Let's face it: even in a world where equality is the desired state, and often the state we believe we live in, violence against women is still a real problem.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights." Founded in the UK in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international standards. It works to mobilize public opinion which exerts pressure on individuals who perpetrate abuses. The organization has been recognized as a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for its work and has been awarded the UN Human Rights Prize.

Currently, as part of the "Stop Violence Against Women" campaign, an ongoing worldwide campaign by the organization, there are numerous cases being petitioned. These fall under four major categories:

Violence Against Women In Armed Conflict

This category deals with crimes against non-military females during times of conflict. These include rape by military forces, forced labour, forcible displacement, and lack of access to education, health care, and other needs during conflict.

Specific Armed Conflict cases currently being petitioned include:
Comfort Women - Over 200,000 South Asian women were forced into prostitution in Japanese military brothels during World War II. They were promised compensation by the government of Japan as outlined in various peace treaties, however the organization responsible for this compensation failed to meet international guidelines, and was dissolved in 2007.
Burundi - "Systemic failures in the justice system have engendered a climate where rape victims are less willing or able to pursue criminal proceedings". Among other topics, the government of Burundi has no registry for rape crimes, and victims are not supported with legal aid, particularly in rural areas.
Displaced Women In Chad and Sudan - The Darfur conflict is known to involve extrajudicial execution, military rape, unlawful murder of civilians, and torture.

Violence Against Women in Relationships and the Community

Cases in this category generally involve petitioning for laws against intramarital conflicts, honour killings, and other domestic issues; lack of law against rape and other violence; perversions of justice in cases of violence against women; and issues involving individuals and groups of women during times of flight from conflict such as war and genocide.

Violence Against Indigenous Women

The three campaigns currently active in this category are, perhaps not shockingly, North American. In Mexico, indigenous women are being subject to violence by military forces. In the USA, indigenous women seeking treatment for rape at Indian Health Service facilities are subject to a lack of funding and police support and their cases are often not investigated due to lack of evidence collected for these reasons. Finally, in Canada, countless Aboriginal women have been murdered or raped in the last several decades, due partly to the poverty and lack of governmental relief for indigenous communities and families in rural areas, and also due to a large social stigma against Aboriginals.

Safe Schools

This campaign's goals are simple, but its motivation is complex - it is difficult to break the poverty/violence cycle without education, and when education is tied to violence, it will ultimately be avoided.

How YOU Can Help

Letter writing is AI's major route of action, in the form of large-scale organized letter writing campaigns world-wide. Generally, the letters will be sent to both the United Nations and local governments, and you'll usually be given a list of points to include in the letter when you view a case.

Volunteering and Activism are more grass-roots approaches involving demonstrations, events centered around Amnesty's HQ, and specific large-scale fundraisers. As a volunteer or activist, you're a representative of Amnesty, and as such all activist positions have an interview and application process. One specific Canadian project for violence against women is Taste for Justice, a restaurant-sponsored fundraising event held countrywide - and AI is currently looking for three Restaurant Liaisons in major cities, so if you have the time, why not apply?

Monetary donations made to Amnesty are always helpful in terms of postage costs, advertising costs, and materials. If you'd like to donate, you can either make a single donation, monthly donation, or bequest. And of course, if you can't personally donate but would like to fundraise, AI has fundraising ideas and information available at their website.

Have good credit? Need a new card? Apply for the Amnesty Visa Card and ten cents will be donated to AI every time you use it!

And, finally, the easiest thing imaginable - register for the campaign 10,000 Voices and create your personal action plan for how to promote the awareness of violence against women.

You can make a difference. Why not do it?



_{This article is submitted in honour of International Women's Week}