Unveiling Justice: Rape Survivors Speak out PDF Download

Author:
Publisher: Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC)
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Nepal, a country emerging from armed conflict and with a strong base of patriarchy and feudalism at its roots, has institutionalized the norm of violence as portrayed in social values, political criminalisation and impunity. The practice of routinely subjecting women to various forms of violence from the womb to the grave is pervasive. Socially, the sanctity of marriage remains a key structure through which the liberty of women is hampered. Thus, the inter-linkages of women’s chastity with their sexuality wherein any breaches are considered to be contaminating norms have contributed to situate rape as the crime shrouded in secrecy, giving rise to a pervasive and prevalent culture of silence among the survivors. Rape is a heinous human rights violation that infringes upon the sexual autonomy and integrity of an individual. Nepal committed herself to uphold the international human rights norms as stipulated in the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Convention on the Rights of the Child; International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); as a State party to international law. In addition, with the UNSCR 1325 and 1820 which are clear on promoting women’s participation and working towards combating sexual violence, it is mandatory for the Government of Nepal to put in place mechanisms to actualize its commitment to women’s rights. It is within this mandate that WOREC-Nepal and Isis-WICCE set out to examine the extent to which survivors of rape and sexual violence access justice and the efficacy of response mechanisms, in an effort to inform and draw the attention of decision and policy makers, activists, development workers, legal practitioners, and academic practitioners, to this critical development concern. Based on 55 in-depth interviews with survivors, 114 key informant interviews, 33 focus group discussions as primary sources; and media review (MR) of 201 cases and analysis of 723 documented cases WOREC xvii by organizations (OR) as secondary sources, the research team covered the 10 districts of Morang, Dhanusha, Kailali, Udayapur, Kavrepalanchowk, Kathmandu, Baglung, Dailekh, Dolakha and Darchula. Major findings i) Prevalence and magnitude of rape The findings show that the reporting and documentation of rape cases is still very marginal. An average of 443 cases in a year1reflects a high prevalence of rape if systems are conducive for survivors to report. The analysis further indicates that rape is a deeply entrenched national problem that transcends class, caste, ethnicity, age, economic, educational, geographical and religious status. From the regional perspective, Terai/Madhes was rated at (46.5% -MR and 45.1% -OR); and Jhapa (43-OR) district as having the highest rate of rape. According to the media review, the most affected group was in Hill Janjati (39.3%); and as per organizations’ documentation review, Brahmin/Chhetri and Hill Dalit (24.5% for each) followed by Hill Janjati (23%). The groups of minors (62.8%-OR, 63.6%-MR and 65.9%-police), students (67.9% -MR and 62.5%-OR) and unmarried women (79.4%-MR and 88.3%- OR) were the most vulnerable and affected. Though it is a fact that rape within marriage exists, it remains a taboo subject which is kept well hidden and institutionalized within the family structure. It was therefore difficult to identify and document marital rape related cases.

Author: Mandira Sharma
Publisher: Zubaan
ISBN: 9385932128
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
The Sexual Violence and Impunity in South Asia research project (coordinated by Zubaan and supported by the International Development Research Centre) brings together, for the first time in the region, a vast body of research on this important – yet silenced – subject. Six country volumes (one each on Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and two on India, as well as two standalone volumes) comprising over fifty research papers and two book-length studies, detail the histories of sexual violence and look at the systemic, institutional, societal, individual and community structures that work together to perpetuate impunity for perpetrators. The essays in this volume focus on Nepal, which though not directly colonized, has not remained immune from the influence of colonialism in its neighbourhood. In addition to home-grown feudal patriarchal structures, the writers in this volume clearly demonstrate that it is the larger colonial and post-colonial context of the subcontinent that has enabled the structuring of inequalities and power relations in ways that today allow for widespread sexual violence and impunity in the country – through legal systems, medical regimes and social institutions. The period after the 1990 democratic movement, the subsequent political transformation in the aftermath of the Maoist insurgency and the writing of the new constitution, has seen an increase in public discussion about sexual violence. The State has brought in a slew of legislation and action plans to address this problem. And yet, impunity for perpetrators remains intact and justice elusive. What are the structures that enable such impunity? What can be done to radically transform these? How must States understand the search for justice for victims and survivors of sexual violence? This volume addresses these and related issues. Published by Zubaan.

