Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a sexual assault survivor

Democratic congresswoman reveals past trauma during candid account of Capitol attack

The Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday spoke in an emotional video about the insurrection at the US Capitol, and how what she went through was affected by her experience as a survivor of sexual assault.

In an account remarkably candid for an American lawmaker, Ocasio-Cortez recounted going into hiding as rioters scaled the Capitol on 6 January, hiding in a bathroom in her office while hearing banging on the walls and a man yelling: “Where is she? Where is she?” She had feared for her life, she told an Instagram Live audience of more than 150,000 people.

Continue reading...

CPS accused of ‘systemic illegality’ in charging rape cases

Changes in policy since 2016 have led to an overly risk-averse approach, court of appeal hears

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been accused of “systemic illegality” in its approach to charging rape cases in a landmark judicial review into how the crime is prosecuted.

On the opening day of the hearing at the court of appeal, lawyers for the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) and End Violence Against Women (EVAW) accused the CPS of “raising the bar” for rape prosecutions, which they argued had led to a steep drop in the number of cases being charged.

Continue reading...

Jesuit order in Spain apologises for decades of sexual abuse by members

Society of Jesus admits 81 children and 21 adults were sexually abused by 96 of its members since 1927

The Jesuit order in Spain has admitted that 81 children and 21 adults have been sexually abused by 96 of its members since 1927, and has apologised for the “painful, shameful and sorrowful” crimes.

In a report released on Thursday, the Society of Jesus, whose members often work as teachers, said most of the abuse had taken place in schools “or was related to schools”.

Continue reading...

Landmark hearing to examine handling of domestic abuse cases by UK courts

Family lawyers hope test appeals involving allegations of partner rape and coercive control will help update approach of family courts

A landmark hearing in the court of appeal is under way to examine how cases of domestic abuse are handled by judges in the family courts.

It concerns four conjoined appeals which feature allegations including marital or partner rape and coercive control, which emerged during private proceedings to address disputes centred on access to children.

Continue reading...

Grime artist who raped four women has jail sentence increased

Appeal court adds six years to prison term of Andy Anokye, 33, who performed under the name Solo 45

A man who held four women against their will and repeatedly raped them has had his sentence increased by the court of appeal.

Victims of Andy Anokye, 33, who performed as a grime artist under the stage name Solo 45, told how he beat and threatened them with weapons, held a cloth with bleach over their faces and waterboarded them, recording much of the abuse on his mobile phone.

Continue reading...

Virginity tests for female rape survivors outlawed by Pakistani court

Judge said the ‘humiliating’ practice was used to cast suspicion on the victim, and deflected focus from the act of sexual violence

A Pakistani court has outlawed the practice of subjecting female rape survivors to a virginity test in an unprecedented ruling.

Lahore’s high court ruled on Monday that the virginity test has no legal basis and “offends the personal dignity of the female victim”.

Continue reading...

Four men charged with rape and murder of Dalit woman in India

Case prompts nationwide protests and further highlights country’s endemic problem of sexual violence

Four men have been charged with the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in India, a case that prompted nationwide protests and drew a fresh spotlight on India’s endemic problem of sexual violence.

In September in Hathras, a small village in Uttar Pradesh, the 19-year-old woman was working in the fields when she was pounced on by four older men who dragged her to a field, attacked her and then tried to strangle her with her shawl.

Continue reading...

Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygård arrested after US sex trafficking charges

Designer facing class action lawsuit in US alleging the sexual assault of dozens of women

The fashion mogul Peter Nygård has been arrested in Canada after US authorities charged him with with racketeering and sex trafficking, alleging decades of crimes that left dozens of victims in the United States, the Bahamas and Canada.

Nygård, 79, was arrested in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act on Monday and made an initial appearance in court on Tuesday. He wore a white face mask, a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, with his long white hair pulled back in a bun. He has denied wrongdoing.

Continue reading...

Death of father at hands of mob casts a dark light on rise in Malawi rape cases

Police have warned against increased vigilantism after spate of sexual abuse cases

A father who was reportedly beaten by a mob after he allegedly killed the man who attacked his daughter has died in hospital, in a case that has drawn attention to Malawi’s rise in reported rape cases.

The death of the 47-year-old man in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe was reported on Thursday. He had allegedly been beaten and left for dead by a vigilante mob, said to be relatives and friends of the man he had killed.

Continue reading...

US Army fires Fort Hood officers and orders policy shift following 25 deaths

Suspensions and demand for changes prompted by widespread pattern of violence, including murder and sexual assault

The US Army has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at its Fort Hood, Texas, base and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault and harassment.

