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8 March, 2010. This International Women's Day, we not only mark the 3 year anniversary of the Women WON'T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. campaign, but also reflect on where we are since the historic 4th World Conference on Women in 1995. The Beijing Platform of Action contained milestone commitments to the world’s women, such as the possibility of a future where it was possible to end all forms of violence against women; women’s poverty and our unequal share of caring work within and outside the home; as well as socio-cultural discrimination, sexual disciplining, and political exclusions of various categories of people, including women. Fifteen years on, with persisting inequalities, particularly violence against women and girls as an important driver and consequence of the HIV epidemic, it is important for us to ask ourselves some critical questions regarding our strategies and struggles in pursuing women’s rights.
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10 December 2009. (Johannesburg) – Members and supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party committed widespread, systematic rape in 2008 to terrorize the political opposition, said AIDS-Free World in “Electing to Rape: Sexual Terror in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe,” a report released today. These crimes against humanity have received little public attention and the government has made no effort to hold the perpetrators accountable. A concerted regional effort is needed urgently to bring both high- and low-level perpetrators to justice.
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Kenya, 10 December 2009. Half of Kenyan women living with HIV/Aids have been physically abused in the past year, according to a new study that highlights the worrisome link between the scourge and violence against women. |
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10 December 2009. UNIFEM and ActionAid are proud to release a new report that profiles innovative approaches to addressing Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) and HIV&AIDS. Together We Must! End Violence Against Women and Girls and HIV&AIDS [INSERT HYPERLINK] reviews ten organizations that are working on new strategies to address these related pandemics. By releasing the report on International Human Rights Day, UNIFEM and ActionAid, affirm the urgency of confronting VAWG and HIV&AIDS as fundamental threats to women’s rights. We aim to stimulate de¬bate and collaboration among practitioners and advocates around how to identify and promote effective prevention policies and practices that can be adapted to various contexts. |
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2 December 2009. For the first time at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at CHOGM in Trinidad & Tobago, there was significant representation of GLBTQ (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/queer) activists among civil society participants, and a concerted effort to highlight issues of sexual citizenship and rights. A delegation of GLBTQ activists from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean participated actively in the thematic assembly discussions and drafting process in the November 22-25, 2009 Commonwealth People’s Forum (CPF), a gathering of civil society organizations that meets in advance of, and sends a statement to, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Working in partnership with gender, disabilities and other human rights advocates, they achieved visibility for a number of key concerns, and won inclusion of these issues in the broad civil society agenda for the Commonwealth. |
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2 December 2009. On World AIDS Day, the Obama Administration released its 5-year strategy for its global AIDS program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEFPAR). A copy of the strategy can be accessed at: http://www.pepfar.gov/strategy/. Additional information and annexes will be forthcoming from the Administration over the next few days. CHANGE, shares some highlights from the PEPFAR 5-year strategy (2010-2014). |
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