Author: Ladan Affi
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1847012825
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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A key book for conflict and peace studies, reveals the gendered nature of peacebuilding, its consequences, and the importance of women playing a part in peace processes in Africa.Even in the best of circumstances, women are all too often excluded from formal peacemaking and peacebuilding processes and relegated to the sidelines as observers or limited to informal peacebuilding strategies. Yet there is enormous potential in these strategies as women often strive to build bridges across political, ethnic, religious, clan and other differences through alliances arising from common concerns around violence, land, access to resources, and protection of their families and communities, and address sources of conflict at both national and local levels. Drawing on cutting-edge research by scholars and women''s rights activists in South Sudan, Sudan, Algeria, northern Nigeria, and Somalia, this book focuses on the consequences of the continuing exclusions of women from peace talks and from post-conflict governance structures. The case studies reveal how peacebuilding is gendered and why this matters in developing meaningful and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Examining how women activists have made a difference through informal peacebuilding activities, the contributors explore women''s efforts to reshapethe post-conflict context by struggling for legislative and constitutional reforms and by advocating for political representation and political inclusion more generally within peacebuilding processes. They also look at how women have pushed back against the conservative Islamist forces that today dominate much armed conflict in Africa. Suggesting that women''s formal participation in peace negotiations is vital in bringing about an end to conflict and preventing its resumption, as well as the one of the most effective strategies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and NGOs involved in development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The book is the product of a research project on Women and Peacebuilding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.tures. The case studies reveal how peacebuilding is gendered and why this matters in developing meaningful and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Examining how women activists have made a difference through informal peacebuilding activities, the contributors explore women''s efforts to reshapethe post-conflict context by struggling for legislative and constitutional reforms and by advocating for political representation and political inclusion more generally within peacebuilding processes. They also look at how women have pushed back against the conservative Islamist forces that today dominate much armed conflict in Africa. Suggesting that women''s formal participation in peace negotiations is vital in bringing about an end to conflict and preventing its resumption, as well as the one of the most effective strategies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and NGOs involved in development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The book is the product of a research project on Women and Peacebuilding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.lding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.tures. The case studies reveal how peacebuilding is gendered and why this matters in developing meaningful and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Examining how women activists have made a difference through informal peacebuilding activities, the contributors explore women''s efforts to reshapethe post-conflict context by struggling for legislative and constitutional reforms and by advocating for political representation and political inclusion more generally within peacebuilding processes. They also look at how women have pushed back against the conservative Islamist forces that today dominate much armed conflict in Africa. Suggesting that women''s formal participation in peace negotiations is vital in bringing about an end to conflict and preventing its resumption, as well as the one of the most effective strategies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and NGOs involved in development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The book is the product of a research project on Women and Peacebuilding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.tures. The case studies reveal how peacebuilding is gendered and why this matters in developing meaningful and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Examining how women activists have made a difference through informal peacebuilding activities, the contributors explore women''s efforts to reshapethe post-conflict context by struggling for legislative and constitutional reforms and by advocating for political representation and political inclusion more generally within peacebuilding processes. They also look at how women have pushed back against the conservative Islamist forces that today dominate much armed conflict in Africa. Suggesting that women''s formal participation in peace negotiations is vital in bringing about an end to conflict and preventing its resumption, as well as the one of the most effective strategies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and NGOs involved in development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The book is the product of a research project on Women and Peacebuilding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.lding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.lding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.tures. The case studies reveal how peacebuilding is gendered and why this matters in developing meaningful and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Examining how women activists have made a difference through informal peacebuilding activities, the contributors explore women''s efforts to reshapethe post-conflict context by struggling for legislative and constitutional reforms and by advocating for political representation and political inclusion more generally within peacebuilding processes. They also look at how women have pushed back against the conservative Islamist forces that today dominate much armed conflict in Africa. Suggesting that women''s formal participation in peace negotiations is vital in bringing about an end to conflict and preventing its resumption, as well as the one of the most effective strategies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and NGOs involved in development, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The book is the product of a research project on Women and Peacebuilding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.lding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.olution and peacebuilding. The book is the product of a research project on Women and Peacebuilding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.lding in Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

