· January, 2013

Stories about Women & Gender from January, 2013

Discussing the Caribbean's Rape Culture

The disturbing gang-rape - and subsequent death - of a young woman in Delhi, India, has elicited global outrage and discussion about gender-based violence. A handful of Caribbean-based bloggers have been sharing their thoughts, not the least of which is that rape is a men's issue.

11 January 2013

Public Prosecutor Seeks Flogging for Saudi Women Protesters

Last Saturday, January 5th, relatives of uncharged prisoners managed to organize a small protest in Saudi Arabian city Buraida to demand the release of the prisoners. The protesters, all of them were women and children, were quickly surrounded and arrested by police forces since all methods of public dissent are strictly prohibited and harshly crushed in the absolute monarchy.

10 January 2013

Police Harass Ordinary Citizens in Kerala, India

The Delhi gang-rape case has activated many live discussions and the moral policing of the Indian societies. In Kerala, most recently there have been three incidents of police harassing the ordinary citizens have been discussed in the social media.

10 January 2013

Delhi Rape Case Sparks Death Penalty Debate in Singapore

Many Singaporeans expressed grief over the death of the Delhi rape victim who came to be known as Amanat in the world. The tragic death of Amanat in a Singapore hospital also sparked a lively discussion on gender equality, violence against women, and the use of death penalty in rape cases.

9 January 2013

Brazil Debates Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation – Part II

While European politics has made a favorable move to abolish prostitution as a legalized profession in the old continent, recently in France a couple was convicted to three years in prison for organizing a prostitution scheme of young Brazilians. In Brazil, the government and the media are trying to raise awareness on human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

9 January 2013

Should Prostitution be Abolished or Regulated? Part I

Two hundred NGO's from across Europe gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels on December 4, 2012. They called for the abolition of prostitution and presented the outlines of a potential abolitionist policy for Europe. For these organisations, criminalization of prostituion is the key to counter human trafficking for sexual purposes. In Europe and around the world, sex workers disagree with the proposed measures and ask for more respect for their rights.

8 January 2013

Blaming Rape Victims in Cambodia

In Cambodia, rape cases are given low profile despite the report of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association which documented 467 rape cases in 2011 and 320 in 2012. These figures could be higher since rape is under reported in the country.

6 January 2013

Harasser Identified by Bloggers in Bangladesh

An unknown guy posted a prank video of slapping a girl online and shared through social media apparently to harass her. Some Bloggers took notice and used crowdsourcing to expose...

2 January 2013