• India: Rape Victim’s Death Demands Action
    Dec 29, 2012
    The death on December 29, 2012, of a 23-year-old student who was gang raped and assaulted should spur decisive action by the Indian government to combat sexual violence, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack catalyzed massive nationwide demonstrations and reopened public debate about reforming India’s inadequate laws and practices concerning sexual assault.
  • Canada: Investigate Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women
    Dec 17, 2012
    Canada’s federal government should establish a national commission of inquiry into the country’s hundreds of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This recommendation follows today’s release by the British Columbian government of the final report from the provincial Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry.
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Reports

  • Waiting for Justice
    Accountability before Guinea’s Courts for the September 28, 2009 Stadium Massacre, Rapes, and Other Abuses
  • Rights Out of Reach
    Obstacles to Health, Justice, and Protection for Displaced Victims of Gender-Based Violence in Colombia
  • Sex Workers at Risk
    Condoms as Evidence of Prostitution in Four US Cities
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Sexual Violence

  • India: Rape Victim’s Death Demands Action
    Dec 29, 2012
    The death on December 29, 2012, of a 23-year-old student who was gang raped and assaulted should spur decisive action by the Indian government to combat sexual violence, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack catalyzed massive nationwide demonstrations and reopened public debate about reforming India’s inadequate laws and practices concerning sexual assault.
  • What ails rape investigation in India?
    Dec 19, 2012
    India should take a principled stand against death penalty, including for rape. But beyond principle, India must also oppose the introduction of the death penalty as it will not stop the rise in rapes or result in higher conviction rates.
  • Canada: Investigate Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women
    Dec 17, 2012
    Canada’s federal government should establish a national commission of inquiry into the country’s hundreds of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This recommendation follows today’s release by the British Columbian government of the final report from the provincial Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry.
  • A year of progress in eliminating violence against women
    Nov 24, 2012
    On November 25 every year, a grim accounting takes place: the world takes stock of violence against women, the toll it takes, and progress toward eliminating it. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women has been commemorated on November 25 for more than three decades. It’s a day each year when my colleagues and I focus on the courageous women we have met, the injustices they’ve suffered, and the hope they inspire.
  • Egypt: Protester Killings a Test for Morsy
    Nov 19, 2012
    Families of the 45 protesters killed and the hundreds injured when police responded to protests over military rule with excessive force and brutality from November 19 through 24, 2011, are still waiting for justice a year later.
  • Colombia: Obstacles to Care for Abused, Displaced Women
    Nov 14, 2012
    Colombia’s laws on violence against women are not adequately protecting victims displaced by the armed conflict. Approximately two million internally displaced women and girls face high rates of rape and domestic violence. Daunting obstacles impede displaced victims’ access to healthcare, justice, and protection services.
  • It's time for governments to finally put an end to child marriage
    Oct 11, 2012

    The first UN International Day of the Girl, designed to promote education for young women everywhere, is the perfect opportunity to finally stamp out child marriage, writes Gauri van Gulik from Human Rights Watch.

  • UN Human Rights Council: Interactive Dialogue With the Independent Expert on Sudan
    Oct 3, 2012
    Human Rights Watch deeply regrets that the shift of the mandate of the Independent Expert on Sudan from Item 4 to Item 10 was used by the Sudanese authorities to restrict the ability of the mandate holder to monitor the human rights situation in the country and to prevent the identification of human rights violations and abuses.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Interactive Dialogue With the Independent Expert on Sudan
    Sep 25, 2012
    Human Rights Watch deeply regrets that the shift of the mandate of the Independent Expert on Sudan from Item 4 to Item 10 was used by the Sudanese authorities to restrict the ability of the mandate holder to monitor the human rights situation in the country and to prevent the identification of human rights violations and abuses. We are concerned that this is happening while the human rights situation in the country has seriously deteriorated.
  • Bangladesh: Discriminatory Family Laws Fuel Female Poverty
    Sep 16, 2012

    Bangladesh’s discriminatory personal laws on marriage, separation, and divorce trap many women and girls in abusive marriages or drive them into poverty when marriages fall apart. In many cases these laws contribute to homelessness, hunger, and ill-health for divorced or separated women and their children. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have recorded significantly higher levels of food insecurity and poverty among female-headed Bangladeshi households. 

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