• 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.
  • Belgium: Abused Migrant Women Fear Deportation
    Nov 8, 2012
    The risk of deportation prevents many migrant women who experience domestic violence in Belgium from getting the protection they need, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report was released in advance of Women’s Day in Belgium, November 11, 2012.
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Domestic Violence

  • Still time for House to do the right thing and pass Senate VAWA bill
    Nov 28, 2012
    Congress is at an impasse over renewing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the country’s primary national legislation addressing domestic abuse, sexual violence, and stalking. With the remainder of the 112th Congress now a matter of weeks, it is a very real possibility that the act will not be renewed.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Belgium: Abused Migrant Women Fear Deportation
    Nov 8, 2012
    The risk of deportation prevents many migrant women who experience domestic violence in Belgium from getting the protection they need, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report was released in advance of Women’s Day in Belgium, November 11, 2012.
  • 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.

  • Marriages: Made in Heaven, Living Hell for Many
    Oct 3, 2012
    Bangladesh's family laws for Muslims, Hindus and Christians, some dating to the 19th century, grant men far greater powers than women in marriage and accessing divorce. They do not recognise women's many contributions to marital homes, husbands' businesses and other family property. They give virtually no guidance to courts for determining maintenance amounts when marriages break down. Yet these laws have remained frozen in time for decades, and in some cases more than a century.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Yemen's Human Rights Situation; and the OHCHR Report on South Sudan
    Sep 25, 2012
    In Yemen, the transitional government has taken several bold and positive steps. Nevertheless, human rights violations continue and efforts to implement a United Nations-facilitated blueprint for the two-year political transition period have at times met with violent resistance from supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Human Rights Watch also welcomes the report of the OHCHR on South Sudan. As a new nation-state, the country has faced a number of human rights challenges.
  • 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. 

  • Congressional Standoff Over Violence Against Immigrant Women
    Aug 28, 2012
    Elsa's experience mirrors that of millions of American women caught in abusive relationships. The subtle manipulations and outright threats of her abuser echo words by women of varied backgrounds in any number of domestic violence shelters. But Elsa's abuser had an additional tool for trapping her in a cycle of violence. He held the ultimate trump card: he was a U.S. citizen and Elsa, born in Mexico, lacked authorization to live in the U.S.
  • Trapped after being forced to say 'I do'
    May 28, 2012

    Punitive measures against girls forced into child marriages should not find a place in government policies, programmes and practices.

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