Today, we are confronted with a global refugee crisis of unprecedented levels,
a crisis that, as shown in this report, deeply affects the Western Hemisphere.
No one knows this better than those fleeing epidemic levels of violence,
including gender-based violence, in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.1
Research conducted over four months found that women face a startling degree
of violence that has a devastating impact on their daily lives. With no protection
at home, women flee to protect themselves and their children from murder,
extortion, and rape. They present a clear need for international protection.
Based on US Department of Homeland Security data covering FY 2015, of
the thousands of women and girls from these countries who expressed a fear
of being returned to their home country and were subject to the credible fear
screening process, US authorities have found that a large percentage have a
significant possibility of establishing eligibility for asylum or protection under the
Convention against Torture.2
A surging tide of violence sweeping across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
forces thousands of women, men, and children to leave their homes every month.
This region of Central America, known as the Northern Triangle (“Northern Triangle
of Central America” or “NTCA”), is one of the most dangerous places on earth.3
Perceptions of the Social Consequences of Rape in EzinihitteMbaise, Imo State...AJHSSR Journal
Rape is a criminal act of obtaining sexual consent or submission forcefully or by use of threat.
In many places, the scar of rape is perceived to be permanent and the female victims are usually stigmatized.
The paper examined the perceptions of the social consequences of rape in Ezinihitte-Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria.
The paper is anchored on feminist theory, Marxian theory and rational choice theory. The sample size and study
participants were 324 adult residents of the area. They were selected using multi-stage sampling procedure and
purposive sampling technique. Questionnaire and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) were the quantitative and
qualitative instruments of data collection used in the study. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and interpreted in tables of frequency/percentage distributions.
Transcription of the recorded electronic and field note interviews provided data for the qualitative analysis. The
result amongst others revealed that 20.3% of the respondents were of the view that stigmatization; withdrawal
from social activities (18.6%), delay in getting married (25.2%) were notable social consequences of rape.
However, the paper concluded that stigmatization or possible avoidance of marrying rape victims sustains the
trauma and would also serve as a secondary victimization. It therefore recommended amongst others that
government in partnership with NGO's should embark on adequate sensitization campaigns in rural areas to
discourage stigmatization and thereby reorientate many on the wrong notion that rape scar remains with the
victims for life. Females should avoid walking unaccompanied in the night and visiting of acquaintances at
lonely places.
Perceptions of the Social Consequences of Rape in EzinihitteMbaise, Imo State...AJHSSR Journal
Rape is a criminal act of obtaining sexual consent or submission forcefully or by use of threat.
In many places, the scar of rape is perceived to be permanent and the female victims are usually stigmatized.
The paper examined the perceptions of the social consequences of rape in Ezinihitte-Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria.
The paper is anchored on feminist theory, Marxian theory and rational choice theory. The sample size and study
participants were 324 adult residents of the area. They were selected using multi-stage sampling procedure and
purposive sampling technique. Questionnaire and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) were the quantitative and
qualitative instruments of data collection used in the study. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and interpreted in tables of frequency/percentage distributions.
Transcription of the recorded electronic and field note interviews provided data for the qualitative analysis. The
result amongst others revealed that 20.3% of the respondents were of the view that stigmatization; withdrawal
from social activities (18.6%), delay in getting married (25.2%) were notable social consequences of rape.
However, the paper concluded that stigmatization or possible avoidance of marrying rape victims sustains the
trauma and would also serve as a secondary victimization. It therefore recommended amongst others that
government in partnership with NGO's should embark on adequate sensitization campaigns in rural areas to
discourage stigmatization and thereby reorientate many on the wrong notion that rape scar remains with the
victims for life. Females should avoid walking unaccompanied in the night and visiting of acquaintances at
lonely places.
AIDSTAR-One Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA)AIDSTAROne
Entrenched gender inequality is a major contributor to Swaziland's HIV prevalence rate, which in turn, hinders poverty reduction and national development activities. For the past ten years, the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has been addressing the links between the HIV epidemic, gender-based violence (GBV), and human rights. Although SWAGAA was initially formed to provide counseling services to survivors of GBV, it has expanded its programs to better meet the needs of the community.
www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/gender/resources/case_study_series/gbv_swaziland
Poverty as a_factor_in_human_trafficking_in_rwandaJohnGacinya
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between poverty and human trafficking. Orphans and single mothers are the ones who fall below the poverty line. To overcome poverty export diversification and expanding manufacturing sector is of paramount importance.
R A P E V I C T I M S A R E A C L A S S O F P E R S O N S O F T E N D...MedicalWhistleblower
Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. 1, 2 One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. 3 Only one in 50 women who have been raped reports the crime to the police.4
Although both women and men may be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, women are the victims of the vast majority of these crimes. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 85% of violent victimizations by intimate partners between 1993 and 1998 were perpetrated against women. Women are between 13 and 14 times more likely than men to be raped or sexually assaulted; for instance, in 1994, 93% of sexual assaults were perpetrated against women. Four of five stalking victims are women.
Sexual violence occurs throughout the world Available data suggest
that in some countries nearly one in four women may experience
sexual violence by an intimate partner and up to one third of
adolescent girls report their first sexual experience as being forced
Sexual violence has a profound impact on physical and mental health
As well as causing physical injury, it is associated with an increased
risk of a range of sexual and reproductive health problems, with both
immediate and long term consequences
AIDSTAR-One Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA)AIDSTAROne
Entrenched gender inequality is a major contributor to Swaziland's HIV prevalence rate, which in turn, hinders poverty reduction and national development activities. For the past ten years, the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has been addressing the links between the HIV epidemic, gender-based violence (GBV), and human rights. Although SWAGAA was initially formed to provide counseling services to survivors of GBV, it has expanded its programs to better meet the needs of the community.
www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/gender/resources/case_study_series/gbv_swaziland
Poverty as a_factor_in_human_trafficking_in_rwandaJohnGacinya
The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between poverty and human trafficking. Orphans and single mothers are the ones who fall below the poverty line. To overcome poverty export diversification and expanding manufacturing sector is of paramount importance.
