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	''Global gag rule'' could endanger millions of women and children by Sarah Boseley, Health editor Guardian News   Feb. 2017   The “global gag rule” imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, blocking US funds to any organisation involved in abortion advice and care overseas, would impact millions of women and girls, endangering their lives and those of their babies, Bill and Melinda Gates have warned.   The changes are expected to result in funding from the world’s biggest donor to family planning and women’s health programmes in the developing world being slashed. It could, Bill Gates told the Guardian, “create a void that even a foundation like ours can’t fill”.   Gates and his wife spoke out as they published a progress letter on 10 years of the foundation, which has at its centre the mission to save children’s lives. Empowering women and girls, the couple said, was central to that aim.   Trump signed an executive order reimposing the Mexico City policy, also known as the global gag rule, on his first full day in office. Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan in 1984 have imposed the policy, while their Democrat counterparts have lifted it. The rule strips funds from any organisation that “performs or actively promotes abortion as a method of family planning” overseas.   But Trump’s order goes further and applies to any organisation that receives funding from US Aid, not just those involved in family planning. That expansion, said Melinda Gates, was a surprise.   “We’re concerned that this shift could impact millions of women and girls around the world,” she said. “It’s likely to have a negative effect on a broad range of health programs that provide lifesaving treatment and prevention options to those most in need.   “This includes programmes that prevent and treat HIV, TB and malaria, and provide healthcare to women and children around the world. Enabling women to time and space their pregnancies and providing access to treatment and prevention of infectious diseases is lifesaving work. It saves moms’ lives and it saves babies’ lives, and that has long had wide support in the United States.”   Bill Gates said their foundation would not be able to bridge the funding gap. “The US is the No 1 donor in the work that we do. Government aid can’t be replaced by philanthropy. When government leaves an area like that, it can’t be offset, there isn’t a real alternative. This expansion of this policy, depending on how it’s implemented, could create a void that even a Bill Gates said he did not anticipate the scope of the executive order affecting family planning, an issue at the centre of the foundation’s work, that Trump was to sign.   The 10 year progress letter is an assessment of the work of the Gates Foundation since 2006. The couple write of the progress that has been made in saving children’s lives, particularly through immunisation and vaccine development, and the work that lies ahead in making childbirth safer and tackling malnutrition.   Their letter makes clear what is at stake with Trump’s move to reimpose the global gag rule, arguing that women and maternal health are key to so many global health issues.   Empowering women is a key theme of the letter in which the couple argue that enabling women to access contraceptives control over the number of pregnancies they have is crucial.   When women have a gap of at least three years between births, their children are more likely to survive and be healthy and well educated, the couple say. “Like vaccines, contraceptives are one of the greatest lifesaving innovations in history,” writes Bill Gates in the letter.   Since they set up their foundation its focus has shift from the hunt for technological solutions towards social change. The attention to women’s empowerment came from the evidence, the couple say.   “You cannot go out and be in the developing world and then come back and look at the data and turn away from the importance of women in the developing world,” said Melinda Gates.   Whether they breastfeed and take their children to be vaccinated makes a profound difference to how the child grows and his or her life chances, and men are not always there, she added. “So you have to look at the woman’s role and when you look at it you realise it can be an accelerator to every single thing you want to have happen in the world for global health and global development and social change.”   In their letter, Bill Gates says that poverty is sexist, a phrase he first heard from the U2 frontman Bono.   “The poorer the society, the less power women have. Men decide if a woman is allowed to go outside, talk to other women, earn income. Men decide if it’s acceptable to strike a woman. The male dominance in the poorest societies is mind-blowing.”   In the letter, Melinda Gates adds: “It’s also crippling. Limiting women’s power keeps everyone poor.”   She and her husband tell of their visits to sex workers in India whom the couple say they encouraged to form self-help groups, thinking the women would help each other insisting their clients wore condoms to protect themselves from HIV. That vision, said Bill Gates, “was way too narrow”. The sex workers began to support each other in every aspect of their lives.   “Warren, if Melinda and I could take you anywhere in the world so you could see your investment at work, we probably would take you to meet sex workers. I met with a group in Bangalore, and when they talked about their lives, they had me in tears,” writes Bill Gates.   “One woman told us she turned to sex work after her husband left her – it was the only way to feed her children. When people in the community found out, they forced her daughter out of school, which made the girl turn against her mother and threaten to commit suicide.   “That mother faced the scorn of society, the resentment of her daughter, the risks of sex work, and the humiliation of going to the hospital for an HIV test and finding that no one would look at her, touch her, or talk to her. Yet there she was, telling me her story with dignity.”   