UN Under-Secretary-General Bangura Addresses Rape in War (Catherine Powell, CFR)

I hosted United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General Zainab Hawa Bangura, the special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, at CFR last week to discuss her work combating the use of sexual violence, not only as a weapon of war, but also as a tactic of terror.

http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/07/12/un-under-secretary-general-bangura-addresses-rape-in-war/

Women in Tech as a Driver for Growth in Emerging Economies (Catherine Powell, Ann Mei Chang, CFR)

http://www.cfr.org/technology-and-science/women-tech-driver-growth-emerging-economies/p38097

UN Special Rapporteur Breaks New Ground with Report on Gendered Aspects of Torture (Catherine Powell, CFR)

Last week I hosted a CFR roundtable with Juan E. Mendez, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment, to discuss his new report on gendered aspects of torture. The groundbreaking report, released earlier this year, addresses gendered aspects of torture and other ill-treatment of persons in detention. It stresses the need to apply gender analysis to torture and cruel treatment to reveal abuses that would otherwise be invisible or normalized

http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/05/18/un-special-rapporteur-breaks-new-ground-with-report-on-gendered-aspects-of-torture/

Women and Terrorism: Victims, Perpetrators, and Problem Solvers (Catherine Powell, CFR)

http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/03/22/women-and-terrorism-victims-perpetrators-and-problem-solvers/

Women and Terrorism: “Jihadi Girl Power” Masks Reality (Catherine Powell, CFR)

http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/03/21/women-and-terrorism-jihadi-girl-power-masks-reality/

Zika Virus and Reproductive Health Access in Latin America (Catherine Powell, CFR)

In response to the rapid spread of the Zika virus and the increasing number of cases linking the virus to microcephaly—a birth defect frequently characterized by a small head and incomplete brain development—some Latin American and Caribbean governments are urging women to delay having children. In El Salvador, for example, the deputy health minister made headlines when he urged women to refrain from becoming pregnant until 2018. Yet throughout the region, women’s reproductive rights and access to health care are limited, and in 2014, more than half of the region’s pregnancies were unplanned. For instance, in El Salvador—which has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Latin America—one in three babies are born to girls between the ages of ten and nineteen, often as a result of unplanned pregnancies. These factors make calling for women to hold off on getting pregnant an impractical solution at best.

http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/02/08/zika-virus-and-reproductive-health-access-in-latin-america/