R A P E V I C T I M S A R E A C L A S S O F P E R S O N S O F T E N D...MedicalWhistleblower
Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. 1, 2 One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. 3 Only one in 50 women who have been raped reports the crime to the police.4
Although both women and men may be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, women are the victims of the vast majority of these crimes. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 85% of violent victimizations by intimate partners between 1993 and 1998 were perpetrated against women. Women are between 13 and 14 times more likely than men to be raped or sexually assaulted; for instance, in 1994, 93% of sexual assaults were perpetrated against women. Four of five stalking victims are women.
Sexual violence occurs throughout the world Available data suggest
that in some countries nearly one in four women may experience
sexual violence by an intimate partner and up to one third of
adolescent girls report their first sexual experience as being forced
Sexual violence has a profound impact on physical and mental health
As well as causing physical injury, it is associated with an increased
risk of a range of sexual and reproductive health problems, with both
immediate and long term consequences
Våldtäkt och sexuellt våld är mycket vanligt i Nicaragua och majoriteten av brottsoffren är flickor och unga kvinnor. I över två tredjedelar av alla våldtäkter som anmäldes mellan 1998 och 2008 var offret en flicka under 17 år och i närmare hälften av alla anmälda våldtäkter var brottsoffet under 15 år.
Violence contre les Femmes et Filles en Haiti dfid report 2013Stanley Lucas
There are various cultural, political and economic drivers of violence against women and girls in Haiti. They include the following. Gender stereotypes and discrimination against women: Researchers stress that the incidence of violence in the post-earthquake period should be understood in the context of the longer-term social exclusion, and cultural and legal discrimination against women. Women’s economic dependency: There is some evidence that women who are economically dependent on men are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Poverty, displacement and poor conditions in internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps: Studies indicate significant correlations between limited access to adequate food, water and sanitation, and women and girls’ vulnerability to sexual violence in IDP camps. Legacy of state-led violence: Politically motivated violence has been used by some regimes in Haiti. Culture of impunity and weak capacity in the state justice system: An acute lack of resources and capacity in the Haitian justice system makes it difficult for the state to prosecute and punish perpetrators, and deters victims from seeking redress.
Until recently, it was possible to condemn criminologists both for their near silence on women and criminal law, and for their sexism when they did speak. The most recent wave of feminism has witnessed two seemingly contradictory developments in theories of women and crime. First, femi-nism has kindled interest in women's studies in various academic disci-plines. Criminology has been no exception: the sexist treatment of women victims and offenders by police and other criminal justice officials, the sex-ism of traditional theories of crime, and the concept of victimless crimes have all been under attack.' But, there have also been arguments that women's crime has increased as a result of the women's liberation movement. This belief has been called "the most powerful and widely held ... concerning the topic of female criminality," and its impact has been felt by women offenders being pun-ished for their supposed acts of liberation.' Feminist criminologists now must do more than denounce mainstream criminology for its failure to ac-knowledge the significance of female crime. It is not enough simply to resurrect the neglected female offender. We must transcend the traditional boundaries of criminology and examine the role of the state and the law in reinforcing the position of women in contemporary society.
Rape Victims Are A Class Of Persons Often Defined By Gender Medical ...MedicalWhistleblower
Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Only one in 50 women who have been raped reports the crime to the police.
Although both women and men may be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, women are the victims of the vast majority of these crimes. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 85% of violent victimizations by intimate partners between 1993 and 1998 were perpetrated against women. Women are between 13 and 14 times more likely than men to be raped or sexually assaulted; for instance, in 1994, 93% of sexual assaults were perpetrated against women. Four of five stalking victims are women. Data on male victimization do not show that males experience comparable victimizations and injury levels, do not account for women who act in self defense, and do not measure financial control, intimidation, and isolation used by perpetrators of domestic violence against women.
The gender issue is foremost in sexual assault issues, and is usually background in general victimization. The unique cultural bias and shaming that accompanies rape cases needs its own focused opposition. The history of rape law is a history of the law used as a tool to protect rapists, rather than the raped. The anti-rape movement confronts, as it must, the cultural myths that uniquely exist in the context of rape. Manipulation of these myths, along with humiliation and victim blaming, are typical informal defenses to rape charges. Blaming victims in rape cases may be an effective means to secure acquittal. In contrast, blaming a robbery victim is typically ineffective because robbery is unaccompanied by the same pernicious cultural myths. The nature of stigma and abuse in rape cases is profound and unique, a criminal process that mistreats and excludes other types of victims also inflicts secondary victimization.
In 2002, there were 247,730 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape). A total of 17.7 million women have been victims of these crimes. In 2002, one in every eight rape victims were male. 93% of juvenile sexual assault victims knew their attacker; 34.2% were family members and 58.7% acquaintances. Only seven percent of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.
One of the most startling aspects of sex crimes is how many go unreported. The most common reasons given by victims for not reporting these crimes are the belief that it is a private or personal matter and that they fear reprisal from the assailant.
• In 2001, only 39% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials — about one in every three. [1999 NCVS]
• Approximately 66% of rape victims know their assailant.
• Approximately 48% of victims are raped by a friend or acquaintance; 30% by a stranger; 16% by an intimate; 2% by another relative; and in 4% of cases the relationship is unknown.
• About four out of ten sexual assaults take place at the victim’s own home. More than half of all rape/sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred within one mile of their home or at their home.
• In one study, 98% of males who raped boys reported that they were heterosexual.
• Rapists are more likely to be serial criminals than serial rapists. In one study, 46% of rapists who were released from prison were rearrested within 3 years of their release for another crime -- 18.6% for a violent offense, 14.8% for a property offense, 11.2% for a drug offense and 20.5% for a public-order offense.
• 61% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Those rapists, of course, never serve a day in prison.
So, even in the 39% of attacks that are reported to police, there is onl
Combating Spousal Violence in the Muslim Community of Canada: An Overview in ...iosrjce
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal edited by International Organization of Scientific Research (IOSR).The Journal provides a common forum where all aspects of humanities and social sciences are presented. IOSR-JHSS publishes original papers, review papers, conceptual framework, analytical and simulation models, case studies, empirical research, technical notes etc.
