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

Priest abuse victims' group blacklists 12 cardinals for pope

By Richard Allen Greene, Laura Smith-Spark and Hada Messia

Rome (CNN) -- A group representing survivors of sexual abuse by priests named a "Dirty Dozen" list of cardinals it said would be the worst candidates for pope based on their handling of child sex abuse claims or their public comments about the cases.

The list names three U.S. Roman Catholic cardinals and nine from other countries.

L.A. sees parks as a weapon against sex offenders

By Angel Jennings

On a tiny sliver of land in Harbor Gateway, the city is beginning construction on what officials believe will be the smallest park in Los Angeles.

At one-fifth of an acre, the pocket park will barely have room for two jungle gyms, some benches and a brick wall.

But the enjoyment the park will give children is a secondary concern for officials. They are building the park for a different reason: to force 33 registered sex offenders to move out of a nearby apartment building.

House passes Violence Against Women Act after GOP version defeated

By Tom Cohen

Washington (CNN) -- Struggling again with an issue important to women and minority groups, House Republicans on Thursday failed to pass their version of a new Violence Against Women Act and then split over a Senate version that won approval with unanimous Democratic support.

House Republicans Clear Path for Renewal of Violence Against Women Act

By Jonathan Weisman

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders bowed to pressure from within their own party and cleared a path for House passage on Thursday of the Senate’s bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Attacked at 19 by an Air Force Trainer, and Speaking Out

By James Risen

SAN ANTONIO — After her Air Force training instructor raped Virginia Messick, a young recruit, he told her it was fun and they should do it again, she remembers. Then he threw her clothes at her and ordered her to take a shower.

Ms. Messick was unable to move, cry or scream. She was a 19-year-old from rural Florida, in her fifth week of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, and she had just been assaulted by the man the Air Force had entrusted with her life.

Arrestee DNA and Rape: One Prosecutor's Story Arrives at Supreme Court

By Ariane de Vogue

When the Supreme Court hears a case challenging a Maryland DNA law this week, one former prosecutor will be remembering the dormant rape case she says was solved because of the law.

At issue before the court is the Maryland DNA Collection Act, a law that allows officials to take the DNA from those who have been arrested, but not convicted of a serious crime.

Sri Lanka: Politically Motivated Sexual Assaults in Custody Continue Since Conflict

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

(London) – Sri Lankan security forces have been using rape and other forms of sexual violence to torture suspected members or supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. While widespread rape in custody occurred during the armed conflict that ended in May 2009, Human Rights Watch found that politically motivated sexual violence by the military and police continues to the present.

Poor Urban Services Found to Increase Risk of Violence Against Women

By Annie Kelly

Poor quality and underfunded public services are exacerbating the "constant" violence, harassment and intimidation that millions of women face in cities and urban centres across the world, according to a report.

ActionAid International interviewed women in six cities – in Recife (Brazil), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Mombasa (Kenya), Monrovia (Liberia) and (Kathmandu) Nepal – who spoke of the daily threats they face, including rape, sexual harassment, robbery and beatings, in public spaces and around their homes and places of work.

India: Three girls raped and murdered, aged 5, 9 and 11

By Maseeh Rahman

India has been hit by another case of sexual violence after three sisters aged five, nine and 11 were raped and murdered in a remote village.

The three girls, who lived with their mother in Lakhni village in Maharashtra state, disappeared on 14 February, on their way home from school. Their widowed mother is a poor labourer, and when the grandfather went to the police to report their disappearance there was no attempt to search for them.

Afghan police accused of corruption and child abuse

BBC Panorama reporter Ben Anderson spent five weeks with US Marines working to advise Afghan security forces in Helmand province. While he was there, he witnessed corruption and criminality among the Afghan police force.

Most police forces investigate crimes like corruption, kidnapping, drug use, murder and child abuse. But in Sangin - the most violent district in Afghanistan - these are crimes that some of the police commit.