Costa Rica launches plan to curb violence against women

Days after a man caught on camera beating a woman in the street in San José was ordered to pay a fine of only $78, the National Women’s Institute (INAMU) has disclosed the details of a national plan to fight violence against women.

The plan, unveiled at a public event on Monday, is a joint effort by INAMU, the Judicial Branch, and the Public Security, Labor and Public Health ministries.

INAMU Executive President Alejandra Mora said that the plan’s main goal is to provide a comprehensive approach to all factors involved in violence against women.

“It also seeks to reduce impunity, ensure greater protection for women and prevent femicide,” she said.

The plan also includes measures to protect indirect victims such as children, who often are exposed to violence within their families. Mora noted that the strategy proposes specific actions for different age groups.

“Patrimonial violence, or the violation of women’s property rights, is the most common among the elderly. Violence among younger women shows up primarily in harassment and domestic violence,” she explained.

Mora said that officials are seeking “a change in the macho culture, promoting non-violent masculinity and equality.”

How will the plan achieve all this? It includes a media campaign aimed at children and young men promoting respect for women, and increased support for victims, such as heightened police response, social assistance, judicial protection measures and legal counsel.

Labor Vice Minister Nancy Marín said addressing violence against women in the workplace is also part of the plan.

“We are working to ensure that there is no impunity in proven cases,” she said.

Officials said at the event that a total of 22 public agencies, organizations and universities have signed on to the plan and pledged to work with the INAMU to improve women’s situation in the country.

Nigerian woman scaling the odds

Mrs. Nneka Eneanya is a graduate of Insurance. After graduation from the University she worked in a white colar firm for a few years.

Unknown to her, she was yet to tread a new path career wise after she lost her job. She was heart broken, she thought of getting another job since losing the previous one, but none was forthcoming,  so she sought God's direction. She remembered when she was younger, she used to enjoy watching her aunt make people's hair, according to her, she gets fascinated by the different hairstyles made by her aunt in her hair dressing shop.

SOS: Zainab, 17-year-old bride who attempted suicide

The recent meeting of the World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Lima, Peru, revealed that girls in the rural part of Nigeria are married off at the average age of 17. Zainab Hamit wished her story was any different from this ill that seems to be defining rural Nigeria and the life of a girl child. But she’s not that fortunate – her story is heartbreaking. Zainab hails from Maiduguri, Borno state, but today resides in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, with her parents.  Like many young girls of her age, she was exposed to primary education and went on to the Model Girls Secondary School till junior secondary class three (JSS 3). After her JSS 3, her father pulled her out of school, forcing her into an early marriage at the age of 16 to a total stranger. For Zainab, love was a luxury, care was too much to ask, and compassion was nowhere to be found. She became bed mates with a strange fellow, who cared less about her personal aspirations. He could barely care for himself; he  clearly lacked the means to cater for a family. Zainab resisted her father’s decision to get her married to a total stranger, but the only alternative was to kick her out of the house with no regard for her humanity.

"MYSOGYNOIR"

London nightclub Dstrkt was accused of turning away two young black women for being “too fat” and “too dark”, prompting a swift, strident response on social media. The club was quick to deny the allegations and the council equally quick to express its concern. News outlets went into overdrive, to find “voices” to give the incident context. In the Guardian, one writer explained that young black people often resort to unlikely methods to get into certain clubs – the kind, like Dstrkt in Soho, that aren’t really about the music anyway – while in the Independent, DJ Edward Adoo discussed the pervasive racism of London’s nightclubs as a matter of fact.But what is alleged to have happened at Dstrkt isn’t just about race; the accused promoter is black. It’s about gender too. Discrimination, prejudice and unchecked fear aimed specifically at black women now has a name: misogynoir.

A note from an aid worker in the Middle East

With hundreds of thousands dead and millions fleeing their homes, how do you even begin to pray for a situation as terrible and complex as the Syria/Iraq refugee crisis? One of our Tearfund workers in the Middle East has some thoughts…I’m a frontline worker in the Syria and Iraq crises. Yet if I’m honest, when it comes to praying for the region I often don’t know where to start.The recent heartbreaking images of refugees travelling to Europe are moving many, thankfully, to pray and act. But what about the source of the problem – the conflicts in the Middle East triggering the mass movements?In a tragedy so vast and complex, can I believe my prayers will make any real dent? I mean, ‘Peace in the Middle East, please’ feels vague and frankly a bit unrealistic, given everything I’ve seen and heard here.I dared to pray a crazy prayer: that the monthly food packages we deliver would stretch to feed extra mouths.The other day I decided to put the question to God: what can I pray that will make a concrete difference? Just thinking about the array of needs was overwhelming, so I decided to start small.I found myself praying that today, if anyone was planning a suicide bombing in the region, the detonator would malfunction.I could believe that might happen. People and their struggles may be complicated and unpredictable, but I can always focus on practical things.In that vein I could also pray that today, somewhere, a weapon aimed at an innocent person would miss its target.