Similar to Women on the run executive summary eng for web nov 2015 (1) (20)
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This initial report was produced by Institute for Policy Studies staff in support of the Poor People’s Campaign: A
National Call for Moral Revival (www.PoorPeoplesCampaign.org). This campaign, marking the 50th anniversary of
the Poor People’s Campaign led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders, aims to build a broad and
deep national movement rooted in the leadership of the poor and dispossessed as moral agents and reflecting the
great moral teachings to unite our country around a transformative agenda to combat poverty, racism, militarism,
and ecological devastation. We worked in collaboration with the Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign, Rev. Dr.
William J. Barber, II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, and the Tri-Chairs of the Campaign's Audit Committee, Rev. Dr.
James Forbes, Dr. Tim Tyson, and Shailly Gupta Barnes.
In the coming months, the Institute for Policy Studies will work with the Poor People’s Campaign to conduct a much
more in-depth “audit” of the structural and systemic causes for what Dr. King called the “Triplets of Evil” — racism,
extreme materialism, and militarism — as well as the interrelated problem of ecological destruction. To learn lessons
for today, we will be hearing testimony and interviewing leaders who’ve been in the middle of the key struggles
for progress of the past 50 years. This analysis will feed into the new Poor People’s Campaign’s efforts to advance
structural solutions to the multiple crises of today.
The Maternity and paternity at work: Law and practice across the world report reviews national legislative provisions on maternity protection at work in 185 countries and territories (including leave, benefits, employment protection, health protection, breastfeeding arrangements at work and childcare), statistical coverage in law and in practice of paid maternity
leave as well as statutory provision of paternity, parental and adoption leaves. It shows how well national laws and practice conform to the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191) and the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156). The report is based on the ILO Working Conditions
Laws Database – Maternity Protection and an ILO statistical methodology to estimate coverage in law and in practice.
The first part of the study covers four key aspects of maternity leave provisions, in Chapter 2: the duration, the benefit paid; the source of funding and the scope. It compares the legal provisions in 185 countries and territories with the most recent ILO standards, both separately and combined by region. This assessment shows, within the limitations of the data available, that globally 34 per cent (57 countries) fully meet the requirements of Convention No. 183 on three key aspects: they provide for at least 14 weeks of leave at a rate of at least two thirds of previous earnings, paid by social insurance or public funds or in a manner determined by national law and practice where the employer is not solely responsible for payment. The regions with the highest proportion of countries in conformity with these aspects of the Convention are Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the Developed Economies. Conformity is particularly low in Asia and the Middle East, while not more than 20 per cent of the total meets the standards in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.
This manual is the result of several years of ACTRAV’s efforts in support of trade unions working to eradicate all forms of child labour. The scourge of child labour remains a challenge today.
Even though we have made progress in the recent past, there are still some 168 million children in child labour across the world. This is not acceptable. We have to renew our efforts in this fight against the exploitation of the weakest in society.
Trade unions have always been engaged in this fight against child labour. Through successive programs, ACTRAV has provided technical and financial
support to these unions. This manual draws on a number of lessons learnt from several years of ACTRAV’s engagement in this area of work. The manual therefore focuses on the added value of trade unions in the fight against child labour. Hence, unlike other guides in the past, it places an emphasis on ways
of engagement in the fight against child labour which best suits trade unions.
Strategic areas where trade unions have a natural disposition to make a difference to the global effort to fight child labour identified in this manual include, influencing national socio-economic policies through engagement with governments; using organising strategies and collective bargaining as a means of tackling child labour; using the ILO supervisory system to effect change in national laws and practices dealing with child labour; and participation in national and international campaigns against child labour.
The manual also provides unions with an up-to-date understanding of what child labour is today and the need for an official trade union policy to tackle it.
Another important novelty of this manual is that it presents a wide array of examples of concrete trade union actions to tackle child labour. These examples in the manual are not presented as models for all unions to follow. Rather, they are in the manual firstly to indicate that it is possible for unions to engage in the
fight against child labour. Secondly, they are here as examples to inspire other unions to develop their own country-specific actions against child labour. ACTRAV expresses its appreciation to all those who have contributed to the development of this manual. Particular thanks go to Ms Nora Wintour who drafted the manual and to colleagues in ACTRAV and IPEC who provided comments on successive drafts. We are confident that this manual will be a useful tool for trade unions in their engagement in the fight against child labour.
Maria Helena Andre
Director
Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV)
With increased public attention
being given to significant labour
rights violations, including child
labour and forced labour, in the South East Asian
seafood supply chain, the industry has come
under increasing pressure to put immediately
into place robust and sustainable systems
to ensure that all labour right violations are
prevented and if identified, properly addressed.
The violations have been found all along the
chain- from the fishing vessels, to land-based
aquaculture, through to primary and secondary
seafood processing. Addressing these labour
issues in a supply chain that is so widespread,
complex and mobile – where boats can be at
sea for months on end – is a challenge. Poorly
regulated migration, and poorly functioning
labour market institutions exacerbate these
problems
Most of the approximately 2,500 individuals sentenced as juveniles to life without the possibility of parole now have a chance for release in the wake of recent Supreme Court decisions. The choice to allow teenagers to receive the harshest
available sentence is not shared among all states.
Eighteen states have banned life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles; in a handful of other states,
no one is serving the sentence. Following the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama, states and the federal government are required to consider the unique circumstances of each juvenile defendant in determining an
individualized sentence. Montgomery v. Louisiana,2
a 2016 decision, ensures that the decision applies
retroactively. For juveniles, a mandatory life sentence
without the possibility of parole, is unconstitutional.
Research on adolescent brain development confirms
the commonsense understanding that children
are different from adults in ways that are critical to
identifying age appropriate criminal sentences. This
understanding – Justice Kennedy called it what
“any parent knows”3 – was central to four recent
Supreme Court decisions excluding juveniles from
the harshest sentencing practices. The most recent,
Montgomery, emphasized that the use of life without
parole (mandatorily or not) should only be reserved for
those juveniles whose offenses reflected “irreparable
corruption,”4 a ruling that Justice Scalia (in dissent)
wrote may eventually “eliminat[e] life without parole
for juvenile offenders.”5
The System is Broken
Everyone can agree that we don’t have a common-sense immigration process in place.
