Safe World for Women

Katerva Awards

Womens Rights: Asia Pacific

It's a man's world - facing a gang rapist

In Cambodia, some young men believe rape is more acceptable than masturbation. Can perpetrators of violence against women play a role in preventing it and to…

Japan Values Women Less – As It Needs Them More

Despite anti-discrimination laws and a steadily growing number of employed women, Japan is falling behind the rest of the world on gender equality. Widespread…

Acid attack perpetrator sentenced under new Cambodian law

On 28 January, Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Sreyda's ex-husband Be Soeun to five years in prison for intentional violence using acid and ordered him to…

The ignorance that kills in Indonesia

Many Indonesian women face great difficulties in accessing safe terminations of unwanted pregnancies.Some women tell their stories.

The Indonesian judge who joked about rape

A senior Indonesian judge who joked that rapists should evade capital punishment because victims enjoyed the act triggered outrage and calls for his dismissal.

Australia: Where breastfeeding at work is OK

There are just two known workplaces like it in Australia - where a mother can breastfeed on the job and keep her baby by her side while she works.

Indonesia: Province moves to ban women from straddling motorbikes

Proposed sharia law in Aceh province would force women to ride side-saddle in order to make their curves less visible.

Philippines: Landmark Law Crucial for Women’s Health

According to the UN, 3.4 million pregnancies occur in the Philippines every year. Half of those pregnancies are unintended while a third are aborted, often in…

Thailand sets up Leadership Academy for Muslim Women

Women in South Thailand will get a major political boost when Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra presides over the national launch of a Leadership Academy for…

Thailand officials blame rape victim

Tourists fear for their safety after a young Dutch woman was beaten and raped by a Thai man in Krabi, a popular seaside resort in southern Thailand. Officials…

The sterilisation of disabled women in Australia

A Senate committee in Australia is looking into the controversial practice of sterilising disabled people. The UN is pushing for the practice to be banned…

Okinawa legislators protest alleged US rape

Legislators of the Japanese island chain of Okinawa have passed a resolution expressing "overwhelming indignation" at the alleged rape of a Japanese woman by…

Cambodia acid attack law raises hopes, concerns

Kong Touch was on her way to work at a rubber plantation in Cambodia’s Kampong Cham province at 4 a.m. when she heard footsteps behind her. As she turned, a…

Australia and Jill Meagher - Culture of Victim-blaming?

The most concerning aspect of some of the media coverage of Jill Meagher was the fact that many reporters found reasons to blame Jill herself for the…

Safe sex? Indonesia's conservatives would rather 'sinners' and sex-workers got Aids

Rizki works in a bar in a Bekasi shantytown called Tenda Biru, where every night from 9pm to 3am, she dances with the long distance truck drivers and factory…

Seeking Safety in Australia: Detention Centres, Abuse and Exploitation

According to the Australian Department of Immigration, people smuggling in Australia has set a new record in 2012, jumping to six thousand five hundred and…

Philippines birth control: Filipinos want it, priests don't

In the Philippines, access to contraceptives is limited for the most part to those with the means to pay. The Catholic Church has fought a "reproductive health…

PHILIPPINES defies church and finances family planning

The government of the Philippines is aiming to save its “failed” national family planning programme and drastically cut maternal deaths by spending 500 million…

Pregnant Migrant Women in Thailand to be Sent Home

Rights groups in Thailand have spoken out against a plan by the Thai Ministry Labor Department to force migrant women to return to their countries of origin if…

Malaysian Couple Breaks Maid’s Jaw

A Cambodian maid is recuperating at a hospital in Malaysia after being severely beaten by her employers, highlighting the plight of women from some of the…