• Yemen Could Seize Moment to Ban Child Marriage
    Dec 20, 2011
    Yemen's version of the Arab Spring has eclipsed urgent social concerns both in debates within Yemen and with donor countries. One of these issues is the widespread forced marriage of girls; very young girls in some cases.Now that President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to cede power, there may be an opportunity to press for social reform as part of the transition process.
  • Domestic workers' conditions 'akin to slavery'
    Jun 9, 2011
    Jo Becker demonstrates why the convention for domestic workers being negotiated by members of the International Labour Organisation is long overdue
  • Bringing Schools Up to the Standards of Prisons
    Apr 26, 2010
    Over two hundred thousand kids are punished in US schools each year by being paddled. One in five of them has a disability. No child should be paddled in school but it is hard to imagine anything more outrageous than paddling or hitting children because of their disability.
  • Unwelcoming Shores
    Nov 25, 2009
    Simone Troller of Human Rights Watch describes the plight of migrant and refugee children in Greece and how Greek authorities are doing the dirty work for other members of the European Union – giving them the opportunity to get rid of migrants, including potential refugees.
  • Corporal punishment proves to be discriminatory, ineffective
    Aug 22, 2008
    All parents want their children to attend safe schools where the focus is on learning and students of all races are treated fairly. Unfortunately, after months of investigation into the use of corporal punishment in Mississippi, including interviews with dozens of parents, children and educators, we have discovered that neither is true in many of Mississippi's public schools.
  • Upholding Public Disorder
    Sep 8, 2005
    Most travelers to Papua New Guinea have heard of the country's high crime rate. What they don't know is that many Papua New Guineans are as scared of the police as they are of common criminals.
  • Mass AIDS Plan Should Learn from Post-Rape HIV-Prevention Program
    Mar 4, 2004
    In the midst of South Africa’s explosive HIV/AIDS epidemic, sexual violence can be a death sentence. In April 2002 the South African government pledged to provide rape survivors with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), antiretroviral drugs that can reduce the chances of contracting the virus from an HIV-positive attacker. South Africa’s PEP programme is promising, one that could become a model for other countries. But South Africa’s own inaction is undermining its promising initiative.
  • Afghan Women and Girls Still Held Hostage
    Oct 28, 2003
    Despite high hopes when the Taliban were driven from power, severe discrimination and sexual violence continue to plague the lives of women and girls throughout Afghanistan. Physical insecurity and de facto restrictions on freedom of movement still prevent many women and girls from going to school or to work, and from participating in the country's civic life.
  • Zambia: Protect Young Girls from Forced Sex With HIV-Positive Men
    Jul 10, 2002
    As the international Aids conference continues in Barcelona, there is a special and urgent need to protect young girls and women from HIV infection.