India Accounts for 45.8 Million of the World's 'Missing Females': UN Report
The Economic Times, India, 6/30/2020
As per a report by the United Nations, India accounts for 45.8 million of the world's 142.6 million ‘missing females’ over the past 50 years. The report further adds that the country along with China form the majority of such women globally. The State of World Population 2020 report released on June 30, 2020 by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the world organisation's sexual and reproductive health agency, said that the number of ‘missing women’ has more than doubled over the past 50 years. The report highlights that that preference for a male child manifested in sex selection has led to dramatic, long-term shifts in the proportions of women and men in the populations of some countries.
Most Victims of Dating Violence in Korea are Women: Police
The Korea Herald, Korea, 6/29/2020
As per the analysis of crime by Korea Women’s Hot Line, at least one woman was killed or nearly killed by her male partner every 1.8 days in 2019. The figure excludes the crimes that were not covered by the media. Police said they are working closely with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to raise awareness of and encourage the reporting of gender based violence experienced by girls and women. Last year, police charged 9,858 people with crimes against their intimate partners, including murder, rape and stalking. Reportedly, the National Police Agency (NPA) is embarking on a two-month-long crackdown of intimate partner violence from July 1st - August 30th.
Egypt Court Jails Belly Dancer for ‘Debauchery’ in Social Media Crackdown
Deccan Herald, Egypt, 6/28/2020
Reportedly, an Egyptian belly-dancer, Sama el-Masry, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,500) for allegedly inciting ‘debauchery and immorality’ as part of a crackdown on social media postings. El-Masry has denied the accusations and further added that the content was stolen from her phone and shared without her consent. In 2018, Egypt adopted a cybercrime law that grants the government full authority to censor the internet and exercise communication surveillance. Under this law, several women in the past have been accused of ‘inciting debauchery’. Entessar el-Saeed, a women rights lawyer and head of the Cairo Center for Development and Law, said women are the only category targeted by the authorities according to this law.
UN Women, KP Ombudsperson Launch Toolkit to Eliminate Workplace Harassment
Dawn, Pakistan, 6/27/2020
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace and UN Women have released a toolkit on ‘Understanding Sexual Harassment, Legal Provisions, Roles of Duty Bearers and Right Holders’. The aim of both KP ombudsperson and UN Women is to work towards effective implementation of legislation by "strengthening existing mechanisms, raising awareness, producing knowledge products and enhancing the capacity of Ombudsperson Office" so that incidents of workplace harassment can be eliminated. According to a press statement by UN Women, the toolkit will train those tasked with investigating workplace harassment cases "on the law and redressal mechanisms for dispensation of justice to victims".
‘India’s Painful Shecession’: The Virus has Made India’s Devastating Gender Gap Even Worse
Hindustan Times, India, 6/26/2020
Women around the world have been hurt financially by the COVID -19 outbreak, but the situation in India is more precarious for them than almost anywhere else. For women in India already suffer from a wide gender gap in employment, wages and education. Sanjay Mathur, an economist with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said, “Lockdown and social-distancing norms are likely to have an outsized impact on women. The concern is the economic impact will be felt across employment and well-being indicators over the coming years.” The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020 ranks India 112th of 153 countries in offering equal opportunities to women and men, and women often don’t have the same access to health care and education as their male counterparts.
LGBT+ Community in Gabon Fears Backlash After Vote to Legalise Gay Sex
Reuters - Lagos, Nigeria, 6/25/2020
Members of Gabon’s LGBTQIA+ said they feared a homophobic backlash after the lower house of parliament voted to legalise gay sex on June 23, 2020. 48 members of the parliament voted to revise a law passed in July, 2019 that punished sex between people of the same gender with up to six months imprisonment. To become law, the Senate needs to approve the proposal. Thibault, a gay lawyer, said that he expects the law to be met with resistance from the general population, if and when it is passed. Gay sex is illegal in most African countries. Botswana and Angola decriminalised same-sex relations in 2019 but large populations of religious conservatives in Africa, including in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, oppose LGBTQIA+ rights.
China: City to Let People Getting Married See Their Partner’s Abuse History
BBC News, China, 6/24/2020
Yiwu, a city in China’s Zhejiang province, is launching a database service that will let people getting married check if their partner has a history of abuse. The Domestic Violence Register database will be launched on July 1, 2020 and will let people see if their partners have any history of violence, ‘either between family members or during cohabitation’. The service will begin by using information provided by the courts and public security organs from 2017 onwards. Zhou Danying, a member of the women’s federation in the city, has welcomed the move, saying the system will help protect people in the city from domestic violence. The service has been applauded on social media, with many calling for it to be rolled out nationwide.
Singapore’s Gay Pride Event Forges Ahead Despite Growing Opposition
Reuters - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 6/23/2020
The organisers of Singapore’s annual Pink Dot gay pride rally vowed on June 23, 2020 to push ahead with an online event after nearly 30,000 people filed a petition demanding restrictions and called the content ‘immoral’. Like many other cities emerging from a lockdown to curb the novel coronavirus, Singapore’s pride event will be marked online this year in a livestream. The petition, posted on the Change.org website, said it was started by parents who were ‘deeply troubled’ that the event would expose children to ‘homosexuality as a lifestyle.’ The organisers said they would go ahead, to support the LGBTQIA+ community that struggled with social isolation during the recent lockdown that has since been eased.
PNP: Domestic Violence, OSEC Complaints Surge as Lockdown Eased
The Philippine Star - Manila, Philippines, 6/22/2020
The more relaxed quarantine measures imposed at the beginning of June, 2020 have ushered in an increase in the reporting of domestic violence in the Philippines, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said. The PNP noted that these cases were not reported earlier because of the lack of transportation and restrictions in movement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The PNP Women and Children’s Protection Center (WCPC) also recorded a surge in cases of online sexual exploitation of children during the pandemic. The WCPC spokesperson said prompt reporting of incidents was important as the PNP could immediately address supposed crimes under PNP protocol with the police arresting the perpetrator without a warrant, whereas, late reporting would need court approval.
900 LGBT Couples Have Been Certified in Japan Since 2015, Survey Finds
The Japan Times - Kyodo, Japan, 6/21/2020
A survey by Kyodo News has revealed that a total of 900 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples have been recognised by municipal and other governments in Japan since 2015. Since the inception of the certifications systems in Tokyo in November 2015, the number of certified LGBTQIA+ couples has been rapidly increasing. The results of the survey suggest that public awareness of LGBTQIA+ couples is growing but the benefits offered to them are limited. In some cities the certification system provides certain benefits, such as allowing LGBTQIA+ couples to apply for public housing. However, limitations still exist, such as seeking important medical information on a partner who becomes medically ill.
News Archives
2022
248