Agency and vulnerability in the intersection of abortion law and refugee experience in Kenya
Posted: 23 September, 2024 Filed under: Pawi Fortune | Tags: abortion, abuse, Africa, Dadaab, defilement, displaced persons, Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida – Kenya) & 3 others v Attorney General & 2 others, forced prostitution, foreign domination, gang rape, health care services, healthcare services, Kakuma, Kenya, maternal deaths, mental health, Ministry of Health Guidelines on the Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya, physical trauma, rape, refugees, safe abortion services, Sexual Offences Act, sexual violence, state of unrest, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, unwanted pregnancy Leave a comment
Author: Pawi Fortune
Kabarak University Law School
The number of refugees in Africa has been on the rise[1] with many people being morphed into refugee status by various reasons such as a state of unrest, foreign domination and internal/external aggression.[2] In pursuit of safer grounds, ‘aspirant refugees’ flee to other countries hoping for better conditions than that from which they fled. However, even in countries of asylum, displaced persons face a precarious existence devoid of guaranteed safety or survival. Dadaab and Kakuma, critical refugee sanctuaries in Kenya, shelter a diverse population of refugees fleeing instability in countries such as Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.[3] Nonetheless, mistakenly believing this new land to be a haven, refugees are subjected to unimaginable sexual violence, a cruel irony that erodes their dignity and sense of self to a degree that renders their prior persecution almost preferable. This paper aims serve as a lamentation, a call for help reflecting the pain of survivors of sexual violence in refugee camps who have succumbed to the dangerous consequences of unsafe abortions or lack of it due to inaccessibility of the appropriate health care services.
Inclusive national dialogue and accountability for rights violations can heal Ethiopia from a culture of impunity
Posted: 16 May, 2022 Filed under: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn | Tags: (CEDAW), abduction, accountability, anxiety, conflict, Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, crimes against humanity, Criminal Code, depression, Ethiopia, Ethiopia’s National Defense Force, gang rape, gender-based violence, impunity, International Criminal law, mental health problems, sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases, Tigray People Liberation Front, transitional periods, unwanted pregnancy 2 Comments
Author: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn
Human Rights Lawyer and Gender equality advocate
On 3 November 2020, conflict broke out between the Tigray People Liberation Front and Ethiopia’s National Defense Forces when the Tigray People Liberation Front assaulted the Northern command. Due to the conflict in Ethiopia, women and girls continue to bear the brunt of the cruel and inhuman acts committed by all parties involved in the conflict for the last 17 months. Many have lost their lives, suffered sexual violence, been displaced, and starved. Young girls, women living with disability, older women, and refugee women have been the target of brutal sexual violence. These crimes are horrific in nature as they represent the level of vengeance and humiliation pursued by actors to the conflict. Reports have highlighted the extent of these violations and implicated all sides to the conflict in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Read the rest of this entry »
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