News on Gender-based violence

17 August 2018
News
“My husband was very strict,” Gemila*, a 28-year-old Syrian refugee, told UNFPA. “He wanted to crush people.”
Violence in Syria casts long shadow on refugee women, girls
SANLIURFA, Turkey – “My husband was very strict,” Gemila*, a 28-year-old Syrian refugee, told UNFPA. “He wanted to crush people.” Gemila had been married off, despite her protests, at age 17. A few years into her... Read more
31 July 2018
News
Me Me teaches adolescent girls in the camp about their health and human rights, and helps them understand their own potential. © UNFPA Myanmar
Finding a role model amid confinement of Myanmar’s Rohingya camps
RAKHINE, Myanmar – Harlee Dar, 14, does not go to school. There are no books, TV or radio in the family’s small shelter, which is sweltering in the summer and rain-beaten during monsoon season. Asked what she does when... Read more
26 July 2018
News
Pregnant child brides need extra attention, says Huda, a UNFPA midwife in the Hayati Harrani women's and girl's safe space. “But our hands are tied because so few come for care.” © UNFPA Turkey/Usenabasi Esiet
In Turkey, refugee child marriages drive adolescent pregnancies underground
SANLIURFA, Turkey – “Even today, we saw a 17 year old who is pregnant and already has a child,” said midwife Neval, sitting in the Devtesti Centre, a women’s and girls’ safe space in Sanliurfa, Turkey.  Some 475,000... Read more
24 July 2018
News
Girls attend a football programme run by UNFPA and the Special Olympics in Azerbaijan. The programme brings together girls living with disabilities and those without, to play sports and learn about their rights. © UNFPA Azerbaijan
Girls in Azerbaijan battle disability stigma with sports
ABSHERON, Azerbaijan – Fourteen-year-old Maryam stood, awe-struck, at the edge of an indoor football pitch in Absheron, Azerbaijan. “For me, seeing a real soccer pitch, a real goal net, and putting on a real soccer... Read more
23 July 2018
News
“Condoms will just disappear from our homes and we will know they are being used,” said 'Maneo Ramabanta, in Lesotho, where HIV prevention efforts must reach vulnerable adolescents. © UNFPA Lesotho/Violet Maraisane
HIV prevention efforts must reach most vulnerable – adolescents, young women, LGBTI communities
Netherlands/Lesotho/Botswana – The number of AIDS-related deaths has fallen to its lowest point this century thanks to improved access to antiretroviral treatment, according to a newly released report. Yet prevention... Read more
5 July 2018
News
Women and girls require security, health care and other services in the aftermath of the disaster. © UNFPA Guatemala/Carlos Sebastián
After ‘Volcano of Fire’ eruption, women and girls face heightened risks
ESCUINTLA, Guatemala – Marta Leiva, 7 months pregnant, leaned against two bags of donated clothes in her shelter in Guatemala’s Escuintla Department. She lost everything when her house was destroyed during the eruption... Read more
4 July 2018
News
(Right to left) UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed meet with one-stop centre staff. © UNFPA South Sudan/Arlene Alano
One-stop care centre helps women amid South Sudan’s epidemic of violence
JUBA, South Sudan – Violence against women is epidemic in South Sudan. Ann*, 16, was kidnapped on her way home from school, then raped repeatedly during five days of captivity. Talia*, was battered and tortured for... Read more
2 July 2018
News
As the monsoon season hits Cox's Bazar, refugees at Kutapalong refugee camp and elsewhere fear they are vulnerable to landslides. © UNHCR/Adam Dean
Health facilities, safe spaces reinforced as monsoon rains threaten Rohingya refugees
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – With monsoon rains unleashing floods and landslides in Bangladesh, UNFPA and partner agencies are urgently working to secure Rohingya refugee camps and settlements in Cox’s Bazar District.  “... Read more
7 June 2018
News
Menstrual health is a serious, but overlooked, issue among vulnerable women. Refugees in Louva, Angola, receive UNFPA-distributed dignity kits, which include sanitary napkins, soap, laundry detergent and other essential hygiene supplies. © UNFPA/Tiril Skarstein
Period shame, misinformation linked to serious human rights concerns
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Shame, stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation are contributing to serious human rights concerns for women and girls, emphasizes a new report commissioned by UNFPA.  The report, a... Read more
1 June 2018
News
Fatima now works as a health mediator at a UNFPA-supported safe space, helping other women and girls. © UNFPA Turkey
In Turkey, a safe haven for Syrian refugee survivors
ANKARA, Turkey – Tragedy had a way of finding Fatima*. She endured brutal domestic violence during two marriages in Syria. And when the war broke out, a bomb struck her home, injuring her and killing the eldest of her... Read more

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