Many have questions about what the solution is, or how it’d benefit America’s workers.
Let’s explore some common myths about immigration and then talk about our campaign for reform.
Let's talk about the need to create a road map to citizenship as an essential part of comprehensive immigration reform.
Citizenship allows hard-working, immigrants who love this country and want to contribute to be fully-participating citizens. When we remove the fear of deportation and give workers a voice on the job and in the voting booth, we strengthen worker power, protect good jobs and lift up everyone.
There’s a lot about policies and laws that have stopped working for America’s working families
Chips are stacked for employers when it comes to union organizing
Warren Buffett's secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does
Colleges have stopped being affordable - but without college, we’re stuck with stagnant wages
And our immigration system is broken (mixed signals, no line to get into) -- and it’s created an underground economy where labor abuses and wage theft are common, and workers have few rights.
Between 2007 and 2011, 10.9 million homes went into foreclosure. These foreclosures not only have harmed the families that experienced them, they also have had negative effects that extend to the neighborhood, community and wider economy. There are myriad indirect costs of foreclosures, but in this report we focus on one: the economic impact on neighboring homeowners who lose property value as a result of being in close proximity to foreclosures.
This brief is the fourth in a series, updating our last report that was issued in 2009. In this report we estimate not only the total “spillover” cost, but that portion of the cost borne by neighborhoods of color. Our key findings, based on loans that entered foreclosure between 2007 and 2011:
• $1.95 trillion in property value has been lost or will be lost by residents who live in close proximity to foreclosures.2 These losses include both the spillover impact of homes that have completed the foreclosure process and future losses that will result from homes that have started but not yet completed the foreclosure process.
• Over one-half of the spillover loss is associated with communities of color.3 Minority neighborhoods have lost or will lose $1 trillion in home equity as a result of spillover from homes that have started the foreclosure process, reflecting the high concentrations of foreclosures in neighborhoods of color.
• On average, families affected by nearby foreclosures have already lost or will lose $21,077 in household wealth, representing 7.2 percent of their home value, by virtue of being in close proximity to foreclosures. Families impacted in minority neighborhoods have lost or will lose, on average, $37,084 or 13.1 percent of their home value.
Importantly, these losses represent only the wealth that has been lost or will be lost as a direct result of being in close proximity to homes that have begun the foreclosure process. We do not include in our estimate the total loss in home equity that has resulted from the crisis (estimated at $7 trillion),
the negative impact on local governments (from lost tax revenue and increased costs of managing vacant properties) or the non-financial spillover costs, such as increased crime, reduced school performance and neighborhood blight.
Balloon clowns and activities for all ages
Children of all ages were treated to free food and drink
Additional Treats included:
•Popcorn
•Popsicles & Ice cream
•Fruit Juice
•Punch
•Water
The CSE 101 Workshop will take 1 hour, 20 minutes,
divided as follows:
Welcome, Introductions and
Group Agreements 5 minutes
Lived Experience Exercise 10 minutes
PowerPoint Presentation 25 minutes
Victory Video 5 minutes
Campaign Overview 10 minutes
Recruiting People to Take Action 20 minutes
Campaign Next Steps,
Contact Form and Conclusion 5 minutes
In this section, we will be looking at:
a historical view of the rules of the economy—how the choices made throughout our nation’s history have changed who benefited from the economy and how;
how the neoliberal agenda is driving policy changes that benefit CEOs and the top 1% in our country, creating an economy out of balance;
how we can build power to change the rules to create an economy that works for everyone.
But what do we mean by “the economy?”
You know, a lot of people talk about the economy like it’s a force of nature—something that happens to us, like the weather.
That’s not true. The economy is a result of deliberate policy choices made by powerful people. We can make different choices. That’s what we’re going to look at in more detail.
More than 15 years ago, the AFL-CIO introduced a mass economics education program that
was received with great enthusiasm by labor leaders, activists and rank-and-file members who
craved a deeper understanding of the political nature of the U.S. economy. Since that time,
we’ve seen the largest redistribution of wealth in our nation’s history and a Great Recession
that paralyzed communities, families and workers. Still, many believe the economy is a force of
nature and not created by people in power.
Common Sense Economics is a tool for getting people involved in campaigns in their
communities and states to make the economy work for all of us, and not just for big
corporations. To accomplish this, we break down the myth that the economy cannot be
changed. Diverse audiences for Common Sense Economics include union and community
activists.
Productive employment and decent work are key elements to achieving a reduction in poverty.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has developed an agenda for putting the Decent
Work Agenda into practice through four strategic pillars, namely, employment, rights at work,
social protection and social dialogue, with gender equality as a cross-cutting objective.
The ILO notes in its Global Wage Report 2014/2015 that while the income of low-income groups
has been raised through direct employment programmes in South Africa, the most effective and
sustainable route out of poverty for the working-age population is a productive job that is fairly
paid. The report further notes that there has been a decline in real wages and a rise in inequality
because the income growth of the bottom poorest households stagnated in real terms, while that
of more affluent households continued to increase.
The ILO Africa is supportive of the decision of the South African government to investigate
the possibility of a National Minimum Wage (NMW) as one of the key mechanisms to reduce
income inequality.
The collaboration with Labour Research Service in Cape Town, South Africa to produce this booklet
is geared towards assisting the labour movement in its endeavour to achieve a minimum wage
system that contributes to poverty eradication and decent work.
‘First they outsourced the janitorial and
catering work and we didn’t speak out because
we weren’t representing cleaning workers.
Then they outsourced the security jobs, and
we didn’t speak out because we weren’t
representing the security services.
Then they outsourced the transport and
maintenance services, and we didn’t speak out
because we weren’t representing workers in
transportation and maintenance.
Then they outsourced our work, and there was
no one left to speak for us.’
People move for a wide variety of individual reasons. But there have been two moments in U.S. history in which millions of people came to this country at the same time.
What kinds of large-scale disruptions cause millions of people to move at the same time?