There have been setbacks, such as the failure yet to end polio, but the couple emphasise the enormous progress that has been made in the last couple of decades in global health and speak in the letter of their optimism for the future.   “Polio will soon be history. In our lifetimes, malaria will end. No one will die from AIDS. Few people will get TB. Children everywhere will be well nourished. And the death of a child in the developing world will be just as rare as the death of a child in the rich world.   “We can’t put a date on these events, and we don’t know the sequence, but we’re confident of one thing: The future will surprise the pessimists.”   http://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/07/trumps-mexico-city-policy-or-global-gag-rule http://www.shedecides.com/ http://globaljusticecenter.net/press-center/press-releases/747-president-trump-expands-gag-rule http://www.odi.org/comment/10651-giving-back-choice-irish-referendum-gag-rule-and-future-women-s-and-girls-rights Visit the related web page
	Women in Russia alarmed by proposed changes to domestic violence laws by Council of Europe, news agencies Russia   8 Feb 2017   Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed into law a controversial bill easing punishment for domestic violence, which critics say will make holding abusers accountable even more difficult.   The measure, approved earlier by the parliament, reduces the penalty for violence against family members when it is the first such offence and does not cause "serious injury", re-classifying it as an administrative misdemeanour punishable by a fine.   Previously such action was defined as battery, and was punishable by up to two years in jail.   The move has sparked rare protest in Russia and critics said it would exacerbate the widespread problem of domestic abuse of women by making it even harder for them to get help through the legal system.   According to the state statistics agency, in 2015 there were 49,579 crimes involving violence in the family, of those 35,899 involving violence against a woman.   Feb. 2017   Victims angry over Russia cutting domestic abuse penalties (AFP)   Alexandra Glebova knows only too well the trauma of domestic violence in Russia after suffering years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her father.   "He would always hit me on the head," Glebova, 26, told AFP. "Sometimes he hit me so hard I bounced off his hand round the whole room like a ping-pong ball."   Now a law set to be signed by President Vladimir Putin will soften the punishment for such domestic violence from a jail term to a fine.   Already fast-tracked through parliament, the proposed law was drawn up by conservative pro-Kremlin lawmakers who argue that tough legislation on domestic abuse represented undue interference into family life.   But the change has infuriated rights groups and victims and prompted unusually heated debate in a country where violence at home is not seen as out of the ordinary.   Glebova, whose father abused her for around five years but was never reported to the police, said the proposed law had prompted her to speak out.   "With this law, they break lives," she said. "These are people, and the authorities should protect people. It turns out they protect some people but others not at all."   Living in Moscow, she said she still suffers from depression and has nightmares about her "tyrant" father, with whom she has ended contact.   One in five Russian women has suffered physical violence from a partner, according to a 2011 official report. Rights group ANNA estimates 7,500 women died in 2015 from domestic violence.   "If he beats you, it means he loves you," a popular saying goes, and a recent survey by the state-run opinion polling agency found 59 percent thought such violence could be acceptable.   In Russia there is no separate law covering domestic violence where the victim is living with the attacker, unlike in many other countries, but rather it is lumped in under battery. There are also no restraining orders against abusers.   Now the new legislation would cut the punishment that first-time abusers could face from two years in jail to a fine and says they will only face criminal charges if they reoffend within a year. Even then, the onus will be on the victim to launch legal action.   "This is a step back again because women find themselves without protection, and so do children," said Irina Matviyenko, coordinator of the abused women''s helpline ANNA.   "What is happening again is a kind of impunity for abusers,"   The law fails to recognise that domestic violence consists of multiple attacks aimed at controlling the victim, Matviyenko said. "Domestic violence will recur and get more serious."   The head of a regional woman''s centre also said she expected "the number of dead will increase and the number of injured women".   She requested not to be named due to a law penalising foreign-funded NGOs for "political" activities. Asked if in 19 years she had ever seen an abuser stop after the first attack, she said: "Never". The best-case scenario is the woman leaves with the children, she said.   Domestic violence is most common against a female partner, but also often targets elderly parents or teenage children, she added.   She estimates that in each of the Russian regions she works with, some 30,000 families are at risk of violence.   In Russia as a whole, "this doesn''t affect 100,000 women, it''s definitely half a million. I think that''s the most modest estimate."   Jan. 2017   Russian MPs back bill reducing punishment for domestic violence. (AFP)   Russian MPs have backed a controversial bill reducing the punishment for some forms of domestic violence in a crucial second reading, despite widespread protests from rights groups.   The amendments reduce the penalty for violence against family members, including spouses and children, as long as it is a first offence and does not cause serious injury, making it punishable by a fine of up to 30,000 rubles (£400).   Violence against a family member that does not cause serious physical injury is currently defined as battery and punishable by up to two years in jail.   Last week Amnesty International appealed to Russia’s parliament not to pass the bill, condemning it as a “sickening attempt to trivialise domestic violence”.   