within 90 days [of being signed]." PM

31 January 2006

BRITISH AMBASSADOR DENIES CHARGES ON NGOS. Anthony Brenton, who is the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Russia, has written to several NGOs in that country to "assure all of our current and former recipients of grants that there is nothing unlawful or in anyway improper about our support to NGOs in Russia," the "Financial Times" reported on 31 January. The London daily noted that this "is the strongest [U.K.] response to date to the accusations made by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) that some Russian NGOs, including the Moscow Helsinki Group, are financed by the British intelligence service" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 and 27 January 2006). PM

PUBLIC CHAMBER CALLS FOR RESTRAINT WITH NGOS. Public Chamber Secretary Yevgeny Velikhov read a statement on 30 January in which he expressed concern over unspecified recent "statements about contacts between foreign special services and Russian public associations [NGOs]," Interfax reported. "The Public Chamber Council calls upon the state and the mass media to refrain from using the scandal to undermine the prestige of Russian [NGOs] pending an investigation into all the circumstances surrounding the matter," he added (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 and 30 January 2006). PM

1 February 2006

NGO ACTIVIST TO FILE LAWSUITS. Lyudmila Alekseyeva, a frequent RFE/RL contributor who heads the nongovernmental organization Moscow Helsinki Group, said in Moscow on 31 January that she will sue "the first and second television networks, the journalist Arkady Mamontov, and the head of the parliament's security committee...who have [recently] accused me of taking money from foreign spies," mosnews.com reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 January 2006). "This is exactly like [the times of] the Soviet Union, when I was accused of receiving money from the CIA.... We will defend all [NGOs] that are being put under pressure by the authorities," she added. The chairman of the State Duma Security Committee is Colonel General Vladimir Vasilev of the Unified Russia party. PM

2 February 2006

POLICE DETAIN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS. Police detained 15 human rights activists in Moscow on 1 February for holding a protest rally after being denied permission to do so, Russian news agencies reported.

About 50 activists from nongovernmental organizations gathered near the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to protest recent FSB allegations that Russian NGOs had received funds from alleged British spies. Activists say the allegations are part of a government campaign to discredit NGOs and gain support for a controversial new law restricting their activities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January and 1 February 2006). PM

Published in: Putin Signs NGO Bill into Law, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, 18 January 2006; British Ambassador Denies Charges on NGOs, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, 31 January 2006; Public Chamber Calls for Restraint with NGOs, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, 31 January 2006; NGO Activist to File Lawsuits, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, 1 February 2006; Police Detain Rights Activists, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, 2 February 2006.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

The Danish Red Cross has released an extensive study entitled "Good Practices in Reponse to Trafficking in Human Beings: Cooperation Between Civil Society and Law Enforcement in Europe." The report seeks to identify the different aspects of trafficking and examine their implications for appropriate and effective practices. It also analyzes frameworks for cooperation between government and civil society in Europe. The pratices of various non-governmental organizations, from such countries as Serbia, Ukraine, Belgium, and Italy, are profiled to support the study with evidence and enhance its regional diversity. Sections on law enforcement training and operational issues also exist. For more information, please see the full report from the Danish Red Cross.

The European Women's Lobby has released its "Gender Equality Roadmap for the European Community 2006-2010." The Roadmap will serve as a model for the European Commission's official communication on gender equality put forward at the beginning of 2006. The Roadmap emphasizes that action must be taken over the broad spectrum of European policies in order to promote gender equality and non-discriminatory behavior and policies. The Women's Lobby has identified six main themes and concrete actions, which are expected to be undertaken by the European Commission between 2006 and 2010.

Compiled from: "Gender Equality Road Map for the European Community", European Women's Lobby, January 2006.

On January 10, President Bush signed legislation that will provide $360 million over two years to the fight against human trafficking in the US and abroad. Funds from the bill will be used to contribute to knowledge on the subject as well as for providing assistance to victims. The bill sets aside funds for studies of trafficking, to compile statistics on the sex industry, for organizations assisting victims, and for helping United States law enforcement agencies to prosecute the crime. The U.S. Department of State estimates that as many as 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the United States every year. Across international borders, the figure jumps to 700,000 people each year, a number which many advocacy groups say is underestimated and increasing.

Compiled from: "Law Targets Traffickers", WomenseNews staff, WomenseNews, 14 January 2006.

At the January 16 - February 3 session of the Committee to Eliminate Discrimination against Women, Macedonia will present its country report at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

For more information, please see Macedonia's full report.  

Compiled from: CEDAW 34th Session, United Nations, January 2006.

As the only domestic abuse shelter in Kosovo, Liria faces massive cultural and financial challenges. The center was founded in 1999, soon after the international peacekeeping forces descended on the area following Kosovo's civil war. Nazife Jonuzi, the director of Liria, says these troops brought with them a Western approach to women in society, hiring women to work on military bases, acting respectfully, and, critically, expecting Kosovar men to do the same. The idea that domestic abuse is a private affair and should be dealt with by the family is one so entrenched in Kosovo that Jonuzi says there was no concept of shelters for victims of domestic violence before the Western peacekeeping troops arrived.

In addition to the task of challenging deeply-held cultural norms, Liria currently faces a financial crisis as funders refuse to dispense promised funds. At first, Liria was supported by international non-governmental organizations, but now both the center and peacekeeping troops report that its budget is supposed to come equally from Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the local municipality. However, while the municipality had already provided a building free of charge, it has so far refused to dispense its share of funding to Liria. The Austrian Ministry is waiting to see what happens with the municipality before offering their share. Liria and the women it serves are waiting, too, but also continuing to work against domestic abuse as the only safe haven for Kosovar women.

Compiled from: "A Haven for Abused Women in Kosovo", Damaso Reyes, Christian Science Monitor, 5 January 2006.

The 2006 call for Daphne II Programme proposals suggesting projects to eliminate violence against vulnerable groups has been announced. The Daphne II Program works with other non-governmental organizations in cooperation with the European Union to advocate support for organizations that prevent and combat violence against at-risk groups, such as children and women. Submission deadline for proposals is 10 Februrary 10 2006. Please see the EU Daphne Programme website for more information.

Compiled from: EU Daphne Programme, Europa: Gateway to the European Union, December 2005.