In this new document, Amnesty International presents the case for incorporating human rights laws and standards in the prosecution of rape and sexual violence in international and national courts. In particular, the International Criminal Court (ICC) must do so as a requirement of its own statute.
A large-scale study currently underway across Malaysia uncovers proof that polygamy harms everyone involved: from emotionally scarred children, to wives who think they’d be better off as single-parent households, and even husbands who admit “I wouldn’t recommend it for my son; it’s quite stressful.”
For the first time, women in India have legal protection against abuse in their own homes. It is the first time Indian law has recognised marital rape, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse of a woman by her husband as crimes.
This report from the Special Rapporteur on violence against women notes that despite some significant developments, the situation of women remains dramatic and severe violence against them all-pervasive.
The French parliament has raised the age at which a woman can get married - from 15 to 18 - as part of a package to combat domestic violence. The law, which aims to prevent forced marriages, makes the age limit the same as that for men.
African women's rights organizations are leading an innovative campaign to get countries to ratify a protocol that specifically protects women's human rights. Show your solidarity with them by writing to African heads of state to urge them to ratify it.
