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

Ex-Abu Ghraib inmates get $5 million settlement from US firm

A defence contractor whose subsidiary was accused of conspiring to torture Abu Ghraib prisoners has settled with former inmates for $5m (£3m).

US firm Engility Holdings paid 71 people held at Abu Ghraib, Baghdad, and other US-run prisons, on behalf of L-3 Services, according to a legal filing found by the Associated Press.

L-3 provided translators to the US military in post-war Iraq.

Sandusky moves for new trial after sex abuse conviction

(CNN) -- Lawyers for former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted on multiple counts of child sex abuse, argued a motion for a new trial Thursday.

Judge John Cleland, who presided over Sandusky's conviction and sentencing, heard arguments Thursday at Centre County court in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but did not rule immediately. A motion for a new trial asks the trial court to re-examine issues it already ruled on in an earlier judgment.

Three Delhi gang rape suspects to plead not guilty

Three of the five men accused of the abduction, gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi will plead not guilty to all charges against them, their lawyer has said.

Manohar Lal Sharma told the BBC the three - Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur and Ram Singh - should get a fair trial.

The five accused were charged on Monday. The next hearing in the case will be held on Thursday.

The case has shocked India and prompted a debate about the treatment of women.

New Push for U.S. to Ratify Major Women’s Treaty

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 8 2013 (IPS) - The United States continues to be in the dubious company of six countries that have either refused or are reluctant to ratify the landmark U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Now a coalition of more than 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), human rights groups and women’s organisations is renewing a longstanding demand for U.S. ratification of the treaty.

Names in church sex abuse records should be public, judge rules

A Superior Court judge has ruled the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles must release the names of high-ranking church officials in 30,000 pages of confidential records about priests accused of abusing children.

California legislators vow to change law on rape by impersonation

By Maura Dolan and Michael J. Mishak

California legislators and the state's top prosecutor said Friday that they would work to overhaul a law that makes it a crime to obtain sex by impersonating another only if the victim is a married woman.

The 19th century law required a state appeals court on Wednesday to overturn the rape conviction of a Los Angeles County man who entered a darkened bedroom where a woman was sleeping and had sex with her.

New Massachusetts law allows domestic violence, sex assault victims to vacate leases without penalties

By Martin Finucane

Governor Deval Patrick today signed a bill into law that will allow domestic violence and sexual assault victims to vacate their lease or rental agreements without financial penalties.

The bill, “An Act Relative to Housing Rights for Victims of Domestic Violence, Rape, Sexual Assault, and Stalking,” also allows victims to cite their situation as a defense in eviction proceedings, the governor’s office said.

Social media casts spotlight on Ohio rape case

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

By Michael Pearson

(CNN) -- The videos, pictures and tweets are chilling. A picture of a girl dangling limply from the arms of two young men.

Other boys, laughingly saying the girl had to be dead because she didn't flinch as her body was violated.

An alleged rape, made into a joke.

Lawyers boycott defense of India rape suspects

By Aliza Kassim

(CNN) -- Top lawyers in the India district where a woman was gang-raped are saying that they will not represent the six men accused in the attack, which led to her death.

The 11 lawyers who make up the executive board of the Saket Bar Association on Wednesday vowed not to represent any of the accused assailants because of the nature of the crime. The brutal attack galvanized the nation and has led to protests by outraged citizens.

6 charged with murder in gang rape of Indian woman

By Tanvi Sharma and Mark Magnier

NEW DELHI -- Police charged six suspects in India with murder Saturday just hours after the victim of a gang rape died, in a case that has sparked violent demonstrations and spurred soul-searching over the nation's treatment of women.