International Women ’s Day, 2022Sexual Violence Laws are Failing Adolescents

By Jacqui HuntLONDON, Mar 3 2022 (IPS) At Equality Now, we have been on a years-long journey to track and analyze sexual violence laws and their implementation around the world. This work was born after working with survivors of sexual violence for over two decades and observing that women and girls reported similar barriers to justice regardless of where they were from. While local, national, and regional context impact a victim’s experience, it is also clear that many of the challenges they face are universal. From Eurasia to the Caribbean, to South Asia and North Africa, we discovered laws which were supposedly meant to protect women and girls but in reality it perpetuated, and in some cases, even promoted gender-based violence and discrimination. We found instances of so called “marry your rapist” laws which permit rapists to avoid legal accountability by marrying their victims, the decriminalization of marital rape, and laws that use terminology of chastity and honor rather than consent. While there is a range of ways in how laws in themselves are failing victims of sexual violence, one common trend is that the implementation of laws around the world neglect to take into account the unique needs and vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. Many countries do not apply an intersectional lens when implementing sexual violence laws, resulting in the further marginalization of already underserved populations. For example, in Guatemala, indigenous survivors face...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Development & Aid Featured Gender Gender Violence Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Population Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Women's Health International Women's Day 2022 I Source Type: news