Bias Against Abused Mothers in Child Custody Cases - BC LEAF reportBias Against Abused Mothers in Child Custody Cases: Report
New study finds systemic problems in parental capacity assessments discriminate against women.
By Katie Hyslop, 24 July 2012, TheTyee.ca

View full article and comments: http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/07/24/Child-Custody-Report/

When a woman flees an abusive relationship, we expect the justice system will protect her and her children.
But a new report finds in some British Columbian child custody cases allegations of spousal abuse are used to paint the mother as mentally ill or an "alienating" parent, and instead recommend visitation, or even custody, for the abusive parent.
"Troubling Assessments: Custody and Access Reports and their Equality Implications for BC Women" - http://www.westcoastleaf.org/userfiles/file/Troubling%20Assessments%20e-report%202012.pdf - is a new report released today by West Coast LEAF, a women's legal education and advocacy organization. The report looks at what are known under the Family Relations Act as Section 15 reports: parental capacity assessments conducted during child custody and access cases.
Often a useful tool for getting a third-party, outsider's view of parenting abilities, the report found they could also be biased against and dangerous for vulnerable women with abusive ex-partners.
While there are specific guidelines to follow for family counsellors and social workers regarding family violence and the use of these reports, psychologists in B.C. have no such criteria. In addition, judges often take assessors' advice at face value, and limited access to legal aid in B.C. prevents many women from challenging assessments they view as biased.
"West Coast LEAF believes that women's equality is not served by the regime governing custody and access reports as it currently stands," reads the report. (...)

Responding to Violence Against Women in Diverse Cultures

 

According to global research by experts, reports by WHO, Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (UNCEDAW), Human Rights and UN Women, women from various cultures or nations today have experienced one from of violence or the other. These violence’s are embedded into the norms and values of culture and traditions. For Instance, In Sudan women are sentenced to stoning for adultery, In South Africa, women are forced to rape by the family if she opposes a marital choice for her, In Somalia, women face corporate punishment such as lashing or stoning if the conduct of her daily business is contradicts the ruling political or strategic objectives. In Ghana and in situations of marital conflict and divorce, women lose out on land she farmed with her husband during marriage. Juliana Nkrumah, the founder of African Women Australia, said domestic violence did not discriminate. "We should not excuse cultural practices that are damaging,'', ''but nor should we use culture as an excuse for damaging behavior.

Some of the violence traditions that women have to face are life-threatening. There are for example customs such sati, which forces many Hindu women to immolate themselves on top of the funeral pyres created for their deceased husbands (there’s no sati for males of course), or women in some African countries being subjected to violent exorcism rites or even being killed after being accused of witchcraft. Many of these culturally sanctioned crimes are financially motivated, eliminating the wife as the inheritress of her husband’s estate and having it being transferred instead to the couple’s sons or the father’s family. Different ways of abusing women’s Human Rights takes place in many African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda, where women actually become part of their husband’s estate – supposedly in the widow’s interest to offer her security and protection. An act of humiliation itself, the inheritance of women also culturally approves acts of “widow cleansing”. Violence against Women in diverse culture may take many forms and has enormous social, economic costs, and undercuts the contribution of women to development, human rights, peace, and security. Violence against Women hampers the economic development and stability within the community in which they live. It also poses a serious threat to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

http://www.africanviews.org/component/content/article/1021-womens-education/49156-responding-to-violence-against-women-in-diverse-culture

 

 

Illegal Immigrants in the US gets compassion from President Obama

  By ADESHINA EMMANUEL

Published: August 9, 2012

WASHINGTON — The work permits that young illegal immigrants can begin applying for next week under a new government policy will let American employers tap a generation of educated workers who have been confined until now to the shadowy corners of the economy, experts on immigration policy say.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/us/illegal-immigrants-see-opportunity-in-work-permit-rule.html?

Cultural Sensitivity at the 2012 Olympics

Home > Update: Female Saudi Athlete Allowed To Compete in Olympics With Headscarf

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Update: Female Saudi Athlete Allowed To Compete in Olympics With Headscarf

Submitted by Alyssa Figueroa on Tue, 2012-07-31 20:11

Headline: 

Update: Female Saudi Athlete Allowed To Compete in Olympics With Headscarf

As we previously reported [1], the International Judo Federation told Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, one of the first Saudi women to compete in the Olympics, that  she could not wear her hijab last week. The IJF said they wanted their sport to remain nonpolitical and then also cited safety concerns, despite the fact that Asian judo federations have previously allowed Muslim women to wear hijabs during major competitions.
Today, however, an agreement was reached after the International Olympic Committee fostered talks between the International Judo Federation and the Saudi Olympic Committee.
Mark Adams, an International Olympic Committee spokesman, told AP [2]:

They have a solution that works for both parties, all parties involved … The athlete will compete.

He added that the agreement meets Asian judo rules and is "safety compliant but allows for cultural sensitivity."
Still, Shahrkhani won’t be allowed to wear her own hijab, which she has always worn while competing. She will wear an acceptable version of a headscarf decided by the committees when she competes in the women’s heavyweight judo tournament this Friday.
Today, fellow female judo fighters came out in support of Shahrkhani competing in her hijab. France's Gervise Emane told Reuters [3]:

We all want judo to be more democratic and it would be a good thing if more women were allowed to practice judo.