UN: Police, courts and judiciary fail women

More than half the world's working women are trapped in insecure jobs, often without protection from labor laws.Today at 08:09 | Associated PressUNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than half the world's working women are trapped in insecure jobs, often without protection from labor laws. Some 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime. And just 28 countries have parliaments where at least 30 percent of the lawmakers are women.

These are some of the key findings in the first report issued by the new U.N. agency, UN Women, entitled "Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice," which was released Wednesday.

While 139 countries and territories now guarantee gender equality in their constitutions, the report said millions of women in many countries are still deprived of economic resources and access to public services and all too often "are denied control over their bodies, denied a voice in decision-making and denied protection from violence."

"For most of the world's women the laws that exist on paper do not always translate into equality and justice," it said. "In many contexts, in rich and poor countries alike, the infrastructure of justice — the police, the courts and the judiciary — is failing women, which mainfests itself in poor services and hostile attitudes from the very people whose duty it is to fulfill women's rights."

In the 169-page report, UN Women called on governments to repeal laws that discriminate against women, provide more funding to support innovative services such as legal aid and specialized courts to ensure that women can access the justice system and make certain that there are female police, judges and legislators.

While women have achieved greater economic empowerment through laws that prohibit discriminatory practices, guarantee equal pay and provide for maternity and paternity leave, the report said 53 percent of working women — 600 million in total — are in vulnerable jobs such as self-employment, domestic work, or unpaid work for family businesses which often lack the protection of labor laws.

It said women are still paid up to 30 percent less than men in some of the 117 countries that have laws guaranteeing equal pay in the workplace.

UN Women stressed that laws must be enforced if women are to achieve equality, but pointed to many barriers.

"In the developing world, more than one third of women are married before the age of 18, missing out on education and exposed to the risks of early pregnancy," the report said.

Domestic violence is now outlawed in 125 countries but 603 million women live in countries where it is not a crime — and even where there are laws, the report said, "millions of women report experiencing violence in their lifetimes, usually at the hands of an intimate partner."

UN Women urged governments to learn from countries that have taken practical steps to make justice accessible to ordinary women.

It cited South Africa's "one-stop shops" that bring justice, legal and health care services together, women's police stations in Latin America that have led to an increase in the reporting of gender-based violence, Congo's mobile courts which are bringing justice to women in rural areas where sexual violence is high, and legal aid to women in countries from Pakistan and Mexico to Fiji and Kyrgyzstan.

The report also noted that in countries with steep increases in women's representation in parliaments — such as Rwanda, Nepal and Spain — progressive laws on women's rights have often followed.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/world/detail/108085/#ixzz1RLQMpBHq

The worst places in the world to be a woman - CBSNews

Afghan women head off to an engagement party leaving a curtained local beauty parlor October 17, 2010, in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

(Credit: Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

For the fairer sex, most places in the world present a special set of burdens that menfolk cannot imagine, even if they created them.

A new survey highlights the places around the world where it is especially bad to be a woman, produced by the recently launched TrustLaw website, a product of the Thomson Reuters Foundation that is aimed at being "a global centre for free legal assistance and a hub of news and information on anti-corruption issues, good governance and women's legal rights."

The survey was conducted among gender experts on five continents, and they rated each country's overall danger to women, as well as health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, cultural or religious factors, lack of access to resources and trafficking.

Afghanistan tops the list, as it is in general one of the world's most dangerous places. Congo, Pakistan, India and Somalia rounded out the top five.

While Afghanistan was cited for its overall level of violence, there are a host of other factors that caused TrustLaw to put it atop the list. One in 11 women there have a chance of dying in childbirth; Some 87 percent of women are illiterate; and as many as 80 percent of girls face forced marriages.

Congo was put atop the list because of the staggering level of sexual violence in the country - a product of many years of war and humanitarian disasters. As many as 400,000 women are raped there annually.

As many as 1,000 women are killed annually in Pakistan in so-called "honor killings." Additionally, families defending their "honor" there are also known to attack women with acid to disfigure them, stone them to death, or simply beat them. The widespread practice of arranged and forced marriages also present a hurdle to personal freedom for women there.

India, while a rapidly developing country, still places great cultural burdens on women. In addition to incredibly high rates of human trafficking and prostitution involving women, especially girls, foeticide (the killing of fetuses) and infanticide with females is incredibly high there. As many as 50 million females are reported to have gone missing because of the practice in the last century.

