User:Rhododendrites/Women's rights in 2013

Overview

The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report for 2013...

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf

Issues and events

Sexual violence in India

The year saw continued international attention on violence against women in India as well as the passage of new laws seeking to address the problems.

In December 2012 a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was beaten and gang raped in Munirka while on a bus to Delhi. The event drew international attention to sexual violence in India and sparked large-scale demonstrations in which thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. Protests continued into 2013.^[1] In September, an Indian court sentenced the four perpetrators to death, denying requests for lightened sentencing. The presiding Judge, Yogesh Khanna, said that the crime "shocked the collective conscience of India" and "falls in the rarest of rare categories and warrants the exemplary punishment of death.^[2]^[3]^[4]

(2013 Mumbai gang rape)

One Billion Rising

On February 14, women in 207 countries protested to end violence against women as part of the One Billion Rising movement, founded by Eve Ensler in 2012.^[5] Its name comes from the UN statistic that one in three women will be raped or beaten in their lifetime.^[6]

Protests against sexual harassment in Egypt

On the two year anniversary of the revolt that led to a regime change in Egypt, protesters gathered to draw attention to the harassment of women during the uprising.^[5]

Sexual violence in South Africa

Sexual violence in South Africa
Smith, David (13 February 2013). "South Africa searches for solutions after teenage girl's gang rape and murder". The Guardian.</ref>
Conway-Smith, Erin (11 February 2013). "South Africa gang rape a symbol of nation's problem". The Star.</ref>
Zuma, Jacob (28 February 2013). "Remarks by President Jacob Zuma at the launch of the Stop Rape Campaign in schools hosted by the Department of Basic Education and LEAD SA, Mitchells Plain, Cape Town". The Presidency.</ref>
McKaiser, Eusebius (10 February 2013). "South Africa Rallies Against Fatal Gang Rape". Daily Beast.</ref>
Dewey, Caitlin (5 march 2013). "South Africa, once called 'the world's rape capital,' is running out of rape kits". Washington Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)</ref>

Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

In August representatives from 38 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean convened at the Regional Conference on Population and Development to revisit the Program of Action that came out of the 1994 United Nations-organized International Conference on Population and Development. At the end of the session, the group adopted the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, which draws connections between global development and sexual and reproductive rights and wellness. It provides a definition of sexual rights, "which embrace the right to a safe and full sex life, as well as the right to take free, informed, voluntary and responsible decisions on their sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity, without coercion, discrimination or violence."^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

The agreement imposes on governments several priorities concerning reproductive health and gender equality. (add)^[11]

Pussy Riot protests and release

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, members of the Russian feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years imprisonment in 2012 after a performance at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. International criticism of the verdict continued through 2013. By July, hundreds of musicians, entertainers, and other celebrities had publicly called for the women's release. Amnesty International, which had designated them prisoners of conscience,^[12] published an open letter asking Russian authorities to reconsider the sentences. Named in support of the letter were more than a hundred well-known musical artists including Adele, U2, Yoko Ono, Radiohead, Ke$ha, Paul McCartney, Sting, Bjork, Coldplay, Ozzy Osbourne, The Clash, Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Pete Townshend, Michael Stipe, Bonnie Raitt, and Paul Simon.^[13]

In December the state Duma approved a general amnesty for various prisoners, including Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina, who called the amnesty a "PR stunt".^[14]

Laws

Dominican Republic

In May a court in the Dominican Republic rejected a legal complaint filed by the Catholic Church against an ad campaign run by Profamilia, the Dominican Association for Family Welfare. The print and television ads used the slogan "Your Sexual and Reproductive Rights are Human Rights", aiming to promote sexual and reproductive rights and wellness. The Church's complaint claimed the ads violated the Constitution in multiple ways, including promoting abortion and sex at a young age. Judge Minaya Perez rejected the claims and reinforced Profamilia's freedom of expression.^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]

India

In December 2012, following the widely publicized Delhi gang rape, a judicial committee was formed to research and solicit suggestions for how to amend laws to provide quicker investigation and prosecution of sex offenders.

