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11/24/2005:

"Women 'face worst abuse at home'"

A new study on domestic violence reveals that it is the most common form of violence in women's lives - much more so than assault or rape.
The study by the World Health Organization surveyed 24,000 women in 10 countries, among them Japan and Brazil, Ethiopia and New Zealand.

It reveals that domestic violence is widespread but hidden, and that it has a serious impact on women's health.

It also reveals just how common domestic violence is.

Wherever you live in the world, if you are a woman and you are attacked, the most likely perpetrator is your partner.

The World Health Organization hopes this study will put domestic violence in the spotlight so that it can be treated for what it is - a major threat to women's health.

Levels of violence vary widely around the world. In Japan, 13%of women surveyed reported abuse; in Ethiopia, that figure rose to 50%.
bbc.co.uk

No end to women murders in Mexico
Mexico's human rights ombudsman, Jose Luis Soberanes, said that 28 women had been murdered so far in 2005.

He called for a co-ordinated and tough effort by all levels of government to prevent more deaths in the city.

More than 300 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez. There is no generally accepted motive for the killings.

They have been variously attributed to serial killers, drug cartels and domestic violence. Some are believed to have been sexually motivated.

Many of the victims were poor working mothers employed in factories in the industrial city on the border with Texas.

Liberian leader 'to boost women'
Liberia's president-elect has pledged to make women across the world "proud", after becoming Africa's first elected female head of state.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said her election victory had "shattered the glass ceiling theory".

Nepal's wife-sharing custom fades
...Almost every household here is polyandrous - meaning that the family's sons have jointly married a sole woman.

Tsering Yeshi is a farmer, while Pema Tsering has a government job. Their wife says polyandry works well in this beautiful but harsh land.

"My husbands can take it in turns to go out for business, so I'm happy," she says. "If there were only one, he'd be under pressure to go out and trade, and there'd be no one to help at home."

They have three children between them. As in most polyandrous households, although they know who belongs to which father, the distinction matters little.

Once a C-Section, Always a C-Section?
Around the country, pregnant women are facing similar problems as an increasing number of hospitals refuse to let women try labor after an earlier C-section, citing concerns about safety and being sued if something goes wrong.

The trend is helping push the Caesarean rate to record highs, according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly one-third of births are now C-sections, up 40 percent from 1996. The rise is driven by a number of factors, including more women opting for surgical deliveries of their first babies. But another reason is the 67 percent drop since then in the number of women attempting labor for subsequent pregnancies.

sick