(Atlanta, January 20, 2022) – The United States federal and many state and local governments are not doing enough to end cervical cancer deaths, the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI) and Human Rights…

(Chicago, March 11, 2021) – An Illinois law that requires a young person seeking an abortion to involve an adult family member is dangerous for youth in the state, violates their human rights, and threatens their health and safety, Human Rights Watch and…

(Washington, January 23, 2019) -- The US government should uphold refugee protections for survivors of domestic violence, the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS) and Human Rights Watch said today.    In December 2018, a federal judge…

(Montgomery, Alabama, November 29, 2018) – The Federal and many state and local governments are not doing enough to prevent cervical cancer deaths, which are largely preventable, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today. Approximately 4,200 women…

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) – Mothers in jail are being torn from their families and losing contact with their children even before they have been convicted of a crime, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report…

Nursing homes across the United States routinely give antipsychotic drugs to residents with dementia to control their behavior, despite regulatory prohibitions on this misuse of drugs as “chemical restraints.” This abusive practice remains widespread even…

Everyone has the right to make decisions about their own body. The Trump administration should keep their hands off our birth control!

Governments should pledge political and financial support for sexual and reproductive health to counter the United States’ “Global Gag Rule.” The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden are hosting a summit in Brussels on March 2, 2017, to strengthen…

New York State’s legislators and governor should back a proposed law to help end child marriage in New York. In the period from 2001 to 2010, 3,850 children under the age of 18 married in New York State. Child marriage is any marriage of a person under…

(Washington, DC, January 12, 2017) – The rise of populist leaders in the United States and Europe poses a dangerous threat to basic rights protections while encouraging abuse by autocrats around the world, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth…

Thousands of United States service members, who lost their military careers after reporting a sexual assault, live with stigmatizing discharge papers that prevent them from getting jobs and benefits.  Under pressure from the public and Congress, the US…

World Report 2016 summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff undertook in 2015, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the…

World Report 2016 summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects investigative work that Human Rights Watch staff undertook in 2015, usually in close partnership with human rights activists in the…

The United States government and tobacco companies are failing to protect teenage children from hazardous work in tobacco farming. Human Rights Watch documented the harm caused to 16- and 17-year-olds who work long hours as hired laborers on US tobacco…

US military service members who report sexual assault frequently experience retaliation that goes unpunished. Despite extensive reforms by the Defense Department to address sexual assault, the military has done little to hold retaliators to account or…

Victims of sexual assault in Washington, DC, are not getting the effective response they deserve and should expect from the district's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Sexual assault cases are too often not properly documented or investigated and…

Victims of sexual assault in Washington, DC, are not getting the effective response they deserve and should expect from the district's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Sexual assault cases are too often not properly documented or investigated and…

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A new report from Human Rights Watch suggests that 80 percent of rape kits in Illinois are never tested. This is the story of one Illinois rape survivor whose rape kit remains untested. Photographs by Lorena Ros for Human Rights Watch.