|
|
Women.
Jul 30, 2013 11:18:03 GMT
Post by dodger on Jul 30, 2013 11:18:03 GMT
How the slump hits women
WORKERS, MAR 2013 ISSUE
A report by Plan International and the Overseas Development Institute graphically illustrates the effect the financial collapse has had on girls and women. Global infant mortality has risen as economies contract, and more females are being abused or starved. According to research by the World Bank into previous crises, each 1 per cent fall in economic output results in an extra 7.4 deaths per 1,000 for females and 1.5 for boys.
The Plan International report found that as the recession bit and poverty spread older girls were increasingly removed from school. Worldwide 29 per cent fewer girls and 22 per cent fewer boys are now finishing primary school. As their mothers were having to work longer hours for less pay girls were being taken out of school to help at home, the report said.
Malnutrition is also growing as the main breadwinner, usually male, has to be given preference. Health cuts have also increased the risk of death in pregnancy and childbirth. Researchers observed an increase in child marriages to get rid of burdensome mouths to feed. Others are sent out to work as child labourers, including for sex.
This was highlighted by the case of Sri Lankan domestic worker Nafeek Rizana, who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia after being convicted of killing a baby in her charge. She claimed the baby choked but the court decided it had been strangled. The Saudi government said it was unable to pardon her because the baby’s family insisted the sentence be carried out.
Rizana was only 17 at the time and accordingly should have been classified as a child not allowed to work in Saudi Arabia or to face trial as an adult. Employment agents had falsified her age as 23 on her passport. Her family only heard of her execution through the media and were refused permission to retrieve her body. Human rights campaigners claim that at the trial she had no translator and a lawyer was not appointed until after the sentence was pronounced. The Saudis offered financial compensation to the Rizana family, which they rejected
www.workers.org.uk/news/news_0313/women.html
|
|
|
|
Women.
Oct 10, 2013 13:46:49 GMT
Post by dodger on Oct 10, 2013 13:46:49 GMT
Video: Rise,dance, strike to end violence
against women
Thousands gather in Quezon City to rise, dance and strike
in the global event One Billion Rising to end all forms of
violence against women and children.
Video by POM CAHILOG-VILLANUEVA, RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA Additional footage by MARYA SALAMAT Edited by POM CAHILOG-VILLANUEVA Produced by BULATLAT MULTIMEDIA (http://bulatlat.com) - See more at: bulatlat.com/main/2013/02/21/risedance-strike-to-end-violence-against-women/#sthash.lUMmOz71.dpuf |
|
|
|
Women.
Oct 27, 2013 0:29:18 GMT
Post by dodger on Oct 27, 2013 0:29:18 GMT
An alternative to legal abortion. Link below: www.irinnews.org/report/84021/philippines-illegal-abortions-the-risks-and-the-miserya useful reminder, to me, how things were in Britain before legal abortion became free and easily available. The opponents of abortion having lost ALL the arguments resort to all manner of mealy mouthed stratagem, to turn back the clock. Shameless. So then a glimpse --the "golden age" of living in a country where abortion is illegal. Sober reading. Well said--that man...... |
|
|
|
Women.
Dec 1, 2013 6:36:16 GMT
Post by dodger on Dec 1, 2013 6:36:16 GMT
Women’s group fears rise in rape, human trafficking cases in disaster areas
“A humanitarian crisis of this proportion can and will spawn violence. It is high time that the Aquino government gets its act together rather than waste time and effort defending itself from international criticism for its glaringly disorganized and incompetent response to the disaster brought about by super typhoon Yolanda.” – GWP Rep. Luz Ilagan. RELATED STORY | Addressing the specific needs, vulnerabilities of children By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL Bulatlat.com MANILA – Women’s group Gabriela expressed alarm over the increasing incidences of cases of rape and human trafficking in disaster stricken areas in Zamboanga and Leyte.
Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) Rep. Luz Ilagan said that in times of crisis, women and children are most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
The GWP cited the reported arrest of an alleged pimp in Zamboanga City for human trafficking. Two 19-year-old girls were reportedly rescued. According to the report, the alleged pimp was arrested in an entrapment operation against prostitution at the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Complex where displaced families are temporarily seeking refuge after the September armed skirmishes between the Moro National Liberation Front and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Save the Children also reported cases of rape, attempted rape and child prostitution in evacuation centers in Zamboanga.
They also expressed concerns regarding reports of rape cases in Tacloban, Leyte. “A humanitarian crisis of this proportion can and will spawn violence. It is high time that the Aquino government gets its act together rather than waste time and effort defending itself from international criticism for its glaringly disorganized and incompetent response to the disaster brought about by super typhoon Yolanda,” said GWP Rep. Luz Ilagan.
Gabriela also deplored the absence of government authorities right after typhoon Yolanda hit Eastern Visayas.
“We deplore the absence of government authorities, especially those coming from the national government, for fast rescue, relief, rebuilding and order restoration efforts on the ground since the typhoon struck. Military and police forces are being deployed only to guard against possible ‘mob attacks’ driven by desperation for food and other immediate means to survive,” the group said in a statement.
The group said destruction, hunger, misery and lack of immediate and appropriate government support to the people have pushed them to commit acts of desperation such as food ransacking, and looting from the dead.
