gender-based violence - The African Mirror

Jan

2021

The silent epidemic: Abuse against Spanish women rises during lockdown

CLARA-LAEILA LAUDETTE FEWER Spanish women were killed by their partner or ex-partner in 2020 than in previous years, but that statistic masks a rise in gender-based violence as COVID lockdowns left victims confined with their abusers, rights groups and officials say. Emails to abuse helplines soared nearly six-fold in April, the first full month of Spain's lockdown. "Control-based violence - which doesn't murder, but is insidious and devastating - grew, because violent partners already had women under their physical control," Victoria Rosell, the ministry's top official on gender abuse issues, told reporters on Wednesday. In 2020 overall, calls to the…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

OPINION: It is time to recognize LGBT+ people in conflict areas

LGBT+

SAHAR MOAZAMI and DAINA RUDUSA | OUTRIGHT ACTION INTERNATIONAL OCTOBER 29, 2020, marked 20 years since the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1325, thereby recognizing the unique impact conflict has on women. This was the first document to draw attention to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict areas and to call for the inclusion of women in peace and security work. Twenty years on, inclusion of LGBT+ people in peace and security work is still sorely lacking, or even purposefully excluded despite growing visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people by multilateral organisations, and big strides having been taken…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

I’ve spent decades working towards Nigerian women’s power. #EndSars is our moment

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BUKOLA ONYISHI The past few months, women in Nigeria have been busy protesting for justice on multiple fronts. Earlier this year, women protested against gender-based violence. Today, young women are leaders in the #EndSARS protests. I have over two decades experience working with marginalized and resilient women in conflict zones and helping them to find their voice and rebuild their lives. As a Nigerian woman, I have seen how COVID-19 has deepened inequities and the economic, social and physical pain it has forced women to endure. The pandemic has also made clear that any sustainable path towards progress for our…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

ANC leader arrested for rape of his two daughters

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER A senior ANC leader has been arrested and is expected in court to face charges of raping his two daughters. The leader, a former member of parliament, ex provincial minister of finance and economic affairs and current member of the Mpumalanga provincial executive committee of the ANC, was arrested at his home. The ANC has identified the leader but the law prohibits the media from identifying him until he has appeared and pleaded in court. In a statement, the ANC in Mpumalanga expressed shock and anger. The ANC said the leader has been suspended. “The ANC takes…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Half of violence against African migrants is by law enforcers, UN says

NEWS

CECILE MANTOVANI NEARLY half of all the violence visited on African migrants during their journey to the Mediterranean coast is perpetrated by law enforcers, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR has said. According to a report by UNHCR and the Danish Refugee Council's Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), thousands of refugees and migrants suffer extreme abuse including torture and sexual or gender-based violence, and in some cases death. The report is based on nearly 16,000 interviews with refugees and migrants. "In 47% of the cases, the victims reported the perpetrators of violence are law enforcement authorities, whereas in the past, we…