These are both times of global economic upheaval. The industrial revolution caused a massive economic shift across the world, from agricultural economies to urban/industrial economies, realignments of global power, and millions of economic and political refugees.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The imprisonment of human beings at record levels is both a moral failure and an economic one—especially at a time when more and more Americans are struggling to make ends meet and when state governments confront enormous fiscal crises. This report finds, however, that mass incarceration provides a gigantic windfall for one special interest group—the private prison industry—even as current incarceration levels harm the country as a whole. While the nation’s unprecedented rate of imprisonment deprives individuals of freedom, wrests loved ones from their families, and drains the resources of governments, communities, and taxpayers, the private prison industry reaps lucrative rewards. As the public good suffers from mass incarceration, private prison companies obtain more and more government dollars, and private prison executives at the leading companies rake in enormous compensation packages, in some cases totaling millions of dollars.
Collective Bargaining – The Basics
Most U.S. workers have the legal right to form a union with co-workers and negotiate a binding contract with their employer over pay, benefits, and other work conditions. However, only about 12 percent of us have exercised those rights.
What distinguishes UAW members and our brothers and sisters in other unions from the mostly non-unionized workforce is that we are organized and can bargain contracts that positively impact not only us and our families, but also those non-unionized employees and our country’s economy in the resulting positive ripple effect.
But how much do you know about the collective bargaining process that results in an agreement that sets your take home pay, the health care you and your loved ones rely on, the paid time off you receive, your path to promotion – and so much more?
This is a resources that we hope will provide a basic understanding about your collective bargaining rights. Please contact your local union to find out how you can learn even more.
How to Add Chatter in the odoo 17 ERP ModuleCeline George
In Odoo, the chatter is like a chat tool that helps you work together on records. You can leave notes and track things, making it easier to talk with your team and partners. Inside chatter, all communication history, activity, and changes will be displayed.
Executive Directors Chat Leveraging AI for Diversity, Equity, and InclusionTechSoup
Let’s explore the intersection of technology and equity in the final session of our DEI series. Discover how AI tools, like ChatGPT, can be used to support and enhance your nonprofit's DEI initiatives. Participants will gain insights into practical AI applications and get tips for leveraging technology to advance their DEI goals.
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
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Women on the run executive summary eng for web nov 2015 (1)
1. A Study Conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF REFUGEES FLEEING
EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND MEXICO
2. Today, we are confronted with a global refugee crisis of unprecedented levels,
a crisis that, as shown in this report, deeply affects the Western Hemisphere.
No one knows this better than those fleeing epidemic levels of violence,
including gender-based violence, in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.1
Research conducted over four months found that women face a startling degree
of violence that has a devastating impact on their daily lives. With no protection
at home, women flee to protect themselves and their children from murder,
extortion, and rape. They present a clear need for international protection.
Based on US Department of Homeland Security data covering FY 2015, of
the thousands of women and girls from these countries who expressed a fear
of being returned to their home country and were subject to the credible fear
screening process, US authorities have found that a large percentage have a
significant possibility of establishing eligibility for asylum or protection under the
Convention against Torture.2
A surging tide of violence sweeping across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
forces thousands of women, men, and children to leave their homes every month.
This region of Central America, known as the Northern Triangle (“Northern Triangle
of Central America” or “NTCA”), is one of the most dangerous places on earth.3
The region has come under increasing control by sophisticated, organized criminal
armed groups, often with transnational reach, driving up rates of murder, gender-
based violence, and other forms of serious harm. According to data from the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime, Honduras ranks first, El Salvador fifth, and Guatemala
sixth for rates of homicide globally.4
Furthermore, El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras rank first, third, and seventh, respectively, for rates of female
homicides globally.5
In large parts of the territory, the violence has surpassed
governments’ abilities to protect victims and provide redress.6
Certain parts of
Mexico face similar challenges.7
Over the last few years, there has been a sharp escalation in the number of people
fleeing the NTCA. In 2014, tens of thousands sought asylum in the United States,8
and the number of women crossing the US border was nearly three times higher
than in 2013.9
Others have fled to neighboring countries. Combined, Mexico,
Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama have seen the number of asylum
applications from citizens fleeing the NTCA grow to nearly 13 times what it was
in 2008.10
An alarming feature of this refugee crisis is the number of children fleeing home,
with their mothers or alone. Over 66,000 unaccompanied and separated children11
from the NTCA reached the United States in 2014.12
The number of children
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WOMEN ON THE RUN2
4. Escalating Violence against Women
Women interviewed for this report indicated that they
and their children face extreme levels of violence
on a near-daily basis. They described being raped,
assaulted, extorted, and threatened by members of
criminal armed groups, including gangs and drug
cartels. Eighty-five per cent of the women described
living in neighborhoods under the control of maras
(criminal armed groups prevalent in the NTCA) or
other transnational or local criminal groups.
Sixty-four per cent of the women described being the
targets of direct threats and attacks by members of
criminal armed groups as at least one of the primary
reasons for their flight. Women also described
incidents in which gang members murdered or were
responsible for the forced disappearance of a loved
one (e.g. a child, partner, or other close relative).
Many were asked to pay a cuota, or “tax,” for living or
commuting to work in a certain area, and threatened
with physical harm if they could not pay.
Women emphasized that the presence of criminal
armed groups in their neighborhoods had a deep
impact on their daily lives. Women increasingly
barricaded themselves and their children inside
their homes, unable to go to school or work fearing
gunfights or direct threats from armed groups.
Sixty-two per cent of women reported that they were
confronted with dead bodies in their neighborhoods
and a number of women mentioned that they and their
children saw dead bodies weekly.
Living in an environment of escalating violence,
women spoke of multiple instances of threats,
extortion, and physical or sexual assault over extended
periods. In some instances, the harm became so
intolerable that they had no choice but to flee. In
other cases, a particular event prompted their
immediate departure, sometimes within hours of an
attack occurring.
For many of the women interviewed, the increasing
violence from criminal armed groups occurred
alongside repeated physical and sexual violence
at home. Women described life-threatening and
degrading forms of domestic violence, including
repeated rapes, sexual assaults, and violent physical
abuse, such as beatings with baseball bats and other
weapons. Women repeatedly emphasized that the
police could not protect them from harm. In fact, many
of the women’s abusive partners were members or
associates of the criminal armed groups, making it
even harder to seek protection from the authorities.
