News From the Field | National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)

Pope Francis was often quiet on Argentine sex abuse cases as archbishop

By Nick Miroff

HURLINGHAM, Argentina — Father Julio Cesar Grassi was a celebrity in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. The young, dynamic, media-savvy priest networked with wealthy Argentines to fund an array of schools, orphanages and job training programs for poor and abandoned youths, winning praise from Argentine politicians and his superior, Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Grassi called his foundation Felices los Niños, “Happy Children.”

Historic UN declaration adopted to combat violence against women

By Agence France-Presse

Muslim and Western nations overcame deep divisions to agree on a landmark United Nations code to combat violence against women and girls.

Iran, Libya, Sudan and other Muslim nations ended threats to block the declaration and agreed to language stating that violence against women could not be justified by “any custom, tradition or religious consideration.”

Human Rights Watch: Congolese Warlord Should Face Justice

(Washington, DC) – The United States government indicated it would send the Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be tried for grave international crimes. Ntaganda turned himself in to the US embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 18, 2013.

Two teens found guilty in Steubenville rape case

NOTE: This article contains graphic content that may be triggering for some readers.

By Steve Almasy and Brian Vitagliano

Steubenville, Ohio (CNN) -- Two Steubenville high school football players accused of raping an allegedly drunk 16-year-old girl were found guilty by an Ohio judge on Sunday.

Swiss woman gang-raped in central India

Swiss woman has been gang-raped by a group of men in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, police say.

The woman was camping with her husband at a village in Datia district on Friday during a cycling trip when they were attacked by eight to 10 men.

The assailants overpowered the husband before gang-raping his wife.

More than 20 people have been detained in connection with the attack, which has led the Swiss embassy to demand a thorough investigation.

Steubenville rape trial: Where were 'courageous bystanders'?

By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo

The trial that started Wednesday in Steubenville, Ohio, has brought to light the disturbing regularity of dating and sexual violence among teenagers and how peers often stand idly by – or, in some cases, even post videos to Facebook.

In Ohio, a judge will decide if two teenage boys raped a 16-year-old girl after a party. The case garnered international attention when accusations arose about the boys being protected as members of a popular football team. Social media postings suggested that students knew of, and joked about, the alleged attack.

Steubenville teens treated girl 'like a toy,' prosecutor says

NOTE: This article contains disturbing content that may be triggering for some readers.

By Michael Pearson and Poppy Harlow

Steubenville, Ohio (CNN) -- Two Steubenville, Ohio, football stars treated a young girl "like a toy," sexually assaulting her, recording some of the abuse and then, finally, bragging about what had happened and how impaired the girl was, a prosecutor said Wednesday in the opening statement of the teens' rape trial.

Panetta: Military ‘Looked The Other Way’ In Rape Case

By Hayes Brown

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Thursday criticized the military’s lackluster approach to sexual violence, saying that some officials “looked the other way” rather than pursuing convictions.

By 2020, more than 140 million girls will have become child brides – UN

March 2013 – If current child marriage rates continue, more than 140 million girls will become child brides between 2011 and 2020, the United Nations said today, warning that little progress has been made towards ending this harmful practice.

Of these 140 million girls, 50 million will be under the age of 15, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which added that young girls who marry before the age of 18 have a greater risk of becoming victims of intimate partner violence than those who marry later.

Obama signs Violence Against Women Act reauthorization

By Carrie Dann

Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, the original author of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, President Barack Obama signed a reauthorization of the legislation Thursday.

"All women deserve the right to live free from fear," the president said in his remarks before signing the bill. "That’s what today is about."

The reauthorization, which includes expansion of protections to gay couples and Native American women, passed the House last month after over a year of partisan disagreement over its renewal.