|
Amnesty Say World's Women Face Grim Toll Of Rape, Abuse And Torture
PARIS, March 6 (News Agencies) - Millions of women around the world are subjected to daily torture, rape and battery, most often by family members or employers, according to a report released Tuesday by Amnesty International.
"The perpetrators are agents of state and armed groups, but most often they are members of their own family, community or employers. For many women, the home is a place of terror," the human rights group said.
The report - "Broken bodies, shattered minds" - compiles statistics and accounts of violence against women from countries worldwide, finding evidence of discrimination in both the industrialized west and in developing nations.
Citing World Bank figures, Amnesty reports that one-fifth of women have been physically or sexually assaulted.
"Official reports in the United States say a woman is battered every 15 seconds and 700,000 are raped each year. In India, more than 40% of married women report being kicked, slapped or sexually abused," the report says.
Amnesty called on governments to tackle the problem, noting that women in many countries are not believed or taken seriously if they approach the police, and in others, such as Saudi Arabia, are not allowed to leave the home to approach the authorities even if accompanied by a male relative.
"It is high time that governments recognized that violence in the home and community is not a private matter, but involves state responsibility ... If states neglect this responsibility, they share the responsibility for the suffering they have failed to prevent," the report concludes.
Also released on Tuesday by Amnesty was a report slamming misconduct against women in U.S. prisons.
"Abuse of Women in Custody: Sexual Misconduct and Shackling of Pregnant Women" outlines a series of abuses in U.S. prisons, and notes that only three of the 50 U.S. states bar frisking of inmates by prison custodians of the opposite gender.
"Our laws are woefully inadequate to protect women in U.S. prisons, too many of whom are subjected to sexual assault, harassment, and barbaric shackling practices," notes Amnesty International USA Executive Director William Schultz.
"Many states fail to protect women in prison from sexual misconduct with five states, Alabama, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin, failing to have any laws at all," the report outlines.
Four states permit holding the prisoner criminally liable for engaging in sexual conduct with a prison official, according to the report.
"And in Arizona, an inmate who is raped may be charged under this law," it adds.
"Only Florida, Michigan and South Dakota disallow cross-gender 'pat-down' searches," said the report, which documents the cases of 1,000 individuals who claim to have been sexually abused during their time in prison.
An asylum-seeker detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami said she "would rather have ... been killed in Colombia" by guerrillas or paramilitaries than imprisoned there.
At least 18 states, as well as the District of Columbia, allow pregnant women to be restrained during labor and/or delivery, according to the report.
"Only one state, Illinois, bans the shackling of pregnant women during transport to a hospital for delivery and labor," Amnesty said, adding that similar legislation has been introduced in New York state.
Both reports were released to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8th.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| [an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