No Safety at Home
The women interviewed for this report were unable to
find safety at home. All three countries in the NTCA
have passed legislation addressing violence against
women.16
Nonetheless, the women consistently stated
that police and other state law enforcement authorities
were not able to provide sufficient protection from the
violence. More than two-thirds tried to find safety by
fleeing elsewhere in their own country, but said this
did not ultimately help.
Sixty per cent of the women interviewed reported
attacks, sexual assaults, rapes, or threats to the
police or other authorities. All of those women said
that they received inadequate protection or no
protection at all.
Forty per cent of the women interviewed for this
study did not report harm to the police; they viewed
the process of reporting to the authorities as futile.
Some had seen the police fail to provide sufficient
responses to family or friends who had made reports.
Others felt that criminal armed groups maintained
such tight control of their neighborhoods that the
police were unable to intervene effectively on
their behalf.
Comparative Homicide Rates
Per 100,000 Persons
Global Rate
Honduras
El Salvador*
Guatemala
Mexico
Costa Rica
United States
6.2
90.4
82.2
39.9
21.5
8.5
4.9
Source: UNODC Global Study on Homicide 2013
* The homicide rate per 100,000 persons in El Salvador was calculated using
recent crime reports and the 2015 CIA World Fact Book
WOMEN ON THE RUN4
5. FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF REFUGEES FLEEING EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND MEXICO 5
Ten per cent of the women interviewed stated that
the police or other authorities were the direct source
of their harm in their home countries. In certain
instances, women described collusion between the
police and criminal armed groups. Several women
from NTCA countries who worked for the police
themselves or who had family members working
with the police said refusal to collaborate with maras
resulted in gang members threatening or attacking
them or their families. Women emphasized that this
atmosphere made it very difficult to seek protection.
Sixty-nine per cent of the women interviewed for
this report attempted to find safety by going into
hiding in other parts of their home countries. Women
moved to other neighborhoods, often moving in
with family members or close friends. Many tried to
remain invisible by constantly barricading themselves
and their children inside the home. Yet women
repeatedly stated that members of criminal armed
groups were able to track them when they moved,
and emphasized that even in new locations, they
continued to experience similar levels of violence.
Women fleeing some parts of Mexico reported
problems similar to those of women fleeing the
NTCA (although to differing degrees). Indeed, in
2014 Mexicans constituted the largest nationality
seeking asylum in the United States.18
Mexico
faces a complex situation, as it is simultaneously
a country of origin, a country of transit, and a
country of asylum.
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
The experience of Norma,17
the wife of a police officer from El Salvador, starkly illustrates the threats
facing women and the lack of available State protection. Indeed, the police and their families are targets of
violence in the struggle for power and control in El Salvador.
Before she fled to the United States, Norma lived in a neighborhood she describes as controlled by M-18,
a powerful transnational armed group with a significant presence in El Salvador. She saw routine gunfights
and murders between gang members and had to pay an increasing cuota every two weeks. About 15
days before she fled, a boy was murdered and left in the street near her house.
In late 2014, four gang members abducted her and took her to a nearby cemetery. Three of the four
proceeded to rape her; she believes they targeted her because she was married to a police officer. “They
took their turns…they tied me by the hands. They stuffed my mouth so I would not scream.” When it was
over, she said, “They threw me in the trash.” She contracted a sexually transmitted disease as a result of
the rape.
Her husband, the police officer, vowed revenge. They filed an official report. Norma became increasingly
concerned that the groups were threatening her and her children, and that the police would not be able to
protect her family. “[T]hey’d kill me. Gangs don’t forgive.…If they didn’t harm me, they’d harm my children.”
Norma tried to find safety by going to live with her aunt and uncle in another part of El Salvador. She
changed her phone number and “never left the house.” Nonetheless, she and her family were continually
threatened. Having no other option, she and her husband decided that she should leave the country; she
fled through Mexico with a coyote, or human smuggler. Before she left, she wanted to withdraw the police
report, “so no one left behind would be hurt.” However, Norma said her children, who still live with her
husband, “are still being threatened.”
Norma, detained in the United States at the time of her interview with UNHCR, described ongoing trauma
from the rape. She stated that, “I feel dirty, so very dirty. This is why I wake up not wanting to live. I feel I
have sinned, and this sin lives inside me…Sometimes, I wake up and think it was just a nightmare, but then
I feel the pain and remember it was not.”
NORMA’S STORY
6. Mexican women interviewed for this report
fled areas under some degree of control by
transnational criminal gangs. Women reported
being raped, assaulted, and threatened by
members of these groups. And, like women from
the NTCA, some Mexican women described
severe domestic violence. Although Mexico
has taken significant steps in enacting national
legislation to address violence against women,
Mexican women interviewed for this report
reflected a lack of trust in the authorities’ capacity
to respond in those areas from which they fled.
UNHCR interviewed 15 transgender19
women from
Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras for this report.
They described similar experiences of gender-based
violence and lack of police protection, yet their gender
identity further exacerbated the level of violence they
experienced. They relayed recurrent discrimination,
beatings, and attacks from family members, romantic
partners, clients or employers, and others.
Fleeing to Find Refuge
All the women interviewed for this report
were forced to leave their countries to escape
persecution, yet the journey itself, through
Guatemala and Mexico, presented its own set
of challenges. Women reported paying high
fees to smugglers, and being victims of extortion
throughout their flight, particularly near the US/
Mexico border.
Several women from the NTCA mentioned
that they took contraceptives before traveling,
in order to reduce the possibility of becoming
pregnant if they were raped during flight. Despite
precautions, many women reported that coyotes
sexually or physically abused them during transit.
The women interviewed for this report suffered
serious, targeted human rights violations related
to protected grounds under the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees. Given the
demonstrated fear of persecution, and in the
absence of effective State protection, many of
the claims for international protection of women
interviewed for this report are likely, upon
individual determination, to fall within the scope
of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and related
jurisprudence.20
Their stories are not atypical:
thousands of women fleeing this region may
be facing similar hardships. Countries hosting
refugees from this emerging crisis should ensure
that each woman has the opportunity to present
her case for asylum.