Finally, Somalia, another generally very dangerous place, rounded out the top five. Somali women's minister Maryan Qasim told TrustLaw: "The most dangerous thing a woman in Somalia can do is to become pregnant. When a woman becomes pregnant her life is 50-50 because there is no antenatal care at all. There are no hospitals, no healthcare, no nothing. Add to that the rape cases that happen on a daily basis, the female genital mutilation that is being done to every single girl in Somalia. Add to that the famine and the drought. Add to that the fighting (which means) you can die any minute, any day."

The survey's authors suggest that a lack of access to economic, health and educational resources posed just as great a threat to women around the world as anything else.

Elisabeth Roesch, who works on gender-based violence for the International Rescue Committee, told TrustLaw: "When you actually allow women and girls to express themselves, these are the problems they cite: 'We can't go to school. We can't make enough money to support our families. We can't access the local health clinic, either because our husband won't allow us or it's inaccessible.' These are real problems."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20071178-503543.html#ixzz1PMB4NbBJ

“Human rights start with children’s rights”

The head of the UNICEF mission in Ukraine speaks about the priorities of the state, the Soviet heritage and destroying stereotypes

By Oksana MYKOLIUK, The Day

YUKIE MOKUO

Unfortunately, there are particularly entrenched problems linked to children’s rights protection and child abuse in Ukraine. The state has to change the whole system, bring down stereotypes and cultivate humanity in people so that the younger generation doesn’t suffer. Ukraine has only made its first steps toward eradicating child abuse, a problem that was hushed up for years. On May 24-25 an international conference focusing on children’s rights violations was held in Kyiv. It was organized by UNICEF and the Council of Europe, together with the assistance of the Ukrainian government, and attended by nearly 200 foreign experts. Its title was “Child Abuse Counteraction: From Separate Actions to Complex Strategies.” The Day before its opening The Day interviewed the head of the UNICEF mission in Ukraine Yukie MOKUO.

Judging from the name of the conference, it will be focused on creating new approaches in governmental strategies, aimed at tracking cases of child abuse and preventing them?

“The conference will address questions related to child abuse counteraction. When we talk about child abuse we have to know that it concerns not only physical punishment. Of course, physical abuse also matters, but there are also issues connected to the child’s social and emotional development. Especially for children brought up in orphanages and unable to grow in a family environment. It’s a burning issue in terms of social protection, not only in Ukraine but in other countries, too. It’s all about services provided to children and caring for them. We believe that the more children stay in orphanages, the more they are abused. We shouldn’t, however, forget about the existence of child abuse at home, both physical and psychological. Our society is also contaminated with such forms of child abuse as sexual exploitation, trafficking of children and child prostitution. So, when talking about the conference we say that we try to embrace the issues related to child protection with a complex approach. This event is of extreme importance for the Ukrainian government since Ukraine will preside over the Committee of Ministers in the Council of Europe from May to November this year. It’s the first conference held within the framework of the Ukrainian presidency in the Council of Europe.

“UNICEF is glad that the Ukrainian government has prioritized the question of children’s rights protection. The conference will be attended by nearly 200 experts from 23 countries of Western and Eastern Europe. They account for half of the attendance; the other half is made up of government representatives. We’ll have the UN mission (the representative of the Secretary General for Violence Against Children) and the CoE mission (the Deputy Secretary General).

“The UNICEF regional director, supervising the 23 countries of this region, will be also present. I’d like to emphasize that Ukraine promised to make children’s rights protection a priority during its CoE presidency. We want to draw attention to these questions and we want the Ukrainian government to be ready to ratify international conventions. There’s the European Convention No. 201 protecting children from sexual exploitation. There’s also the Hague Convention on international adoption, which was not ratified by Ukraine. Both of them are being worked on by the corresponding parliamentary committees and I hope that the government will ratify them. Then we will be able to say that the Ukrainian government is ready to make certain steps.”

Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day   YUKIE MOKUO

Why do you think is it that we can’t eradicate domestic and social abuse for so many years and how does the situation in Ukraine compared to Europe?

