Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Amnesty International Report: Women's Lives and Bodies--Unrecognized Casualties of War

Women's lives and bodies -- unrecognized casualties of war
Press Release
Amnesty International

Women and girls bear the brunt of armed conflicts fought today both as direct targets and as unrecognized "collateral damage". Lives Blown Apart a new report in Amnesty International's campaign, Stop Violence Against Women, calls for global action to challenge both the violence and the failure of governments to prevent it.

"Patterns of violence against women in conflict do not arise 'naturally' but are ordered, condoned or tolerated. They persist because those who commit them know they can get away with impunity," said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

The report lays out the global picture revealing a systematic pattern of abuse repeating itself in conflicts all over the world from Colombia, Iraq, Sudan, Chechnya, Nepal to Afghanistan and in 30 other ongoing conflicts. Despite promises, treaties and legal mechanisms, governments have failed to protect women and girls from violence.

"Women and girls are not just killed, they are raped, sexually attacked, mutilated and humiliated. Custom, culture and religion have built an image of women as bearing the 'honour' of their communities. Disparaging a woman's sexuality and destroying her physical integrity have become a means by which to terrorize, demean and 'defeat' entire communities, as well as to punish, intimidate and humiliate women," said Irene Khan.

Entire Report and More Resources

2 comments:

Susannity said...

I just find it stomach-clenching when I hear the President talking about women now voting in Afghanistan and how they'll be voting in Iraq, and then you read reports from folks who go to Iraq and Iraqi women themselves about how many of them hide in their houses all day because they are afraid to go outside for fear of being attacked, raped, etc. Total disconnect of what is reality.

Michael said...

Yes, its difficult to conceive of what they are going through... how much more so when you are buffered by aids, convinced that God is directing your every move, and drunk on the power of leading the world's most powerful country...

I find this report extremely disturbing (even though I knew this before the report)...