Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday hailed as a “major advance” life sentences served this week on a provincial lawmaker and ten militiamen convicted of raping young girls. The group were jailed for life on Wednesday in the east of the …
Read More »Dozen DR Congo child rapists handed life sentences
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | A dozen militiamen in eastern DR Congo were jailed for life Wednesday for raping about 40 children, including a baby, in what was judged a crime against humanity. The defendants were said to belong to a militia group called “Djeshi ya Yesu” — meaning “Army …
Read More »Egypt court sentences lawyer to jail over rape remarks
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced a lawyer who said woman wearing ripped jeans should be raped to three years in prison, a judicial source said. The sentence against Nabih al-Wahsh was passed in absentia as the lawyer, previously released on bail, did not attend …
Read More »DR Congo court suspends trial over mass rape of children
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | The trial of 18 suspected militiamen over the kidnapping and rape of some 40 girls in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended after a defendant demanded the recusal of two judges, a judicial source said Friday. The demand was made by a …
Read More »DR Congo militiamen on trial for raping children
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | Eighteen suspected militiamen, including a provincial lawmaker, went on trial Friday in DR Congo’s chaotic east for kidnapping and raping some 40 girls. Frederic Batumike and 17 others face charges of “crimes against humanity through rape and murder … and taking part in an …
Read More »Indian teen rape survivor gives birth to baby boy
Mumbai, India | AFP | A 13-year-old rape survivor who was allowed to terminate a late pregnancy by India’s Supreme Court has given birth to a pre-term baby boy, a doctor said Friday. The teenager was 32 weeks pregnant, well beyond India’s 20-week legal limit after which terminations are only allowed …
Read More »South Sudan troops tried for rape, murder in Juba compound attack
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | A South Sudan military court on Tuesday opened the trial of 13 soldiers accused of raping foreign aid workers and murdering a local journalist during fighting in Juba last July. The chilling attack cast a spotlight on atrocities by government troops but also led …
Read More »Rwanda rape trials on the big screen
A new documentary takes an in-depth look at the difficulties of prosecuting mass rape in international courts. “The Uncondemned,” in American theaters this December, reviews the landmark case in Rwanda that changed how mass rape could be prosecuted as an act of genocide. PBS NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano spoke with …
Read More »COMMENT: Marital rape controversy
COMMENT:By Winnie Brenda Watera Prejudices hinder progress on a law that could improve the lives of women The Sexual Offences Bill, 2015 was finally presented to parliament for the first time on April 14, 2016 by Kumi District Woman MP, Monica Amoding, as a Private Member’s Bill. Before this, the …
Read More »Rape not a weapon of war?
By Agencies A new report by Canadian researchers challenges the widespread belief that rape is increasingly being used as a “weapon of war.” The report released on Oct.10 by a research team from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver said there is no compelling evidence to support this belief or claims …
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