Women's Views on News |
| Supporting Polish women’s right to choose Posted: 12 Apr 2016 01:47 PM PDT
The Roman Catholic Church in Poland and anti-choice network "STOP abortion" have launched a campaign for a total ban on abortions. The initiators have started to gather signatures supporting a citizen's law proposal, which includes a total ban on abortion and the threat of criminal prosecution for both doctors and women – with up to 5 years in prison. The proposal stipulates that the prosecutor can though drop charges under extraordinary circumstances, for example if the pregnancy has to be terminated to save the life of a woman. However, there is a very real chance that even women who undergo involuntary miscarriages will be punished by up to 3 years in prison, because the law proposal stipulates that the person responsible for "foetal murder", even unintentional, may face criminal charges. This proposal has to be considered by lawmakers if citizens supporting it manage to gather 100,000 signatures within a period of three months. Polish law already strictly limits access to abortion, which is illegal unless one of the three exceptions occurs: when the pregnancy is the result of criminally proven rape or incest, if the woman's life is in danger, or the foetus is "seriously malformed". If the new law is passed there will be no exceptions – for more information, click here. This is not the first time such a restrictive law has been submitted to the parliament, but it is the first time the country's leading politicians have announced their support for such a proposal. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło and the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party Jarosław Kaczyński declared that as Catholics they would support total ban on abortion, even though on earlier occasions Kaczyński denounced the need to change the already restrictive Polish law. So there is a real chance that this time the Polish parliament could introduce a total abortion ban. This will affect not only women seeking to terminate pregnancy but also patients treated for ectopic pregnancies, cases of severe physical defects present in the foetus, and rape survivors, who will be forced by law to give birth. On 3 April a new left-wing party "Razem" (Together) along with an informal network "Dziewuchy dziewuchom" (Girls for girls) and a feminist pro-choice coalition "Odzyskać wybór" (Get choice back) organised rallies against the abortion ban in Warsaw and 18 other cities. According to police seven thousand participants joined the demonstration in Warsaw and hundreds of people came to protests the ban on abortion in the other cities. Different groups and individuals undertook action as well. In Warsaw and Gdańsk, for example groups of women and supportive men started to leave churches on Sunday when a letter of Polish bishops supporting the ban on abortion was read. Other spontaneous initiatives undertaken by women have included sending the Prime Minister coathangers as a symbol of illegal unsafe abortions and posting information about their menstruation cycles – often with some graphic details – on the Prime Minister's facebook page under the hashtag #TrudnyOkres – "tough period". The initiators of that action explained that since the government wants to control women's uteruses, eggs and pregnancies, the citizens should behave like true patriots and make it easier for the authorities. Speaking at a protest held outside the Polish Embassy in London, Kelley Temple, secretary of the UK-based pro-choice campaign group Abortion Rights, said: “I spoke to some Polish sisters this week who told me that the anti-choicers leading the campaign to ban abortion in Poland oppose women controlling their own bodies; think that a foetus should have more rights than a woman; and they just don't care if women die in the process. “Abortion Rights believes that forced pregnancy is always wrong and we know that safe, legal abortion is safer than pregnancy and birth. “We also know that banning safe, legal abortion does not stop abortion because women and pregnant people will always need abortions. “What banning does do is to force women to have unsafe and illegal abortions often causing irreparable damage to their body and even causing women to die. “Polish women,” she continued, “already have very limited abortion rights with abortion being illegal in Poland except for cases of rape or incest, foetal damage or threat to the life of the woman. “This new proposal removes women's access to legal and safe abortion completely and even a miscarriage could be punished with a sentence if foetal murder enters the criminal code. “Women would also lose access to the morning after pill and IUDs as these would be classed as 'abortion tools'. “Let's be clear, the consequence of this proposal will mean that women will be forced to travel to other countries for abortion if they have enough money or forced to seek dangerous methods to terminate their unwanted pregnancies if they don't. It is one rule for the rich and one for the poor. “So while this is an assault on all women, it is particularly an assault on the poorest women. We offer our support and solidarity to the brave Polish women who are fighting to defend their rights. “There are expected to be ten thousand people protesting in front of the Polish Parliament in Warsaw today. Abortion Rights is proud to be standing behind Polish women in this fight. “In countries where abortion is illegal, for every maternity ward of happy women, there are two wards of women injured and dying from backstreet abortions. “Polish women deserve accessible and affordable abortion healthcare without having to return to the backstreets. “It is great to be here among so many of you today and I believe it is important to show the Polish government that we are watching and show Polish women they are not alone in this fight; we are 100 per cent behind you!” The London demonstration’s organisers said: 'We are strongly against the proposed legislation that will tighten the already strict anti-abortion regulations in Poland. 'The introduction of this law, which is supported by prime minister Beata Szydło, Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and the Polish Episcopate, will mean hell for Polish women: for cancer-patients who will not be able to be treated because of their pregnancy; for rape victims who will be forced to give birth to their rapist's child; for women after miscarriages, who will be interrogated if their circumstances are deemed suspicious; for women who will not be able to undergo prenatal testing as it will be considered "unnecessary"; finally, it will be a nightmare for their relatives and friends wanting to support them during their problematic pregnancies. 'We are strongly opposing the proposed changes of the so called "abortion compromise" from 1993, which is still one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in Europe.' The coathangers represent unsafe backstreet abortions; around 50,000 unsafe backstreet abortions take place in Poland every year.  |
| Report on sexual violence in conflict out Posted: 12 Apr 2016 01:34 PM PDT