“Unfortunately, child abuse exists all over the world. We might have an impression that abuse escalates as the media talk about it more and more. However, we understand that the situation is quite the opposite. Traditionally, family abuse has been hidden. UNICEF concentrates on social awareness improvement not only in the family but also among teachers, doctors and social workers. The more they know about the problem the better this problem will be dealt with. It’s essential that society has its eyes open to identify cases of abuse and inform the corresponding services about them. The role of teachers, doctors, nurses and social workers that come into contact with children is crucial as they are able to see a child’s problems and understand that a child is abused. In my opinion, Ukraine has made progress in this sphere. We have improved the report system and raised awareness. However, it’s not enough and I think that governmental institutions and society have to make efforts to resolve this complex of problems. The problem of child abuse is insufficiently covered in Ukrainian society compared to other European countries. Thus, Ukraine needs better mechanisms of reporting cases of child abuse.”

What kind of mechanisms?

“The awareness of people working in governmental institutions, not only in the social sector, but in law enforcement agencies as well. As for the legislative basis, there are certain problems there. At present we’re working on several amendments in the cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada. The sexual exploitation of children and child prostitution are examples of this. We’re talking about the children aged 16 to 18 that are at risk of child prostitution. Currently, they have to pay a fine but their clients are not answerable. The UN Convention includes an optional article on abuse, prostitution and sexual exploitation. It provides that any adult engaging in a sexual act with a minor is fully answerable for this. This norm doesn’t exist in Ukraine. It’s only an example. The law itself doesn’t work. We have to enforce the role of social assistance. For example, if a child is in an environment where they have to provide sexual services, we have to find a reason for this in their education and family. This way we have to protect children not only through legislation but also through social assistance that will prevent them from doing such things. Here we address the question of the social security of Ukrainian families since a lot of them live in poverty, suffer form unemployment, and have members addicted to drugs and alcohol. Of course, these problems affect their children.”

Child abuse is common in Ukraine’s orphanages. Are you going to cover this issue at the conference and what’s the UNICEF’s position?

“As for this system, we strongly protect children’s rights to grow in families. The problem of children raised outside of families is topical for many countries of the region. We can see that there are a lot of cases of child abuse in such institutions but we don’t have exact numbers. We don’t have exact statistics about how many children have been abused, in this way or another. Examples abound but we don’t have the exact statistics. Once I was invited to Shuster’s talk-show to discuss the topic of children living in orphanages. There were people there who grew up in such institutions but were successful in life. So those people could have said something good about orphanages. I was shocked that those people spoke about the abuse they experienced. Even successful people pay attention to the abuse they suffered from in orphanages. So, we are aware of such cases, but we don’t have any statistics. It can be easily explained. Let’s look at foster families. How do they build relations between parents and children? They have to care about their children, love and protect them, but they also have to provide an environment where children will grow and develop social skills. An important role is attributed to social services, that have to help. If we look at orphanages where children differ from our children a lot, they lose lots of opportunities for their development: not only in terms of social skills, but also in what regards cognitive and emotional ones. We need a powerful independent monitoring mechanism to be able to understand the level of abuse and violence in orphanages. The former powerful Soviet social security system proved to be tenuous from the point of self-repayment, profitability and efficiency in the new Ukrainian reality. The social security system has to be reformed to be able to address modern challenges. The institutions where children are [currently] kept are the heritage of the Soviet system, which has to be reformed.”

Will the questions related to children’s rights protection be resolved faster after the position of a children’s ombudsman is introduced in Ukraine?

“We rightly praise Nina Karpachova, who deals with questions related to human rights protection efficiently. Of course, in her office there are people dealing with questions of children’s rights protection, too. We see the possibilities and potential to bolster the Ukrainian ombudsman’s position to be able to better react to children’s rights violations and to protect [the children]. It’s not about just dealing with individual questions. I believe that the Ukrainian ombudsman can more actively participate in resolving problems with us, so as to be able to solve the systemic questions concerning child abuse, to reform the orphanage system and to replace it with alternative forms of family education. We think that we’re able to activate cooperation with the Ukrainian ombudsman. Ideally, UNICEF is supporting the idea to delegate the children’s rights protection issues to a children’s ombudsman. However, it’s closely related to the context of the country. Ukraine has to make its own decisions. The issue is to introduce a powerful mechanism of children’s rights protection monitoring in the South of Ukraine.”

What do you think about the transformation of the Ministry of Youth, Family and Sports into a Department at the Ministry of Education and Science?

