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Crimes>Sick
Africa | Nigeria | Corruption

Nigeria police rescue 19 young women, girls from ‘baby factory’

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Nigerian authorities said Monday that 19 girls and young women who were abducted and impregnated by captors who planned to sell their babies have been rescued. Lagos police spokesman Bala Elkana said the victims and four babies were rescued from four locations in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. The victims, aged between 15 and 28, are mainly from eastern Nigeria. They told police they were tricked into coming to Lagos with the promise of jobs. Nigeria has a high number of syndicates that keep young women to produce babies for sale – a scheme locally termed "baby factories." The p
Asia | Taiwan | Crimes

Cops raid ‘killer exorcism cult’ hideout led by ‘female Buddha’ in mountains

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Cops have raided dangerous "exorcism" cult led by a "female Buddha" in a secret mountain hideout in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said 19 followers were rescued from the cult’s headquarters based in a monastery, in the island’s central landlocked county of Nantou in August. Reports say followers of "Zhonghua Rixing Yishang" – or "China Daily Virtue", were prohibited from leaving or speaking without permission and one was reportedly killed in a sick ritual. The death of Taiwanese national Ms Fang, 20, in mainland China sparked police investigations acro
South Asia | Pakistan | Crimes

Pakistani officials claim women trafficked into prostitution in China after marriage

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Faisalabad, Pakistan—With waves of arrests, Pakistani investigators are trying to unravel trafficking networks that convince impoverished Pakistanis to marry off their daughters to Chinese men for cash and they say evidence is growing that many of the women and girls are sold into prostitution once in China. At least two dozen Chinese nationals and dozens of their Pakistani partners have been arrested in recent weeks in raids by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency. Pakistani government officials, however, have ordered police to remain quiet about the extent of the networks, fearing it
Asia | China | Crimes

Report claims thousands of North Korean women sold into sex slavery in China

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Thousands of North Korean women and girls are being trafficked and sold into sexual slavery in China, where many are sold as wives to Chinese men while others are forced into prostitution or to live stream sex acts against their will, a new report claims. The investigation, by the London-based Korea Future Initiative (KFI), includes shocking first-hand reports of girls as young as 12 being raped and women being forced to participate in cybersex for days without eating. Though female defectors have long been targets of human traffickers, the problem has been exacerbated in recent ye
Latin America | Honduras | Crimes

Outrageous: Berta Cáceres, Honduran human rights and environment activist, murdered

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Berta Cáceres, the Honduran indigenous and environmental rights campaigner, has been murdered, barely a week after she was threatened for opposing a hydroelectric project. Her death prompted international outrage at the murderous treatment of campaigners in Honduras, as well as a flood of tributes to a prominent and courageous defender of the natural world. The co-founder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras (Copinh) was shot dead by gunmen who entered her home in La Esperanza at around 1am on Thursday. Some reports say there were two killers; others suggest 11. They escaped
Latin America | Colombia | Crimes

Colombia finally cracks down on a horrific wave of acid attacks against women

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Colombia is finally taking action against what may be one of the most intense waves of horrific acid attacks on women anywhere in the world. President Juan Manuel Santos this week closed a legal loophole that often allowed attackers to get away scot-free. Official figures acknowledge 628 victims, but women’s rights activists believe the true toll may be far higher. Under the new law, signed Monday, anyone using any kind of “chemical agent” to physically harm another person will receive a minimum sentence of 12 years behind bars. If the victim is permanently disfigured, the
North America | United States | Crimes

Prosecutors: 2 Women Day Care Workers Ran ‘Fight Club’ For Kids Aged 4-6

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Two New Jersey women face charges for staging a “fight club” among boys and girls at a day care center, Union County prosecutors said. Erica Kenny, 22, of Cranford, and Chanese White, 28, of Roselle, are accused of child abuse. Kenny also faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Kenny and White allegedly instigated the fights among kids aged 4 to 6 at Lightbridge Academy in Cranford last month, prosecutors said. Kenny allegedly shot video of the fights and posted them to social media, prosecutors said. White faces up to 18 months in prison. Kenny could get up to f
Africa | South Sudan | Crimes