The Sexual Violence in Conflict Committee has published its report, titled ‘Sexual Violence in Conflict: A War Crime’, in which it calls on the UK government to set out ambitious policy goals for reducing conflict-related sexual violence to ensure that the international momentum created by the Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) is not lost. The Committee was appointed on 11 June 2015 with the remit "to consider the UK's policy and practice of preventing sexual violence in conflict". The Committee's report makes clear that the UK government needs to demonstrate its commitment to the PSVI and the NGOs and local organisations that are critical to delivering it. The government, the Committee said, should clearly articulate the strategic goals for the PSVI and set out a strategy for their delivery including providing long-term commitment and resources, and must resist the temptation to narrowly focus the PSVI on just the Middle East or religious extremism. The government should also produce an annual report to Parliament on its progress in achieving the objectives set for PSVI. Rape and other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict are contrary to international law, recognised according to circumstances as a war crime, a crime against humanity and even genocide. War rape was outlawed by the Lieber Code in 1863. Rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict are prohibited under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. Today, these crimes are prohibited under international human rights law (IHRL), international humanitarian law (IHL) and are subject to prosecution under international criminal law (ICL). The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) describes sexual violence as "rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity". Such crimes are designated as war crimes and crimes against humanity. In its report the Committee makes several recommendations, including: For too long sexual violence in conflict has gone unacknowledged and unpunished. Only recently has this begun to change, but there remains much to be done before we can mitigate its effects and look to its eradication. Unless the UK and others act, sexual violence in conflict will only increase. The government must redouble its efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict. Only then will we begin to address this war crime and answer the hopes of the survivors we met and of all those damaged by these horrendous crimes; The UN recently reported evidence of conflict-related sexual violence occurring in 19 countries. The government must avoid the temptation to narrow the focus of the PSVI solely on the Middle East or combating religious extremism. The PSVI must have a global mandate and work to change behaviour and attitudes to sexual violence anywhere communities are at risk in conflict; Perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict should know they will not evade prosecution. The UK should increase its voluntary contributions to the work of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to help it investigate and prosecute crimes of conflict-related sexual violence; The report considers the atrocities committed by multiple aggressors in Iraq and Syria. The Committee accepts that it is for the courts to determine responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, as access to international jurisdictions such as the ICC is currently blocked, the report recommends that the government should now state, that in its view, there is prima facie evidence that crimes such as sexual violence, torture and genocide have been committed, and that those responsible must be brought to justice; The UK should resist any peace settlement in Syria that proposes amnesties for perpetrators of sexual violence during the conflict. The government should also work to ensure any peace process in Syria involves the meaningful participation of women and develop a strategy to support victims of sexual violence, which can be implemented quickly when the current conflict ends; Peacekeepers sent to protect the vulnerable have, on occasions, committed sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), very often without redress. A new tribunal is therefore required to ensure accountability for peacekeepers who commit SEA. The UK government must ensure the incoming UN Secretary-General gives a high priority to leading the campaign against sexual violence in conflict in all its forms; The UK government should push for the ‘naming and shaming’ of states who fail to investigate or carry out appropriate disciplinary procedures against their peacekeeping troops accused of these crimes. Peacekeepers should receive mandatory gender training prior to deployment and gender advisors with child protection knowledge should be present in all peacekeeping missions; The UK should work with other countries to establish a regular global conference on preventing sexual violence in conflict, to be hosted by a different state every four years; And the government should ratify the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the ‘Istanbul Convention’) at the earliest opportunity. Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, who chaired the Committee, said: “Sexual violence in conflict is a horrendous and barbaric crime that ruins lives and destroys families and communities. “It is right that the UK government has prioritised the challenge of eradicating it. We have seen from recent events in the Middle East and beyond that this horrific practice is still all too common. “However it is not inevitable; it can and should be stopped and perpetrators brought to justice. “In establishing the PSVI in 2012 and hosting the 2014 Global Summit, the government made an important contribution in raising the profile of this vital issue. “However, if that good start is not to be squandered, it is time for a clear strategic plan on how to take forward the battle against sexual violence in conflict. “We need a five-year strategy with the PSVI's work appropriately resourced and embedded across government. “Victims of sexual violence in conflict face unimaginable trauma, which is then exacerbated by the stigma they then often face in their own communities,” she continued. “Their needs must be the priority for organisations working in post-conflict zones. “The government should be working now to prepare for the dreadful legacy of the violence and inhumanity of groups such as Daesh in Syria and Iraq. “Any meaningful peace process in Syria must include significant participation by women and the government should resist any settlement that includes amnesties for perpetrators of sexual violence. “Our report makes a range of recommendations on how the fight against sexual violence in conflict can be taken forward. “Victory against this dreadful crime will require determined and coordinated international action across legal, military and humanitarian fields and significant support for organisations helping victims on the ground. “It can be achieved, but not without full commitment, a clear strategy and appropriate resources – we must ensure they are delivered.” To read the full report, click here.  |
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