October 2012 VAW Monitor

October 2012
 
In This Issue:
StopVAW Website News  

The Stop Violence Against Women website (StopVAW) is a forum for information, advocacy, and change.
The site addresses violence against women as one of the most pervasive human rights abuses worldwide. StopVAW provides women's rights advocates with information and advocacy tools focused on ending the most endemic forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and trafficking in persons.

 
   
StopVAW Website News

 
New on StopVAW: State pages for The United States. The section includes information on violence against women in New York, Texas and Minnesota  Learn More  
 
National News

Bangladesh
  • Bangladesh: Discriminatory Family Laws Leave Divorced Women in Poverty and Discourage Women from Leaving Violent Marriages (More information)
Colombia 
Egypt     
India
Kenya  
  • Kenya: HIV-Positive Women to Sue Government for Forced or Coerced Sterilization  (More Information)
Senegal     
Somalia      
  • Somalia: Ban on FGM/C Will Require Action for Effective Implementation  (More information)
United States
International and Regional News
Study Finds Courts Minimize Previous Partner Violence When Battered Women Kill Their Batterers
Elisabeth Wells, a researcher at the University of Guelph, found that judges minimized descriptions of previous partner violence and emphasized the mutuality of the violence and substance abuse when sentencing battered women who kill their violent partners.
(More information)   


Coercive Control: A New Model for Understanding Domestic Violence 
According to Evan Stark, a professor at Rutgers University, the traditional view and response to domestic violence ignores the actual experience of many abused women. (More information) 
 
New Research and Reports
New Report on Prevalence, Causes, and Consequences for Violence Against Women with Disabilities (More information)           
Is your country in the process of drafting or amending a domestic violence law?
The Advocates for Human Rights provides commentary to laws and amendments on domestic violence upon request. See examples of our Commentary on National Laws here.
 
Additionally, The Advocates for Human Rights works on domestic violence legal reform, including trainings for legal professionals and extensive research and reports that monitor domestic violence laws and implementation in partner countries. Learn more about this work.
 
To request commentary or to inquire further, please contact Cheryl Thomas at cthomas@advrights.org.
 
Current staff members of The Advocates for Human Rights involved with the development of StopVAW include: Mary Ellingen, Beatriz Menanteau, Mary O'Brien, Rosalyn Park, Robin Phillips, Helen Rubenstein, and Cheryl Thomas. Current fellows, interns, and volunteers include Eleanor Frisch and Aurelija Olendraite.