Children

In the Online Africa Policy Forum, the NGO Women for Women International explains why ending sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should be a global priority. Patricia Morris, the Director of Program Development for the NGO, went on to explain not only the horrors of gender based violence in times of conflict, […]

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be." – Shel Silverstein   Photo: Danny Wilcox Frazier “Dreaming”, Conesville, Iowa. Dream child dream…dream big, dream loud, dream proud…never, ever stop […]

Earlier this month in a recent op-ed for the Washington post, Council on Foreign Affairs writer Michael J. Gerson asked, “What does rule of law can mean for women and children in Africa?” His answer, Justice for the Poorest . is what the International Justice Mission (IJM) hopes and works for. 'the founder of IJM, […]

Women and girls in Sudan's war torn Darfur region continually face rape and sexual assault, despite increased international awareness in the five years since the start of the conflict. Human Rights Watch calls on government to end sexual violence in Darfur, as neither the Sudanese security forces nor international peacekeepers are doing enough to protect […]

Last week a ground braking and historic story broke to international media, the story was Hadijatou Mani legal fight against the African state of Niger. Hadijatou Mani, a former slave who is suing the state of Niger in a landmark legal challenge, claiming that the country failed to protect her from being sold into a […]

It is fitting that V-Day Fall's in April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, “V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence […]

Every third woman sexually abused as a child, according to a survey conducted by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which was released this past week. According to the survey, not only has one in three Swazi women experienced a degree of sexual abuse as a child, and additional one in four had experienced physical violence. […]

…it's afterimage imprints itself like an irreversible negative from the camera obscura of dreams.” -Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides   The rape of anyone is one of the most atrocious crimes that can be committed against a person, especially a child. The ever increasing use of rape as a weapon of war not only […]

There is no doubt that the fight against sexual violence has a long way to go, and that victims support and services are considerably lacking. The damage of such violent acts reach much farther than the victim, the scope and depth of such acts effect entire communities and whole nations. The reach of such detrimental […]

For the millions upon millions, many children, who are the survivors of sexual violence, one must not forget their struggles in this month of awareness, as their battle is never ending. Therefore in conjunction with April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month, I wanted to share these words of survival from Nancy Venable Raine, After Silence, […]

As mentioned April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and throughout the month I will work to bring you many stories of the various forms of sexual assault that plagues millions upon millions of young girls across the globe. First I wanted to bring you back to the issue of human trafficking and slavery with in […]

Education is a vaccine for violence, as it is a vaccine for hunger and disease. The right to education is a basic human right for all children, a right we all too often take for granted. In developed countries we see education as a key to prosperity, to better jobs and economic security. However education […]