The committee's report, the Justice Verma Committee report, led to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 being passed in March and enacted in April. The amendment recognized new offenses like acid attacks, sexual harassment, voyeurism, and stalking. It also modified the legal definition of the word "rape" and enacted stricter penalties for offenders.^[19]^[20]^[21]

The legislation met with criticism from human rights and women's rights groups who said it did not sufficiently address the issues and suggestions in the .^[22]^[23]

Saudi Arabia

The Council of Ministers passed a draft law in August which criminalizes domestic abuse.^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27]

The country also saw its first widescale effort against domestic violence, the "No More Abuse" ad campaign.^[28]

United States

Texas passed bill SB5, which places additional restrictions on access to abortions. In protest, senator Wendy Davis carried out a 13-hour filibuster.

In California, nurses and other non-physician medical personnel were granted the right to perform abortions.^[29]

References

^ "Malala Yousafazai Vigils". Daily Beast. 21 October 2012.
^ Bhatt, Abhinav (13 September 2013). "Delhi gang-rape: death penalty for crime that "shocked collective conscience"". NDTV.
^ "Delhi gang rape: Four sentenced to death". BBC. 13 September 2013.
^ Rayman, Noah (11 September 2013). "Indian Prosecutor Calls for Death Penalty in Rape that Shocked "Collective Conscience"". Time.
^ ^a ^b "2013's Biggest Women's Rights Moments So Far". The Daily Beast.
^ "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Launches Campaign to End Violence against Women" (PDF). un.org/. Archived from the original on 13 July 2013. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 43 (help)
^ "Montevideo Consensus Affirms Sexual Rights". International Planned Parenthood Federation. 19 August 2013.
^ Girard, Françoise (21 August 2013). "Montevideo Consensus Offers a Bold and Progressive Vision for Women and Youth". International Women's Health Coalition.
^ Kismodi, Eszter; Cottingham, Jane; Gruskin, Sofia; Miller, Alice M. (7 February 2015). "Advancing sexual health through human rights: The role of the law". Global Public Health. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.1080/17441692.2014.986175. PMC 4318115. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^ "Region's Countries Adopt Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development". Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. 25 September 2013.
^ "Population Conference Adopts Montevideo Consensus of Wide-Ranging Priority Actions on Reproductive Health, Gender Equality, Young People". United Nations Population Fund. 15 August 2013.
^ "Russia: Release punk singers held after performance in church" (PDF). Amnesty International. April 3, 2012.
^ "Adele, U2, Madonna, Yoko Ono, Radiohead, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Ke$ha, Sir Paul McCartney and Sting unite with more than 100 Musicians to call for release of Pussy Riot". Amnesty International. July 22, 2013.
^ Memmott, Mark (23 December 2013). "Their Release Is Just A 'PR Stunt,' Pussy Riot Member Says". NPR.
^ Garcia, Tochtli (21 May 2013). "Court Rules in Favor of Profamilia Campaign". International Planned Parenthood Federation.
^ "Declaración de Profamilia a los medios de comunicación". El Jaya (in Spanish). 10 May 2013.
^ "Dominican Catholic Church Sues NGO for Sexual Education Campaign". Global Voices. 14 May 2013.
^ Rijo, Rafael Alfonso (10 May 2013). "Iglesia católica pide tribunal pare publicidad de Profamilia". El Caribe (in Spanish).
^ "Prez Pranab Mukherjee promulgates ordinance on crime against women". Indian Express. 3 February 2013.
^ "Cabinet clears anti-rape law ordinance, says death sentence for extreme cases". NDTV. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
^ "Lok Sabha passes amendments". NDTV. 19 March 2013.
^ "Women groups protest anti-rape ordinance". DNA. 4 February 2013.
^ Reddy, B. Muralidhar (3 February 2013). "Despite protest, ordinance on sexual offences promulgated". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
^ "Saudi Arabia: New Law to Criminalize Domestic Abuse". Human Rights Wathc. 3 September 2013.
^ Malik, Nesrine (30 August 2013). "Saudi Arabia's domestic violence law is a first step to changing attitudes". The Guardian.
^ "Saudi arabia outlaws domestic violence". Aljazeera. 30 August 2013.
^ Ott, Stephanie (2 September 2013). CNN http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/world/meast/saudi-arabia-domestic-violence/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ Dewey, Caitlin (1 May 2013). "Saudi Arabia launches powerful ad campaign against domestic violence". Washington Post.
^ Yan, Holly (10 October 2013). "Nurses, other non-physicians can perform abortions in California". CNN.