Moscow city authorities this week refused permission for a rally organised by opponents of the bill with the slogan “Stop violence in the family; monsters should go to jail”.   After Wednesday’s passing, the bill will go before the upper house and then to President Vladimir Putin for a final signature.   Lawyer Maxim Krupsky told RBK news site that “decriminalisation could untie the hands of people who potentially could commit domestic violence”.   Parliament on Wednesday threw out Communist party proposals to exclude attacks on pregnant women and children from decriminalisation.   More than 10,000 women in Russia are believed to die from injuries inflicted by husbands or partners every year.   Jan. 2017   Russian Women’s groups condemn ‘sickening’ bill aimed at decriminalising so-called moderate violence within families.   Women’s rights activists have expressed fury over a legal amendment under consideration in the Russian parliament which, if passed, would decriminalise domestic abuse.   The amendment would make “so-called moderate” violence within families an administrative rather than criminal offence, punishable by a fine rather than a jail sentence.   Those behind the bill say they believe it supports “traditional values” and stops the state from snooping into family matters.   But activists say it removes protection for the vulnerable, normalising husbands who beat their wives, parents who beat their children, and family members who beat elderly relatives.   The amendment would decriminalise any violence that does not cause serious medical harm, which is defined as requiring hospital treatment.   Beatings that leave bruises, scratches or bleeding but do not leave lasting negative health effects such as broken bones or concussion will no longer be criminal.   Domestic violence is widely acknowledged to be a major problem in Russia, with more than 10,000 women believed to die from injuries inflicted by husbands or partners every year. Activists say police often do not take cases seriously, dismissing complaints from women about violence at home.   Attitudes are slowly changing, but many in society also laugh off the issue, often using the Russian proverb, “If he beats you, it means he loves you.”   Alena Popova, a women’s rights activist who has coordinated opposition to the amendments, said the planned changes reinforced the message that violence in the family was acceptable, and was likely to lead to a further increase in domestic abuse.   “Imagine it: a woman is beaten up by her husband, she makes a complaint, and the husband is given a fine, which he pays out of the family budget. He then comes home and shouts at her for complaining, and you can be 100% sure that next time she’ll just try to hide the bruises and won’t complain,” Popova said.   The amendment also requires those who wish to make a complaint to collect doctors’ reports and evidence themselves, whereas currently police are obliged to investigate reports of violence proactively.   Popova said there were widespread cases of family members assaulting elderly relatives to extort money or property, and it was unthinkable that they would now have to do all the work to collect documents for a court case.   Popova said it was depressing that people were campaigning for the right to beat vulnerable relatives.   “We went to protest and there were people standing there with placards demanding the right to beat their own children. I couldn’t get my head round it,” she said.   Anna Kirey deputy director for Russia and Eurasia at Amnesty International, said: “This bill is a sickening attempt to trivialise domestic violence, which has long been viewed as a non-issue by the Russian government.   “Claims that this will somehow protect families or preserve traditions are ludicrous – domestic violence destroys lives.”   16/01/2017   Russia: decriminalising domestic violence would be a clear sign of regression, says COE Secretary General.   Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland sent a letter today to the Chairpersons of the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation expressing his deep concern at the legislation which, if adopted, would decriminalize domestic violence in Russia.   “I call upon you to do anything within your powers to strengthen the right of Russian families to live free from violence and intimidation,” he said.   The physical and psychological abuse of women is an extremely serious crime and an assault on their human rights, Jagland wrote. Domestic violence also harms children, either as its direct victims or as witnesses.   “Reducing ‘battery within the family’ from a criminal to an administrative offence, with weaker sanctions for offenders, would be a clear sign of regression within the Russian Federation and would strike a blow to global efforts to eradicate domestic violence.”   He reminded that the Russian Federation is bound by the European Social Charter, which requires State Parties to protect children against violence. Russia is one among four out of 47 member States of the Council of Europe who have neither signed nor ratified the Istanbul Convention (“Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence”) that criminalises all acts of physical, sexual or psychological violence within the family and between former or current spouses and partners, Secretary General noted.   http://bit.ly/2jqWWe4 http://bit.ly/2k4N4IG http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women http://www.unfpa.org/gender-based-violence http://www.unfpa.org/16voices http://www.coe.int/en/web/istanbul-convention/ http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/link/index_en.htm http://eige.europa.eu/gender-based-violence/eiges-studies-gender-based-violence/collection-methods-tools-and-good-practices-field-domestic-violence-described-area-d-beijing-platform-action http://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/25/interview-giving-green-light-abuse-russia http://www.hrw.org/report/2018/10/25/i-could-kill-you-and-no-one-would-stop-me/weak-state-response-domestic-violence Visit the related web page
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