The New Times (Kigali)
30 September 2008
Posted to the web 30 September 2008
Joseph Mudingu
Kigali
The Rwanda National Police (RNP) together with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) over the week launched a joint advocacy against child abuse and Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) at the Police Headquarters in Kacyiru.
Despite a heavy thunderstorm at the beginning of the function, eight schools from Kigali went on to perform in a live drama competition about GBV.
During the official opening ceremony, the Minister of Education, Daphrose Gahakwa said that the police has done a commendable job of ensuring that there is peace in the country and stressed the need of fighting SGBV.
"We can not focus on development if we have gender based violence. So, I commend this move by the police and UNIFEM in getting seriously involved in fighting it," she said. She also thanked UNIFEM for their continued financial support to the police in fighting against the menace.
"Without this support, the police would not have registered so much success and we should continue working together to scale up the fight," Gahakwa advised.
UNIFEM donated a brand new four wheel drive Toyota Hilux, two Compaq laptops and an Hp printer to the National Police department that deals with Gender Based Violence.
The National Programme Officer UNIFEM, Donnah Kamashazi, said that they were proud of partnering with the police in the fight against SGBV and that they have created public awareness through schools and the progress is being followed up.
"Violence against women and girls fractures development and destroys life. So we congratulate the national police and all others involved in taking this fight against SGBV seriously," Kamashazi said.
At the same function, the acting Commissioner General of Police, Mary Gahonzire on behalf of the RNP thanked UNIFEM for the financial and technical support which has helped in fighting gender based violence.
"Sexual gender based violence greatly undermines human resource management, health peace building and justice. So we are appreciative for UNIFEM's financial and technical support in fighting it," Gahozire said.
She also recognized the role played by the government and the Ministry of Gender, the Justice sector, schools, Local Government on Community Policing and all others involved in preventing gender based violence.
Eight schools from around Kigali were awarded trophies for coming up with outstanding performance in the SGBV competition and treated the audience to rib-breaking drama.
Though all the schools performed extremely well, Lycee Notre Dame which emerged the best followed by Kagarama Senior Secondary, Saint André came third while Riviera high school was eighth.
Others that were involved in the competition were Lycee de Kigali, Essa Nyarugunga, Fawe girl's school and Solidarity academy.
The occasion was also attended by the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya and representatives from various NGOs.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Armed groups and government forces continue to abuse women and children in North Kivu
29 September 2008
Armed groups are still recruiting child soldiers to fight in the ongoing conflict in the province of North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Those child soldiers who attempt to escape have been killed or tortured, sometimes in front of other children, to discourage further escapes. Children who are taken captive by the DRC army on suspicion of being armed group fighters, have faced ill-treatment and torture in military detention.
There is also continuing physical and sexual abuse of women and children in the conflict, according to the new Amnesty International report, North Kivu: No end to the war against women and children.
The report is based on research and eye witness testimony collected by an Amnesty International fact-finding mission in North Kivu in February and March 2008. It says that members of armed groups and government security forces continue to rape and sexually abuse women and girls and, in a smaller number of cases, men and boys. Infant children and elderly women are among the victims, many of whom have suffered gang rape or have been raped more than once.
These abuses are happening despite government and armed group commitments to immediately end these atrocities in a 23 January 2008 "Act of Engagement".
According to the Amnesty International report, of the former child soldiers who had been reunited with their families in North Kivu through a national demobilization programme, as many as half may since have been re-recruited by armed groups.
Beaten to death
One former child soldier told Amnesty International how two youths were beaten to death in front of him and other child recruits "as a lesson to all of us not to try to escape":
"[The boys] were brought out of a pit in the ground and presented to us during a training session. [An armed group senior commander] then gave the order to beat them. Two soldiers and a captain pushed them down into the mud. When they tired of kicking them…they beat them with wooden sticks. The punishment lasted 90 minutes, until they died."
Rape has been committed in public and in front of family members, including children. Some women have been abducted and held as sexual slaves. In many cases, sexual abuse and rape appear to be ethnically motivated and/or aimed at terrorizing and demoralizing communities suspected of supporting enemy groups.