“I’ve already expressed my opinion on behalf of UNICEF to the Ukrainian president and government. I also spoke about it during a session of the Verkhovna Rada last December. Certainly, UNICEF respects the decision of the Ukrainian government as it represents a sovereign state. UNICEF fully accepts this decision, aimed at transferring the functions of that ministry to the Ministry of Education. However, we strongly recommend that during this reform the main functions concerning children’s rights protection be preserved. We know about the presidential decree issued a month ago, ordering to transfer to the Ministry of Social Policy the functions related to the protection of children, women and families. The government is still working on determining these functions’ structure. Our organization will gladly cooperate with the Ukrainian government to perform those functions during the process of reform. We have the Department for Adoption and Protection of Children and the Department for Family and Gender Policy. Merging those two departments with the Ministry of Social Policy might be a good idea since one institution will perform all the functions. It might be an advantage.

“The next question is of a great importance. If a family experiences a difficult situation, it’s unemployed, poor or a mother raises three children on her own, such a family needs to have social protection (consultancies, legal assistance, etc.), and financial support as well. Such families in crisis should receive the whole ‘assistance package.’ If such families aren’t sufficiently protected they risk becoming asocial, which can lead to child abuse.”

Don’t you think that in half a year, when Ukraine’s presidency in the EC finishes, the Ukrainian government will lose interest in children’s rights?

“I hope that the Ukrainian government will assume specific obligations in front of the international community as you have the best opportunity to demonstrate the changes in the sphere of human and children’s rights protection. I’ve been working here for two years now and I see that you have good resources and an educated society. I don’t think that the Ukrainian government will do a foolish thing and miss this opportunity. It’s a real chance for Ukraine to show its strong points. However, work has to be done not only at a governmental level. It has to develop into specific government obligations to pursue this or that policy. This will cause certain budget expenditures directed at the protection of children. UNICEF is ready to provide its technical help any time. I hope that we’ll cooperate in future as well.”

http://www.day.kiev.ua/210321

Seeking an end to child abuse in Eastern Europe

Delegates from Corvallis’ Sister City in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, are in town this week to meet with representatives from local agencies that work for the welfare of children and families — specifically to gain skills in recognizing and diagnosing child abuse.

The visitors include Zita Batori Tartsi, the president of the Sisters City Association of Uzhhorod, and delegates Volodymyr Bashkiryev, Svitlana Khvust and Valentyna Shevchuk. In Uzhhorod, they are social workers, psychologists, therapists and educators working to help families cope with issues ranging from domestic violence to the long-lasting trauma of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown.

Both Batori Tartsi and Bashkiryev work in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Uzhhorod National University.

Simply acknowledging the problem of child abuse and domestic violence in Ukraine is a step in the right direction, Batori Tartsi said.

“A hidden problem of abuse in orphanages; it is our pain,” she said.

Wednesday morning, the members of the delegation listened intently to presentations by the director and staff of the Old Mill Center for Children and Families.

Executive director Steve Golston spoke to the delegates about the center’s relief nursery program, which offers assistance to at-risk families by pairing childcare with parent education programs.

“At-risk families — families with high stress — are more likely to have abuse problems,” Golston said. Those risk factors include drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues for either a parent or child, teenage parents, single mothers, families living in poverty, parents who were sexually or physically abused as children, financial difficulties such as unemployment, no family support or living in an unsafe area.

“If any of these factors exist in a family, the possibility of child abuse goes way up,” Golston said. “The idea is intervention before child abuse occurs.”

The goal is the interruption of these problems from one generation to the next,” explained Cindy Bond of the Old Mill Center.

The delegation, which arrived May 11, has been busy soaking up as much information about child welfare and education as possible. Wednesday the group met with staff members from the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence. The group also has visited the Department of Human Services’ Child Welfare Program, the Children’s Farm Home, the Parent Enhancement Program, the Benton County Courthouse and Parole and Probation. Additional visits to ABC House, Court Appointed Special Advocates and Community Outreach are planned before the visitors depart Sunday.

The delegates plan to use their experiences to help create violence-prevention programs in Uzhhorod and enhance existing educational programs to reach out to at-risk children.

Contact city reporter Nancy Raskauskas at 541-602-0539 or nancy.raskauskas@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @NancyR10.