NTCA Asylum Applications to Mexico &
non-NTCA Central American Countries*
(2008–2014)
Mexico and NTCA Asylum Applications to
the United States (2008–2014)
2008 2009 201420132010 2011 2012
2000
1500
1000
500
0
*Including Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panana
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
35000
5000
15000
25000
2008 2009 201420132010 2011 2012
WOMEN ON THE RUN6
11. FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF REFUGEES FLEEING EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND MEXICO 11
xx Allowing for deportation of those who are
not found to be in need of protection in a
manner that ensures the return is carried
out with safety and dignity.
xx Training adjudicators on the application of
refugee law to people fleeing the NTCA
and parts of Mexico, with particular focus
on profiles of individuals at heightened risk
of persecution such as women subject
to gender-based violence, transgender
women, and unaccompanied children.
yy Promote durable solutions and collaborate to
share responsibility for refugee protection in the
region, including through refugee resettlement
as a strategic and/or emergency protection tool
for refugees at a heightened risk.
Address Root Causes of Displacement
UNHCR calls on governments in the region to:
yy Redouble efforts to formulate political solutions
that address “push factors” and the root
causes of refugee flows.
yy Expand efforts to prosecute traffickers and
smugglers while fully respecting the rights
of victims.
“I think they should combat the gangs. If they catch gang members, don’t let them go.”
– Salvadoran woman
“I’d tell them to work more on security and see what solutions they can provide to break
apart the gangs and traffickers. These are the groups who have arrived and ruined
everything.” – Honduran woman
“Get a president who respects the laws and cares about women’s rights, especially victims
of abuse, whatever abuse. Even though many laws exist to protect us, they don’t enforce
them. They only exist in name.” – Guatemalan woman
“Mexico should create safety and protect women better.” – Mexican woman
“[The US] is the only country near us that can protect us. It’s the nearest to us that actually
enforces its laws.” – Salvadoran woman
“Thank you. I think the US has helped a lot of people who entered this country out of
necessity, fleeing from countries all over the world. We’re thankful for the opportunity. I’m
thankful I get to be part of this.” – Salvadoran woman
“To the US Government, I’d say that those places [detention centers] shouldn’t exist. We
aren’t criminals, we aren’t here to hurt others, we’re hard-working people.”
– Guatemalan woman
“The US leaders should think about how they would treat their own mothers. We just
want to protect our children. The gang members are forcibly recruiting the young people
– especially young men. And the US Government does not understand this. This is one of
the reasons I had to leave, to protect my sons.” – Honduran woman
“The US Government should listen closely to the stories of people fleeing their countries,
because they are leaving out of great necessity.” – Salvadoran woman
WHAT WOMEN WOULD SAY TO GOVERNMENTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
12. 1
This report refers to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras collectively
as the “Northern Triangle of Central America.” The report also discusses
concerns faced by some Mexican asylum-seekers.
2
In FY 2015, out of 16,077 females from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
and Mexico who were subject to the credible fear screening by a US asylum
officer, 13,116 (or 82 per cent) were found to have a significant possibility
of establishing eligibility for asylum or protection under the Convention
against Torture. The purpose of this screening process is “to quickly identify
potentially meritorious claims to protection and to resolve frivolous ones
with dispatch.... If an alien passes this threshold-screening standard, his
or her claim for protection...will be further examined by an immigration
judge in the context of removal proceedings.” US Department of Homeland
Security, Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate Officer
Training: Asylum Division Officer Training Course, “Lesson Plan Overview:
Credible Fear,” February 28, 2014, available at http://www.lexisnexis.com/
legalnewsroom/immigration/b/insidenews/archive/2014/04/18/uscis-
revised-credible-fear-lafferty-memo-lesson-plan.aspx; see also 8 U.S.C.Sec
1225(b)(1)(B)(v). As a signatory to the 1967 Protocol (“Protocol”) relating to
the Status of Refugees, the US is required to co-operate with the UNHCR
by “providing them with the information and statistical data requested, in
appropriate form, concerning” the implementation of the Protocol. See UN
General Assembly, Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, GA Res. 2198
(XXI), UN GAOR, 21st Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/2198 (6 Dec. 1966), Art. II.
The information is on file with UNHCR.
3
World Bank Sustainable Development Department, Poverty Reduction
and Economic Management Unit Latin America and the Caribbean Region,
Crime and Violence in Central America: A Development Challenge, World
Bank Group (2011), available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLAC/
Resources/FINAL_VOLUME_I_ENGLISH_CrimeAndViolence.pdf; Clare
R. Seelke, Gangs in Central America, CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH
SERVICE, Publication No. RL34112, 7-5700 (20 February 2014).
4
UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Global Study on Homicide
2013 (March 2014), available at https://www.unodc.org/gsh and the CIA
World Factbook on El Salvador, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/
the-world-factbook/geos/es.html
5
The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, Global
Burdens of Armed Violence 2015, available at http://www.genevadeclaration.
org/measurability/global-burden-of-armed-violence/global-burden-of-armed-
violence-2015.html
6
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (hereinafter UNHCR), Children on
the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America and Mexico
and the Need for International Protection (2014) pp.15-17; UNHCR,
Uprooted (Arrancados de Raíz) (2014), available at http://www.acnur.org/t3/
donde-trabaja/america/mexico/arrancados-de-raiz/
7
UNHCR, Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central
America and Mexico and the Need for International Protection (2014)
pp.15-17.
8
UNHCR, Population Statistics Database, “Asylum-Seekers (Monthly
Data)”, available at http://popstats.unhcr.org/en/asylum_seekers
9
US Customs and Border Protection, http://federalnewsradio.com/
business-news/2014/12/us-border-patrol-female-agents-wanted/
10
UNHCR, Unaccompanied Minors: Humanitarian Situation at the US
Border, http://unhcrwashington.org/children
11
UNHCR defines an “unaccompanied child” as any child under the age
of 18 who has been “separated from both parents and other relatives and
[is] not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible
for doing so,” while a “separated child” is one who is “separated from both
parents, or from their previous legal or customary primary care-giver, but not
necessarily from other relatives.” UNHCR Guidelines on Determining the
Best Interests of the Child (May 2008) at 8, available at http://www.refworld.
org/docid/48480c342.html. UNHCR, Children on the Run: Unaccompanied
Children Leaving Central America and Mexico and the Need for International
Protection (2014).