One 16-year-old rape survivor described how she had been abducted by two junior army officers and held captive in an army camp in North Kivu for several days before she was released. In the camp, she was raped nightly by one of the officers.
"The other officers and soldiers in the camp didn't seem to care or be willing to take responsibility", she told Amnesty International. She now suffers flashbacks and persistent headaches.
In its report, Amnesty International issued comprehensive recommendations to the armed groups, DRC government and the international community aimed at stopping human rights abuses. The recommendations include a call on armed groups to immediately release all children associated with their forces, and measures to end to the horror of sexual violence.
Background to the conflict
Despite a peace accord signed in January 2008, armed conflict has persisted in North Kivu. The fighting involves the regular Congolese army (FARDC) and the CNDP armed group under the command of a renegade general Laurent Nkuna, as well as a number of local mayi-mayi militia and the Rwandan FDLR armed group. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.
More than 100,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting in North Kivu since 28 August 2008, adding to more than 1 million people displaced by earlier violence in the region.
Armed groups are still recruiting child soldiers to fight in the ongoing conflict in the province of North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Those child soldiers who attempt to escape have been killed or tortured, sometimes in front of other children, to discourage further escapes. Children who are taken captive by the DRC army on suspicion of being armed group fighters, have faced ill-treatment and torture in military detention.
There is also continuing physical and sexual abuse of women and children in the conflict, according to the new Amnesty International report, North Kivu: No end to the war against women and children.
The report is based on research and eye witness testimony collected by an Amnesty International fact-finding mission in North Kivu in February and March 2008. It says that members of armed groups and government security forces continue to rape and sexually abuse women and girls and, in a smaller number of cases, men and boys. Infant children and elderly women are among the victims, many of whom have suffered gang rape or have been raped more than once.
These abuses are happening despite government and armed group commitments to immediately end these atrocities in a 23 January 2008 "Act of Engagement".
According to the Amnesty International report, of the former child soldiers who had been reunited with their families in North Kivu through a national demobilization programme, as many as half may since have been re-recruited by armed groups.
Beaten to death
One former child soldier told Amnesty International how two youths were beaten to death in front of him and other child recruits "as a lesson to all of us not to try to escape":
"[The boys] were brought out of a pit in the ground and presented to us during a training session. [An armed group senior commander] then gave the order to beat them. Two soldiers and a captain pushed them down into the mud. When they tired of kicking them…they beat them with wooden sticks. The punishment lasted 90 minutes, until they died."
Rape has been committed in public and in front of family members, including children. Some women have been abducted and held as sexual slaves. In many cases, sexual abuse and rape appear to be ethnically motivated and/or aimed at terrorizing and demoralizing communities suspected of supporting enemy groups.
One 16-year-old rape survivor described how she had been abducted by two junior army officers and held captive in an army camp in North Kivu for several days before she was released. In the camp, she was raped nightly by one of the officers.
"The other officers and soldiers in the camp didn't seem to care or be willing to take responsibility", she told Amnesty International. She now suffers flashbacks and persistent headaches.
In its report, Amnesty International issued comprehensive recommendations to the armed groups, DRC government and the international community aimed at stopping human rights abuses. The recommendations include a call on armed groups to immediately release all children associated with their forces, and measures to end to the horror of sexual violence.
Background to the conflict
Despite a peace accord signed in January 2008, armed conflict has persisted in North Kivu. The fighting involves the regular Congolese army (FARDC) and the CNDP armed group under the command of a renegade general Laurent Nkuna, as well as a number of local mayi-mayi militia and the Rwandan FDLR armed group. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.
More than 100,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting in North Kivu since 28 August 2008, adding to more than 1 million people displaced by earlier violence in the region.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Documentary shows abuse victims
HYANNIS — One of the most heartbreaking images in a new documentary slideshow about child sexual abuse shows a wavy-haired toddler playing at the edge of the ocean.
The child, whose face is not revealed, is scampering joyfully across the sand. But the viewer knows that the toddler is a victim of a terrible crime, as are all of the children photographed by Carolyn O'Neill for the documentary featuring clients of Children's Cove. The local agency investigates child sexual abuse cases on the Cape and Islands and also counsels victims and their families.
