Table of contents:
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Burning Issue
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Regional Updates
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Global Updates
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Youth
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Publications
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Call for papers
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Member Profile – starting this month ASTRA will present one of the Network’s member organisations; this month features Family Planning and Sexual Health Association from Lithuania.
Ignored, undervalued, and indeed often exploited or abused, over the centuries, domestic workers across the world are now organising themselves and winning huge support, especially from the trade union movement. They have finally gained recognition as workers, with the fundamental rights of other workers, and now they are demanding that these rights are respected.
We in the trade unions of Europe can do much more to help this process, and it is worth it because – as we have shown at the international level – we can win! However, if we are to gain real improvements in the living and working situations of those who do our domestic work, there is still much to learn and share, both within and across borders.
So this publication looks at:
*Who are the domestic workers of Europe?
l How are they organised as workers, and who is supporting them to gain collective strength? How are the trade unions across Europe responding to their needs and demands?
l What is the legal situation governing their employment in the different countries, such as their hours of work and rights to paid time off?
l Are they getting access that other workers have to social security, such as unemployment or sickness benefits, or maternity leave?
l How are their organisations negotiating with the employers of domestic workers?
l Above all, what can we in the trade unions do better to support them in their long fight for justice?
“In the report, the Special Rapporteur considers homelessness as a global human rights crisis directly linked to increased inequality of wealth and property, requiring urgent attention. She examines how homelessness is caused by States’ failures to respond both to individual circumstances and to a range of structural causes, abandoning responsibility for social protection and allowing unregulated real estate speculation and investment to exclude a growing number of people from any form of housing.”
http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/31/54 - 23 Pages
Victims, who say they are still stigmatized, cheered as the men were sentenced
A Guatemala court has sentenced two former members of the military to 360 years in jail for the murder, rape and sexual enslavement of indigenous women.
27 February 2016 - Francisco Reyes Giron and Heriberto Valdez Asij were found guilty of crimes against humanity.
The historic ruling is the first successful prosecution for sexual violence committed during Guatemala's military conflict in the 1980s.
There were jubilant scenes in court as the judge read out the sentence.
"This is historic, it is a great step for women and above all for the victims," said Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, who attended the hearing.
There were jubilant scenes in court when the verdict was announced.
Summary Via Eldis:
Not since World War II has Europe seen such massive movements of refugees and migrants fleeing from armed conflict, persecution, and pervasive sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Almost one million people arrived through the Mediterranean between January and November of 2015, the vast majority of which came through Greece, and often via Turkey. Just under half of those arriving had fled from war-torn Syria, enduring a dangerous journey over hundreds of miles, and at constant risk of violence and SGBV. Concerned by the protection risks faced by women and girls, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and others undertook a joint seven-day assessment mission to Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This report is the result of that mission.