12
Since 2008, the US Government has recorded a 561 per cent rise in the
number of new arrivals of unaccompanied and separated children. For FY
2014, the U.S. Government apprehended 66,115 UACs. See U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, Southwest Border Unaccompanied Children,
Fiscal Year 2014, available at https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/
southwest-border-unaccompanied-children
13
For FY 2014, the U.S. Government apprehended 66,144 family units. Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
The United States employs a range of accelerated removal procedures
that subject an individual to summary removal without a formal immigration
hearing. The women whose stories are reflected in this report passed
through one of the following accelerated procedures: expedited removal,
reinstatement of removal, or administrative removal.
An individual apprehended for the first time at a port of entry to the United
States, or between ports of entry within 100 miles and two weeks of having
crossed the US border without authorization, may be placed in expedited
removal proceedings. If she expresses a fear of return, then she is referred
for a screening interview with an asylum officer to determine whether she
has a credible fear of persecution or torture. At the credible fear interview,
she must establish a “significant possibility” that she will be granted asylum
or relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). 8 CFR § 208.30(e).
If the asylum officer finds that she has a credible fear, the asylum-seeker is
referred to an Immigration Judge for a full merits hearing on her claim. 8 CFR
§ 208.30(f).
Individuals who reenter the United States without authorization after a prior
order of removal are placed into reinstatement of removal. Those who are not
lawful permanent residents and are convicted of certain crimes after entering
the United States may be placed into administrative removal. Under either
reinstatement of removal or administrative removal, if an individual expresses
a fear of return, she is referred for an interview with an asylum officer to
determine whether there is “a reasonable possibility that he or she would be
persecuted on account of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership in
a particular social group or political opinion.” 8 CFR § 208.31(c). If the asylum
officer finds that the individual has a reasonable fear, the case is referred to
an Immigration Judge for full merits consideration of whether the individual is
eligible for withholding or deferral of removal under the refugee definition or
Convention against Torture. 8 CFR § 208.31(e).
The United States also employs affirmative and defensive asylum procedures.
A number of women in this report passed through either the affirmative or
defensive asylum process. To apply for asylum affirmatively, an individual
must be physically present in the United States or seeking entry to the
United States at a port of entry. The individual files an application for asylum
with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). After filing an
application, the individual is interviewed by an asylum officer, whose decision
is reviewed by a supervisory asylum officer. USCIS, Obtaining Asylum in the
United States, http://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum/
obtaining-asylum-united-states. Individuals apply for asylum defensively
when he or she requests asylum as a defense against removal from the U.S.
Individuals are generally placed into defensive asylum procedures in one of
two ways: (1) “they are referred to an Immigration Judge by USCIS after they
have been determined to be ineligible for asylum at the end of the affirmative
asylum process,” or (2) they are placed in removal proceedings, as discussed
above. Id. Immigration judges hear defensive asylum cases and decide
whether the individual is eligible for asylum.
16
See, e.g., Decree No. 97-96, 24 October 1996, Law to Prevent, Punish,
and Eradicate Intrafamily Violence (Guatemala); Decree No. 132-97, 29
September 1997, the Law on Domestic Violence (Honduras); Decree No.
902, 5 December 1996, the Law on Intrafamily Violence (El Salvador).
17
All names of women interviewed for this report have been changed to
preserve their confidentiality.
18
UNHCR, Population Statistics Database, “Asylum-Seekers (Monthly
Data)”, available at http://popstats.unhcr.org/en/asylum_seekers
19
The word “transgender” is “an an umbrella term for people
whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural
expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being
transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore,
transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual,
etc.” Human Rights Campaign, Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity Definitions, available at http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/
sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-terminology-and-definitions
20
UN General Assembly, Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, GA
Res. 429 (V), UN GAOR, 5th Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/429 (14 Dec. 1950)
Art. 1; UN General Assembly, Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees,
GA Res. 2198 (XXI), UN GAOR, 21st Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/2198 (6 Dec.
1966); Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee
Status, UN Doc. HCP/1P/4/Eng/Rev.2, 1979 (edited 1992) [hereinafter
“Handbook”].
ENDNOTES
WOMEN ON THE RUN12
14. unhcrwashington.org
WOMEN ON THE RUN: FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS OF REFUGEES FLEEING
EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND MEXICO
Since 2008, UNHCR has recorded a fivefold increase in asylum-seekers arriving to the United
States from the Northern Triangle region of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Escalating
violence and rising numbers of people fleeing the region also impact neighboring Mexico.
The most vulnerable, namely women and children, are often the first to flee violence. In 2014,
UNHCR released Children on the Run, a study on minors in the United States who had fled
violence in the Northern Triangle and Mexico. In August 2015, UNHCR conducted interviews
with 160 women who arrived in the United States since October 2013, totaling 63 women from
El Salvador, 30 from Guatemala, 30 from Honduras, and 37 from Mexico. Each had been
screened by the US Government and had either been granted asylum or found to have a credible
fear of persecution if returned to her home country. Women on the Run tells their stories in
detail, illustrating the growing refugee situation in the region and describing the staggering
levels of violence and persecution that forced them to flee.
This is a looming refugee crisis. Women and children in Central America and Mexico face
alarming rates of escalating, targeted violence and persecution from maras, criminal armed
groups, including murder, disappearance, assault, rape, and recruitment of children. Particular
groups of women, such as police officers, women with children, and transgender women,
face disproportionate levels of persecution. Escalating violence from well-connected, armed,
and dangerous criminal groups in the region has surpassed the governments’ capacity to
respond. When women and children flee, they face obstacles and additional dangers in
countries of asylum and transit.
The regional refugee-producing situation requires a regional response, and UNHCR calls on
all governments to provide women and children with desperately needed protection.
Visit womenonthe.run for more information.
#womenontherun
UNHCR
October 2015