“Gravely victimized by the typhoon due to an utter lack of necessary pre-disaster assistance from the government, the Filipino people are now rendered victims by the neglect and inaction of the Aquino government in mitigating the effects of the typhoon.”
Government neglect
Despite the laws protecting women and children, cases of violence against women and children are still increasing. Filipino women and children who were displaced in the Zamboanga stand-off and the disaster in Eastern Visayas are more vulnerable to abuses.
According to the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) there are 37 laws, decrees and resolutions protecting the interests of women and children such as the Republic Act 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.
The GWP lambasted what it calls as the government’s almost non-existent child protection systems as cases continue to rise, even as the Philippine government is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
“We decry the wanton neglect that children and women suffer under the government’s almost non-existent child protection systems as we mark the 24th anniversary of the ratification by the United Nations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child or CRC,” GWP said in a statement. The ratification of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child marked its 24th year on Nov. 20.
Gabriela also cited the rape and sexual cases in Haiti where many women and girls were victimized. “The experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the deadly earthquake in Haiti teach us that disaster situations heighten women and girls’ vulnerability to rape and sexual violence as desperation pushes people to commit violence against what society deems as the ‘weakest.’”
Gabriela said they are alarmed over the government inaction and inefficiency in dealing with the crisis as it poses a dangerous backdrop to the eruption of more cases of rape and violence against women and children.
“We call on the Aquino government to organize and fast-track its efforts to bring assistance to the victims of typhoon Yolanda. Our people have suffered enough; their further suffering from government neglect is now in your hands.”
The GWP meanwhile vowed to continue its commitment to protect women and children. Just recently, the women solons filed House Resolution 453 which Directs the Committees on the Welfare of Children and Women and Gender Equality to conduct an inquiry on the virtual “Sweetie” and the glaring inability of the Philippine government to stop pedophilia and child pornography.
The solons fear more “Sweeties” will proliferate in the wake of the poverty amplified by disaster and war.
“Gabriela will never rest until the protection of children and their families become of paramount importance to government agencies,” GWP Emmi De Jesus said.(http://bulatlat.com)
- See more at: bulatlat.com/main/2013/11/27/womens-group-fears-rise-in-rape-human-trafficking-cases-in-disaster-areas/#sthash.77a5U7sz.dpuf |
|
|
|
Women.
Mar 14, 2014 5:57:19 GMT
Post by dodger on Mar 14, 2014 5:57:19 GMT
www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20140307/worsening-prostitution-and-violence-against-womenWorsening prostitution and violence against women
More women and youth are becoming victims of prostitution and violence due to the Aquino regime’s failure to address the principal need of Yolanda victims for livelihood. Many mothers and young women have been forced to leave their provinces because of severe poverty.
Hunger, homelessness and unemployment remain widespread in Eastern Visayas. Under such desperate conditions, the people have become ever more vulnerable to being victimized by illegal recruiters just so they could eke out a living and provide sustenance to their families.
Being victimized by sex trafficking and violence is no longer new, especially in the poorest provinces, like Samar. But this has worsened after supertyphoon Yolanda’s onslaught and the government’s glaring negligence. Even more alarming are reports that most of the victims are children. Out of 170 sex trafficking cases, 125 of the victims are aged 17 and younger and 45 are adult women, according to research conducted by the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR). Most of these cases were likewise documented in areas devastated by typhoon Yolanda.
There have also been more cases of violence against women and children, despite the existence of laws that are supposed to protect them. There were 16,517 reported cases in 2013, up from 11,531 in 2012. Sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, unjust vexation and seduction cases have also grown, ballooning from 928 in 2012 to 1,489 in 2013. Likewise, rape cases increased from 1,319 in 2012 to 1,602 in 2013. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the rape victims were children.
These are just partial data since many cases go unreported. This is the result of the feudal culture prevailing in society, where domestic violence is widely seen as a personal rather than a criminal matter. Most victims do not report rape out of fear and shame. Most of the time, it is the victims who are blamed for what has befallen them.
The reactionary justice system is also snail-paced and costly. Above all, the state which is expected to defend the rights of women and children has been the perpetrator in many acts of violence against them. Under the US-Aquino regime, 18 out of the 169 victims of extrajudicial killing are women. And 34 out of the 449 political detainees are women.
International working women’s day
GABRIELA and other progressive organizations began a week-long protest action on March 1 in the cities of Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban and Davao to hold the Aquino regime accountable for its complete negligencs and failure to address the humanitarian disasters wrought by typhoons Yolanda and Pablo and the AFP attacks in Zamboanga City. The protests will end in Manila on March 8 in front of Malacañang and converge with the commemoration of International Working Women’s Day.
On March 8, it will have been four months since Yolanda pummeled through the Visayas, six months since the AFP attacked Zamboanga City and more than a year since typhoon Pablo rammed through Mindanao. But there have been no clearly defined livelihoods for the hundreds of thousands of calamity victims. There is no sustainable program for rehabilitation and the victims’ lives have yet to return to normal.
The 103rd commemoration of International Working Women’s Day revolves around the issues of hunger, poverty, prostitution and violence and other related social issues. For the progressive organizations, its relevance lies in the assiduous and daring advance of the basic rights of women, especially from the toiling masses. It is also tightly linked to the people’s struggle as a whole.
|
|