Author: Retika Rajbhandari
Publisher: Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC)
ISBN:
Category : Women
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Peace time violence is as debilitating as that of war (Scheper- Hughes and Bourgois, 2003). This statement resonates deeply with all the women who have allowed the WOREC Anbeshi team to document the violence they have suffered throughout the year. Nepal is trying to build peace after a decade long armed conflict. The most recent development of the appointment of Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai as the new Prime Minister suggests a positive direction to the current stalemate that Nepal has witnessed over the past one and a half years in terms of writing the constitution. In this larger complicated political process, women in Nepal still are only at the fringe. The marginality of the Nepali women could not be better stated than through the sharing of the everyday violence they face. Domestic violence is by far the most sensitive form of violence that Nepali women encounter. Peace is in the process of being materialized in the Nepali polity. However, the peace that the Nepali women envision appears to be only a far-fetched dream. Violence against women is a manifestation of unequal power relations between women and men. It is both a result and a cause of gender inequality. It refers to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. The United Nations General Assembly defines VAW as “any act of gender based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” (United Nations, 1993). People all over the world have been increasingly vocal about VAW. However there are still www.worecnepal.org A Year Book on Violence against Women 2011 2 numerous instances when VAW is swept under the carpet. The primary reason for such covering up has been the acceptability of VAW due to cultural norms. Perpetrators of VAW do not just imbibe violent behavior, but simultaneously learn that these behaviors are socially acceptable. These learnings are reinforced as society and the state fail to punish perpetrators of VAW. At the core is the fact that VAW takes place and tolerated because women and men do not have equal access to power in most societies. In this light, Violence against Women is disturbingly a growing trend in Nepal. It manifests as a continuum and encompasses an array of abuses targeted at women and girls throughout their life cycles. Silence around the issue has been a characteristic feature of VAW in Nepal. Although VAW has long been on the international agenda, it has only recently become important in the Nepali gender policy context. Women in Nepal have been continuously raising their voice against violations of women’s rights. But it was only in 2008 that Nepal witnessed the passage of the Domestic Violence and Punishment Act 2065 accompanied by the declaration of BS 2067 (2010) as anti-VAW year. Although now that there is a law against domestic violence, the state obligation should expand to protection of women in diverse family forms, and incorporate measures beyond prosecution of private actors to encompass further protection from violence, including provision of legal support and health, safety, and shelter requirements for the survivor, and to develop the obligation to prevent VAW by addressing its root causes. 1. VAW and Five Development Regions A total of 1569 cases were collected by WOREC Nepal for the www.worecnepal.org 3 A Year Book on Violence against Women 2011 purpose of analysis of VAW. The highest percentage of VAW was reported from the Eastern development region accounting for 66%, followed by the Central development region with 12% and the Mid western development region with 11%. Likewise, the Far Western development region accounted for 10% and the Western region accounted for 1% of the total cases. 2. Types of Violence a. Domestic violence Domestic violence accounts for 64% (1002 out of 1569 cases) of the total reported cases. Likewise, 17% accounts for social violence, 8% rape, and 4% murder. Unequal power relations in both the context of a family as well as the State; and persons in authority comprise the context for violence. Husbands (74%) and family (26%) account for all perpetrators of domestic violence. b. Social violence 1. Social violence is the second most frequent type of violence. A total of 266 cases or 17% of the total VAW cases were under this category. 91% of social violence was perpetrated by neighbors while 9% was by others (25 out of 266 cases). 2. For the purpose of Anbeshi, allegations of witchcraft fall under social violence. This year we saw a total of 48 cases of witchcraft accusations. Among these cases, 11 cases were perpetrated by family members and husband whereas rest of the cases have were perpetrated by non family people. www.worecnepal.org A Year Book on Violence against Women 2011 4 c. Rape Rape accounts for the third highest category of VAW. In all, 124 (8%) cases were reported. Neighbors are responsible for 73 percent of the reported cases, others and unidentified (15%) while family members (8%) and husbands (4%) combined are responsible for 12 percent of the cases. d. Murder Murder was reported in 47 cases and represented a relatively small proportion (3%) of the total VAW cases. 51.1% (or 24 out of 47 cases) of all reported cases of murders are committed by husbands, 17.0% (or 8 cases) was committed by other family members and 23.4% (or 11 cases) was committed by neighbors. e. Sexual abuse Sexual abuse accounts for 64 cases (4%) of the total reported cases of VAW. 53.1% (34 of 64 cases) of sexual abuse is committed by neighbors. Husbands, other family members, and other/unidentified individuals account for 15.6% (10 cases), 10.9% (7 cases), and 20.3% (13 cases) of sexual abuse respectively. f. Trafficking Regarding trafficking of women, the data reveals that the highest number of cases (61%) (14 of 23 cases) is carried out by neighbors, followed by other/unidentified (35%), and family member (4%).

Author:
Publisher: Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC)
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Author: Seika Sato
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000859061
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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This book brings rarely voiced lives and experiences of women in Nepal to light and combines rich ethnography with discourse analysis. Multifaceted and critical, the volume situates its narrative in the profoundly transformative period after the turn of the century when ‘New Nepal’ was rising on the horizon and sheds light on Nepali women’s experiences in multiple sites, crossing class and ethnic lines. It is based on extensive fieldwork among women domestic workers, construction workers, street vendors, women from the indigenous community of Hyolmo, and others. Mainly through an ethnographic approach, the author explores Nepali women’s experiences on the ground, mostly situated in classed, ethnic, or other socio-cultural peripheries in Nepali social landscape. Through the unusually intimate narrative on these women from the global south, who are still prone to be cast into a deeply colonial, simplistic image of ‘victimized women’, readers will get a nuanced perspective of the multidimensional diversity among these women as well as a sense of kinship with oneself. The book will be invaluable for researchers and students of gender studies, global south studies, development studies, cultural anthropology/ethnography, Nepal studies, and feminist geography. It will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, policymakers, and those with an interest in global gender issues.