Turkey to hand over chairmanship of Committee of Ministers to Ukraine

Turkey will hand over chairmanship of Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Ukraine on May 11.

A statement by Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Turkey would hand over chairmanship to Ukraine at a ceremony to be held on the sidelines of the 121st Ministerial Session of the Council of Europe that would take place at Ciragan Palace Hotel in Istanbul on May 10-11, 2011.

Turkey assumed the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on November, 10 2010.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will host the ministerial meeting to be attended by foreign ministers of 47 member and 5 observer states of the Council of Europe.

At the end of the meeting, "Istanbul Declaration" on the future of the organization and the role of the Council of Europe in maintaining the democratic stability in Europe as well as the principles, binding commitments and efficient monitoring mechanisms it has been representing in this regard, is to be adopted.

In the margin of the Ministerial Meeting, the ceremony of opening for signature of "Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence" will take place at Ciragan Palace.

Turkey to Sign International Treaty on Violence against Women

The Turkish Foreign Ministry will sign an international treaty designed to prevent and combat violence against women during a meeting of the Council of Europe Ministers on May 11 in Istanbul. The Council of Europe’s convention sets out standards for states to act with integrated policies to tackle gender-based violent crimes and promote international cooperation. Governments ratifying the treaty will have to take necessary legislative or other measures to ensure criminalizing acts such as domestic violence, violence in public places, sexual harassment, forced marriage, “honor” crimes, rape and genital mutilation. The convention proposes the establishment of state-wide telephone help lines that would operate around the clock to provide confidential advice to anonymous callers. The treaty defines “domestic violence” as all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence with the victim. The draft text also calls for specific monitoring mechanisms to check implementation of the convention. Turkey will also host a conference on the reform process of the European Court of Human Rights between April 26 and 27 in İzmir. The conference will include a preliminary assessment of the impact of Protocol No. 14 and will study the achievements made by the reform process launched by the Interlaken conference in February 2010 and reflect upon further ideas for improvement prior to May 11. Turkey, which has held the six-month rotating presidency of the European Council, will hand over the presidency to Ukraine on May 11.

Ukraine Educators Visit America

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A group of social workers and educators from the Ukraine taste some bread made by students in the cooking class at North Valleys High on Monday. The group, which is part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, was invited to become acquainted with American practices of providing social services to youth. Left to right is Volodymyer Nay, Nadiia Lakymiv, Lelyzaueta Onyshchenko and Oksana Vozniuk. / RGJ

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Written by

Michael Martinez
mmartinez@rgj.com

• FILED UNDER
• Local Life

In the Ukraine, about 90 percent of the students attend school regularly, according to statistics compiled by UNICEF.

Dropouts are not acceptable. Students are required to wear uniforms in most cases. And truancy: If you don't want to be picked up by police and returned home to your parents or to a detention center, go to class.

So what did a group of Ukrainian educators and youth social service workers stand to gain from a visit to Washoe County schools Monday?

"You have youth services outreach families and counseling for domestic violence," said Nataliya Yeremenko, the head of social services in Kreminna is the Ukrainian state of Lahansk.

She spoke through U.S. state department interpreter Alex Tsiovkh, who also is professor at the University of Kansas.

"We want to see and hear the best practices of what people, agencies and services in the United States do with these issues you face here in the United States and adopt them back home, and to take those best practices and adapt them," Yeremenko said.

Yeremenko and a handful of her colleagues visited a about four campuses Monday, including North Valleys High School, where Principal Jeana Curtis, vice principal Josh Reddig and school district police Chief Mike Mieras took them on a tour of classrooms.

Prior to the visit, Curtis and Reddig talked about the school's policy Project Respect which emphasis "respect, responsibility, loyalty, honesty and courage everywhere on campus."

Reddig said since 2008 when the program -- culled from input by administration, teachers, staff and students at the school -- was implemented, behavioral referrals to the office have declined.

He said teachers use enrichment periods at the school, also reserved for tutoring and other activities, to remind students of these expectations.

The contingent of Ukrainian visitors got to witness the policy in effect in various classrooms.

"We've had many interesting, positive and pleasant impressions because we've been able to communicate and exchange ideas with new people," Yeremenko said.

"We've learned many cultural traditions that differ from those we have in the Ukraine, so we are able to better characterize people in the United States."