Regional Overview – Asia 16 April 2018

Analysis, Asia, Civilians At Risk, Current Hotspots, Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Inequality, Political Stability, Remote Violence, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
Over the course of the last week, the levels of political violence and protest remained high in several South Asian countries while they remained low in Southeast Asian countries. With data on political violence in India, as well as in the Jammu & Kashmir region, both now available for download, trends in India as well as Jammu & Kashmir are explored below as well.…

Gender-Based Violence and Women’s Political Participation

Africa, Civilians At Risk, Education, Elections, Focus On Militias, Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Inequality, Unidentified Armed Groups, Vigilante Militias, Violence Against Civilians
While many studies of political gender-based violence (GBV) have focused on the practices of groups during wars, the practices of gendered repression in unstable—but not warring—developing states is under-acknowledged and ought to be scrutinized equally closely.…

Update — Burundi Local Data on Recent Unrest (26 Apr 2015 – 7 August 2016)

Africa, Analysis, Civilians At Risk, Gender-Based Violence, Inequality, Local-Level Violence, United Nations, Violence Against Civilians
A new update of the recent unrest in Burundi, covering events from 26 April 2015 to 7 August 2016 has been released by ACLED. This update can be found here. ACLED has covered the Burundi crisis with regular data updates and blog posts since June 2015, relying on a combination of news sources and local crowd-sourced information from the 2015Burundi Project, a network of grassroots organizations and trained citizen journalists aiding in conflict monitoring, and ACLED’s weekly real-time conflict data release covering Burundi A One-Year Special Report reviewing conflict patterns and dynamics, and the current state of the Burundi Crisis as it officially enters its second year, was recently published, and is available here.…

Update — Burundi Local Data on Recent Unrest (26 Apr 2015 – 19 June 2016)

Africa, Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Remote Violence, Rioting And Protests, Violence Against Civilians
A new update of the recent unrest in Burundi, covering events from 26 April 2015 to 19 June 2016 has been released by ACLED. This update can be found here. ACLED has covered the Burundi crisis with regular data updates and blog posts since June 2015, relying on a combination of news sources and local crowd-sourced information from the 2015Burundi Project, a network of grassroots organizations and trained citizen journalists aiding in conflict monitoring, and ACLED’s weekly real-time conflict data release covering Burundi A One-Year Special Report reviewing conflict patterns and dynamics, and the current state of the Burundi Crisis as it officially enters its second year, was recently published, and is available here.…

Central African Republic — January 2016 Update

Africa, Elections, Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Inequality, Peacekeeping, Violence Against Civilians
The Central African Republic (CAR) has faced increased insecurity and violence since Séléka rebels marched on the capital, Bangui, and ousted then-President Bozizé in 2012 (Townsend, 27 July 2013). Since the height of violence in late 2013 / early 2014, the conflict has remained persistent and widespread (see Figure 1).…

Update — Burundi Local Data on Recent Unrest (26 Apr 2015 – 16 January 2016)

Africa, Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Remote Violence, Violence Against Civilians
A new update of the recent unrest in Burundi, covering events from 26 April 2015 to 16 January 2016 has been released by ACLED. This update can be found here. These real-time data draw primarily on crowd-sourced information available from 2015Burundi and a local Burundi monitoring network, as well as from ACLED’s weekly real-time conflict data release.…

Homosexuality and Discrimination in Africa

Africa, Gender-Based Violence
While many celebrate the US Supreme Court ruling late last week to legalize same-sex marriage across the US as a victory for the gay-rights movement and equality (NYTimes, 26, June 2015), gay and lesbian people across many countries in Africa continue to experience discrimination and attacks as a result of their sexual orientation, a trend which has been increasing in recent years.…

Sudan Leads in the Use of Rape as a Weapon of Violence in Africa

Africa, Civilians At Risk, Current Hotspots, Focus On Militias, Gender-Based Violence, Human Rights, Inequality, Local-Level Violence, Political Stability, Unidentified Armed Groups, Violence Against Civilians
Sexual violence as a weapon of political conflict is a conscious strategy employed by armed groups to torture and humiliate opponents; terrify individuals and destroy societies, especially to incite flight from a territory; and to reaffirm aggression and brutality, specifically through an expression of domination (Bastick et al.,…