Author: Sohaila Abdulali
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620974754
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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"What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape is brilliant, frank, empowering, and urgently necessary. Sohaila Abdulali has created a powerful tool for examining rape culture and language on the individual, societal, and global level that everyone can benefit from reading." —Jill Soloway In the tradition of Rebecca Solnit, a beautifully written, deeply intelligent, searingly honest—and ultimately hopeful—examination of sexual assault and the global discourse on rape told through the perspective of a survivor, writer, counselor, and activist After surviving gang-rape at seventeen in Mumbai, Sohaila Abdulali was indignant about the deafening silence that followed and wrote a fiery piece about the perception of rape—and rape victims—for a women's magazine. Thirty years later, with no notice, her article reappeared and went viral in the wake of the 2012 fatal gang-rape in New Delhi, prompting her to write a New York Times op-ed about healing from rape that was widely circulated. Now, Abdulali has written What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape—a thoughtful, generous, unflinching look at rape and rape culture. Drawing on her own experience, her work with hundreds of survivors as the head of a rape crisis center in Boston, and three decades of grappling with rape as a feminist intellectual and writer, Abdulali tackles some of our thorniest questions about rape, articulating the confounding way we account for who gets raped and why—and asking how we want to raise the next generation. In interviews with survivors from around the world we hear moving personal accounts of hard-earned strength, humor, and wisdom that collectively tell the larger story of what rape means and how healing can occur. Abdulali also points to the questions we don't talk about: Is rape always a life-definining event? Is one rape worse than another? Is a world without rape possible? What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape is a book for this #MeToo and #TimesUp age that will stay with readers—men and women alike—for a long, long time.

Author: Annie E. Clark
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1627795332
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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"From young activists at the forefront of the movement to end sexual assault on college campuses, a collection of survivor stories that will connect with students and inform and inspire us all Across the U.S. student activists are exposing a pervasive cover-up of sexual assault on college campuses. Every day more survivors come forward. But other survivors choose not to. We Believe You elevates the stories the headlines about this issue have been missing--more than 30 experiences of trauma, healing and everyday activism, representing a diversity of races, economic and family backgrounds, gender identities, immigration statuses, interests, capacities and loves. More than 1 in 5 women and 5 percent of men are sexually assaulted at college, a shocking status quo that might have stayed largely hidden and unaddressed but for the two authors of We Believe You. In 2013, Annie E. Clark and Andrea L. Pino, then 23 and 20, building on the work of earlier activists, outed themselves as assault survivors and filed a federal complaint against the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) for mishandling such crimes; within a month, the U.S. government began to investigate UNC. Within a year, dozens of colleges were under federal investigation. But Clark and Pino rightly see themselves as two among many. Students from every kind of college and university--large and small, public and private, highly selective and less so--are sounding alarms and staking claims to justice by filing complaints, by pressing charges, and by simply living beyond the effects of assault and the betrayals of their schools. A sampling of their voices speak out in this book"--

Author: Jennifer Brown
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031286162
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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By extending the cast list of roles implicated in rape’s hidden sphere of harm, this book attentively listens to experiential voices of complainant/witnesses, suspect/accused, police, lawyers, judges and jurors, therapists, advocates, partners, parents, family and friends during the criminal justice journey. Highlighting good and bad practices, it proposes a paradigm shift for inculcating policy reform, arguing the case for implementation science as a framework for embedding change. The book will be of interest to those involved in the policy, practice and delivery of criminal justice, the support and voluntary sector as well as giving valuable insight to students of forensic and investigative psychology, criminology, law, social policy, gender studies the new policing apprenticeship degree programmes.

Author: Chanel Miller
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735223726
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Know My Name is a gut-punch, and in the end, somehow, also blessedly hopeful." --Washington Post Universally acclaimed, rapturously reviewed, and an instant New York Times bestseller, Chanel Miller's breathtaking memoir "gives readers the privilege of knowing her not just as Emily Doe, but as Chanel Miller the writer, the artist, the survivor, the fighter." (The Wrap). Her story of trauma and transcendence illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicting a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shining with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life. Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.