By the end of the week, Carolyn O'Neill's documentary will be posted on the Children's Cove Web site: www.childrenscove.org
In a series of black-and-white images O'Neill captured, children are shown holding pets, riding a favorite skateboard and looking out of a bedroom window.
"These are actual individuals on Cape Cod," Children's Cove director Stacy Gallagher said of the documentary that debuted yesterday at the Resort and Conference Center of Cape Cod in Hyannis during the local agency's ninth annual conference. "Child sexual abuse truly does happen here."
The idea for a documentary was sparked when Kathleen Ecker, a nurse who formerly conducted forensic exams at Children's Cove, was talking with neighbor Carolyn O'Neill of Orleans about her work.
O'Neill, a photographer, volunteered to create a visual record about Children's Cove clients.
Protecting the young victims' anonymity was key. "At first we thought, 'How are we going to do this?' " she said yesterday in a telephone interview with the Times.
O'Neill, whose usual portrait work with families and children relies heavily on capturing facial expressions, decided to express the personality of the children by photographing their favorite activities, hobbies and possessions.
There's a closeup of a girl's hands holding a pet hamster. Another photograph shows a girl sitting on a bed, her face hidden by the bed's canopy. A teen boy is photographed with his skateboard.
"These are just kids, living normal kid lives, doing normal things," O'Neill said. "They are still just children and they are still innocent. These children all have a level of pain inside of them."
The photos in the nearly five-minute slideshow are interspersed with printed words that tell the viewer 1-in-4 girls will be a victim of child sexual abuse by age 18, as will 1-in-6 boys.
"That means in our circle of friends there's a lot of people" who have been affected by child sexual abuse, said O'Neill, who is moving to Bangkok next week. In Thailand, she plans to pursue her commercial photography as well as get involved in documentary work about trafficking in children and women.
The Children's Cove conference continues today for educators, health professionals, social workers and law enforcement personnel, with workshops and a morning address by state Sen. President Therese Murray.
Children's Cove is also known as the Cape & Islands Child Advocacy Center. The facility works closely with several local agencies and organizations including the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, Barnstable County and Cape Cod Healthcare Inc.
Team formed to probe alleged child abuse in Bacolod orphanage
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The Bacolod city government has formed a team to investigate allegations of child abuse at an orphanage here.
Eight children at the Bacolod Boys Home have executed sworn statements about the abuse, said Henry O. Streegan, a former consultant of the orphanage.
He said the children’s affidavits are with acting executive director Fr. Fernando V. Peralta. But Mr. Peralta, for his part, said only one child has executed a sworn statement accusing a city employee of sexual molestation.
"An investigation is underway. It could lead to other complaints of molestation at the Home, but the facts have to be established," Mr. Peralta said.
The orphanage was established in 1960 by Fr. Gratian Murray, one of the founders of La Salle-Bacolod.
He managed the home until he died in December 2000. The home, which is a project of the city, receives P3. 3 million annually from the local government.
Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia said there are moves to professionalize the institution and shield it from controversy so as not to scare off benefactors.
A policy-making board composed of representatives from the government and the private sector is being planned.
Eight children at the Bacolod Boys Home have executed sworn statements about the abuse, said Henry O. Streegan, a former consultant of the orphanage.
He said the children’s affidavits are with acting executive director Fr. Fernando V. Peralta. But Mr. Peralta, for his part, said only one child has executed a sworn statement accusing a city employee of sexual molestation.
"An investigation is underway. It could lead to other complaints of molestation at the Home, but the facts have to be established," Mr. Peralta said.
The orphanage was established in 1960 by Fr. Gratian Murray, one of the founders of La Salle-Bacolod.
He managed the home until he died in December 2000. The home, which is a project of the city, receives P3. 3 million annually from the local government.
Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia said there are moves to professionalize the institution and shield it from controversy so as not to scare off benefactors.
A policy-making board composed of representatives from the government and the private sector is being planned.
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