Biodun.BBC: sexual violence

Showing posts with label sexual violence. Show all posts

Saturday, March 28, 2020

ANALYSIS: Fears of domestic violence rise as millions confined over virus

Issued on: 28/03/2020 - 04:02Modified: 28/03/2020 - 11:02 GMT/ZULU

With families across Europe confined to their homes to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, fears are rising of a surge in domestic violence Ina FASSBENDER AFP

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Berlin

by Isabelle Roussel and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts

With families across Europe confined to their homes to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, fears are rising of a surge in domestic violence.

From Berlin to Paris, Madrid, Rome and Bratislava, associations that help victims of domestic violence have sounded the alarm after Europe overtook China to become the epicentre of the pandemic.

"For many people, their home is already not a safe place," says the German federal association of women's counselling centres and helplines (BFF).

But the stress caused by social isolation is exacerbating tensions and increasing "the risk of domestic and sexual violence against women and children", the association warns.

And the risks are not limited to homes where violence was already a problem before.

On top of the stress caused by confinement, fears around job security and financial difficulties are also increasing the likelihood of conflicts.

"It's putting a lot of pressure on households," says Florence Claudepierre, head of the FCPE parents' federation in the Upper Rhine, a region hit hard by the pandemic in France.

She said she is hearing stories of "parents who are cracking, who can't carry on" in families that have not previously had any problems.

In China, which is slowly emerging from several weeks of total lockdown, the women's rights organisation Weiping has reported a threefold increase in reports of violence against women.

In Spain, which has the second-worst outbreak in Europe after Italy, a 35-year-old mother of two was murdered by her partner last week.

- 'Where can I go?' -

Elsewhere, help centres have noted a drop in calls for help -- which is not necessarily seen as a good sign either.

For children, young people and women who are victims of domestic violence -- mental or physical -- the current situation means "being constantly available" for abuse by the perpetrator, the German federation stresses.

Decisions to shut down schools, sports clubs and youth centres are important to curb the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from being overrun, acknowledges Rainer Rettinger, who heads a German child protection association.

But "who is seeing and hearing abused children today?" he asks.

"Now violence, too, has been confined. That's what we're afraid of," says Martine Brousse, head of Parisian organisation La Voix de l'Enfant (The Child's Voice).

As governments pour billions into their economies and health services, they should "not lose sight of the importance of equality and fundamental human rights," Beatrice Fresko-Rolfo, the general rapporteur on violence against women for the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, pointed out recently.

Domestic violence associations are facing a double-edged sword: With many social workers having to work from home, they are unable to reach victims; and when people need to be brought to safety, there are often not enough places in the refuges.

"Women have called us and told us they are experiencing violence at home. They are asking: Where can I go?" says Canan Gullu, from Turkey's federation of women's organisations.

In Germany, families minister Franziska Giffey has called on municipalities to organise alternative reception facilities if necessary, while neighbouring Austria provides guaranteed places in women's refuges or the removal of violent family members from quarantined households.

In the countries with the strictest lockdowns, such as Italy, victims are exempt from some of the rules -- such as the requirement to carry a document justifying why they are leaving their home -- if they need to visit a refuge centre.

"The current situation is unprecedented," says Adriana Havasova, a psychologist from Bratislava. She hopes the confinement will be limited to two or three weeks.

If it goes on for several months, "I can't imagine how much more domestic violence could increase," she warns.

Monday, December 16, 2019

In crime-hit Nigerian city, rape victims find their voice

Issued on: 17/12/2019 - 05:00Modified: 17/12/2019 - 06:58 GMT/ZULU

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Port Harcourt (Nigeria)

by Tokun Lawal and Biodun Iginla, France24

"They forced their way in at around 2am. They raped us. And when they left, they stole our phones and money."

In those simple words, Sarah describes the nightmare that she and her flatmate endured when two armed men broke into their apartment in Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub.

Who the men were was, and remains, a mystery. Both wore masks.

Reeling from shame and fearful of stigma, the 25-year-old did not tell anyone she had been raped. Not the police, her family, even her friends.

"Here you don’t talk about these things," Sarah -- her name changed for the purposes of this story -- told us at France24.

Eventually, Sarah, a trained nurse, became worried about her health and plucked up the courage to go to a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) that specialises in sexual violence.

There she received treatment. Eventually she found the strength to recount her tale to a psychologist.

- Rape epidemic -

The figures for admissions to the little clinic speak amply about the scale of rape in Port Harcourt.

Since the start of the year, more than 1,200 patients have sought help there. In October alone, there were 148 new admissions.

Port Harcourt has many of the fundamental problems of poverty and inequality which are familiar to Nigeria's big cities.

But it is also in the grip of notorious gangs called "cults," which emerged from university campuses to become organised crime groups and frequently engage in blood rituals and oaths.

They carry out raids, ransom kidnappings and other crimes, in which the victim often suffers sexual violence.

"When there are cultist clashes in the community, people scatter everywhere, and armed robbers go inside the houses and they rape the girls," said Christine Harrison, an MSF coordinator in the rundown district of Diobu.

The 42-year-old mother patrols the gritty streets, handing out an emergency number that victims can call -- a task that she has been doing for two years.

"My job is to let the women know that they need to stand up for their rights," she said. "Before, rape was a normal thing."

The MSF rape awareness campaign includes messages on local radios and stickers which are handed out on public transport.

The situation, while grim, is changing bit by bit -- a shift that came after nine women were drugged and strangled in Port Harcourt hotels in a string of gruesome ritualistic-style killings.

"We never saw something like that. The whole city just rose up. We said: 'Enough is enough'," said Ibim Semenitari, a well-known local activist who led protest marches joined by hundreds of feminists.

A police commissioner in Port Harcourt had initially urged women not to go out at night, and said that the victims were prostitutes -- their bloody fate could be avoided by "re-education," he suggested.

- Toxic masculinity -

As pressure from the street mounted, the police arrested the supposed killer, cult member Gracious David-West. His trial opened on December 9.

"His arrest was a huge success for us," said Doris Onyeneke, a campaigner and head of a centre for protecting and training women called Mater Dei.

"Women are vulnerable in Nigeria, and even more (so) in Niger Delta region," she said, referring to the country's oil hub.

The gangs are based on a twisted notion of masculinity, she said: "Members have to be aggressive, strong, kill, make a lot of money."

Her centre, where she is dubbed "Lady Doris," takes in many girls in need, some of them minors.

Theresa, a 21-year-old trainee seamstress, put the final rhinestones to a magnificent hand-made evening gown as she described the plight of many women in Nigeria.

"We don’t have equal rights," she said, her back straight and an unflinching look in her eyes.

"Women are the weaker vessels. For them, we are good only in the kitchen or in bed."

She added: "I used to be very shy, but now I can be bold enough and speak to the public. If we are empowered, we are less vulnerable. "