World Drug Report 2020: https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/index.html
Dianova International
https://www.dianova.org/campaigns/addiction-services-are-essential-services/
While about one third of all people who use drugs are estimated to be women, the latter are consistently reported to be at higher risk of HIV and other infections and more at risk of experiencing intimate partner violence than women in the broader population. This phenomenon is also likely to be exacerbated in these times of crisis.
Medellin, Colombia – UN Women Photo, Ryan Brownmen/Ryan Brown.
By Ginette Azcona, Antra Bhatt & Robert Ndugwa.
n/Ryan Brown.
14 May 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic is largely concentrated in cities and urban areas, with around 2,600 cities globally reporting at least one case of the disease. While the epicentre of the global health crisis is still Europe and North America, its impact on developing countries may be more devastating, especially for the poorest. The 1 billion+ people living in slums and slum-like settings in developing countries, where population density is high, are those most at-risk and least prepared.
Most countries have responded with shelter-in-place orders, lockdowns and measures to curtail COVID-19’s spread. But slum-dwellers will have a hard time complying, as their overcrowded housing often lacks basic utilities, like water and sanitation. For women and girls who are slum-dwellers, the challenges are even greater as they face increased domestic violence (already being reported) and unpaid care burdens.
By Bia'ni Madsa' Juarez López and Jess Cherofsky
June 4, 2020 - We have a great diversity of Indigenous Peoples in the world, Peoples who have been affected in different ways by the COVID-19 pandemic. “To name us is to recognize our existence, which is the result of hundreds of years of resistance against invasions and previous epidemics similar to COVID-19.”
Countries across the world have faced difficulties in attempting to produce data on the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. While it may not be possible for every country to have the capacity to have an exact count, for Indigenous Peoples, these data are even more inexact or nonexistent. In the United States, for example, almost half of the states who had published infection rates including ethnic demographic data by April 2020 did not include a category for Indigenous Peoples. Rather, Indigenous Peoples were considered under “Other.” This “effectively eliminates us in the data," Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), director, urban Indian health board and chief research officer, Seattle Indian Health Board, told The Guardian. Meanwhile, Indigenous Services Canada reported 175 cases as of May 10, but these only include Indigenous people on reserves, “eras[ing]” the fact that “Indigenous Peoples do not only live on-reserve” and that Indigenous Peoples of different cultures live in communities together.
This topic provides an overview of gender-based discrimination encountered by women at various stages of criminal justice system, with a particular focus on gendered pathways to offending and incarceration; access to justice; and key issues and challenges concerning women's imprisonment. As noted by the CEDAW Committee, gender-based discrimination is based on gender stereotypes, stigma, harmful and patriarchal cultural norms and gender-based violence, all of which adversely impact on the ability of women to gain access to justice on an equal basis with men (CEDAW Committee, General Recommendation 33, para. 8). Frequently, States parties have discriminatory constitutional provisions, laws, regulations, procedures, customs and practices that are based on traditional gender stereotypes (CEDAW Committee, General Recommendation 33, para. 21). The Committee also stressed the importance of addressing stereotyping and gender bias in the justice system and its particularly harmful impact on women (CEDAW Committee, General Recommendation 33, para. 26).
Direct Link to Full 78-Page OSCE Report:
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/6/455206_0.pdf
Leveraging innovation to fight trafficking in human beings:
A comprehensive analysis of technology tools
The publication takes stock of technology tools and initiatives developed to combat trafficking in human beings in its different forms in the OSCE area and beyond. It also examines the ways technology can be misused to facilitate trafficking in human beings. It is the first known publication to conduct a global analysis of how different stakeholders, including law enforcement, civil society, businesses and academia can take advantage of technology to advance the fight against the human trafficking crime. The publication also provides recommendations to governments and organizations funding technology projects on how to maximize the value of technology-based solutions.