South Sudanese girls given away as ‘blood money’

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Due to extreme gender inequalities in South Sudan, a large majority of girls in the country are subjected to at least one form of domestic violence in their young lives. They are also three times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than to finish primary education, according to the international children’s development organization Plan International. But young girls in the country’s Eastern Equatoria State suffer a particularly abhorrent practice which is traditional among at least five of the state’s 12 tribes – “blood money” compensation.
Africa | Sudan | Crimes

A HEMLINE IS NOT A CRIME: 10 Women at risk of flogging for “indecent” clothing

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Sudan's Public Order Police have charged 10 female Christian students with 'indecent dress, and subjected them to humiliation during their detention. On June 25, Sudan's Public Order Police stopped 12 female Christian students in front of the Evangelical Baptist Church where they had attended a ceremony. They were wearing trousers and skirts. The students were charged with "indecent dress" under Article 152 of Sudan's 1991 Criminal Act. Two were released. The students were subjected to degrading treatment and humiliating verbal abuse during their detention. They were released on bail on
South Asia | Sri Lanka | Corruption

Sri Lanka women cricketers ‘forced into sexual favours’

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Members of Sri Lanka's women's cricket team were forced to perform sexual favours to keep their places in the team, the sports ministry has said. The ministry said evidence of sexual harassment was uncovered in an investigation begun last year. It was launched following reports a player had been dropped for refusing to have sex with cricketing officials. Disciplinary procedures would now be initiated, the ministry said, without naming the individuals involved. "It is a shameful incident," Sri Lankan Children's Minister Rosy Senanayake told the AFP news agency. It is not clear what
South Asia | Pakistan | Crimes

Acid attacks persist in Pakistan

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In a terrifying act of violence, a man in Pakistan’s Quetta city of Baluchistan province severely injured two Christian girls by spraying acid on their faces using a syringe. Acid is an easily and cheaply accessible weapon for people seeking revenge in domestic violence cases. However, the victims are left with no legal resources and suffer severe psychological trauma as they face the social stigmas that come with disfigurement.
Middle East | Egypt | Corruption

Is the Egyptian state using sexual torture against women?

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The Arab spring promised freedom and justice to the 2011 protestors in Tahrir Square, but a damning new report claims that women are being brutalised by police, military and security forces at an unprecedented level. Four years ago, Cairo was a giant billboard for human rights; the words “freedom”, “justice” and “dignity” were graffitied across the city, with the high hopes of Tahrir Square writ large on city streets. What remains today is a patchwork of paint covering up any hint of political protest. This isn’t the only whitewash in Egypt now. According to a dev
Latin America | Brazil | Crimes

Brazil’s tough laws on violence against women stymied by social norms

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In a bid to improve matters, in March Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff launched a zero tolerance policy towards violence against women and girls. The penal code was changed to include femicide – defined as any crime that involves domestic violence, discrimination or contempt for women, which results in their death. And tougher sentences were introduced of between 12 to 30 years’ imprisonment for violence charges. Longer jail terms were brought in for crimes committed against pregnant women, girls under 14, women over 60 and women and girls with disabilities. It was a major great st
North America | United States | Corruption

70 women say their babies may have been taken from them at Homer G. Phillips

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Some 70 women have come forward in less than 24 hours to tell St. Louis city officials they fear their babies were taken from them at birth and then given away. Jaqueline Butler called our newsroom to tell us her story about the birth of her daughter, “If she’s alive I would love to be united or reunited with her.” Butler called after she saw a story concerning Gospel singer Zella Jackson Price.  Price was reunited with her daughter 50 years after giving birth at Homer G. Phillips Hospital.  Zella was told her baby had died but she never believed it. Neither did her daughter and la

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