In a sweeping condemnation of Fort Hood’s command hierarchy, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation.

Continue reading...

‘What he was doing was in plain sight’: more ex-models accuse Gérald Marie of sexual assault

Exclusive: Another seven women come forward with allegations about the former Elite boss

Seven more women have come forward to accuse the former model agency boss Gérald Marie of sexual misconduct, adding to mounting allegations that have drawn parallels with the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Last month a Guardian investigation revealed that nine women had made sexual misconduct allegations against Marie, who for three decades was one of the most powerful men in the fashion industry.

Continue reading...

When it comes to a family trauma, who gets to tell the story?

When Fariha Róisín started writing Like a Bird, she thought the traumatic event at its heart was just a dream. She explores the weight of a family secret

In her 1861 account Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs exposed her sexual abuse by her master with lucidity and truth. Yet for more than 100 years, it was accepted academic opinion that Incidents was a novel, written by white abolitionist Lydia Maria Child. It was not until the 1980s that critic Jean Fagan Yellin proved Jacobs to be the true author; Incidents had been autobiographical all along.

In Hollywood, rape narratives are largely penned by men and seen as a motif, because the tension (and tragedy) of the experience creates sympathy, compassion; it formalises emotion. When we see a woman raped and abused on film we absolve ourselves for watching, because we want to understand the ugliness of human atrocity, or so that’s what we say. And when women write about rape, often in literature, its seen as melodramatic, overemotional, too impossible to be true. “Primarily, rape is considered a women’s issue, though this is, of course, hardly the case,” writes poet Moniza Alvi, in the introduction to Feminism, Literature and Rape Narratives, “and perhaps this is partly why it is considered a literary taboo, particularly when conveyed from a female viewpoint.”

Continue reading...

PNG police chief raises fears officers may have been raping women inside station

New provincial commander says he is concerned by allegations of rape and sexual assault by officers in Alotau Town

Two policemen have been charged with rape allegedly committed inside a police station in Alotau Town, in Papua New Guinea’s south-east, but the city’s most senior officer said he fears others sexual assaults may have been committed by police, with victims too afraid to report attacks.

“I can honestly say that this practice may have been going on for a while,” Milne Bay provincial police commander Peter Barkie told the Guardian. “I’ve heard about it but since taking office I can only confirm two [alleged] cases, who were charged during my time.”

Continue reading...

‘Lack of shame’: Robinho affair highlights Brazil’s rape crisis

Top club Santos signed a contract – now suspended – with the former Brazil striker who was convicted of rape in Italy in 2017

A public debate over sexual violence and rape culture has erupted in Brazil after one of its leading football clubs tried to recruit a convicted rapist to lead its attack.

Santos Futebol Clube – which has produced sporting legends including Pelé and Neymar – announced the highly controversial signing of the former Manchester City striker Robinho on 10 October.

Continue reading...

To tackle sexual violence in Bangladesh the culture of victim blaming must end

There are still those who ask ‘what was she wearing’. An urgent conversation is needed about toxic masculinity and consent

There has been growing outrage among Bangladeshi citizens over the past two weeks at a string of gruesome gang rapes and sexual assaults reported in the media. There is a deep lack of confidence that the victims will ever get justice, as well as anxiety over the traditionally-held view that a woman and her family lose “honour” when she is raped.

The question remains: did the woman ask to hold this honour that has been bestowed upon her? Is a woman’s honour held in her body? According to Ain O Salish Kendra, an organisation in Bangladesh that provides legal assistance to victims of violence, between January and September this year, men raped 975 women, killed 43 women after raping them, and attempted to rape 204 others. This is not the actual number of rape cases, but the figure that has been reported publicly – the true toll will be a lot higher.

Continue reading...

Linda Evangelista praises women accusing her ex-husband of rape

Exclusive: supermodel speaks out after four more women accuse Gérald Marie of sexual misconduct

The supermodel Linda Evangelista has praised the “courage and strength” shown by a growing number of women accusing her ex-husband, the model agency boss Gérald Marie, of sexual misconduct and rape.

Speaking exclusively to the Guardian’s Weekend magazine, Evangelista said she believed the women’s accounts of their experiences with Marie, who for over three decades was among the most powerful figures in the fashion industry.

Continue reading...

Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein facing six new sexual assault charges

The disgraced film mogul, who is serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape, is accused of alleged LA attacks between 2004 and 2010

Harvey Weinstein, the convicted rapist and imprisoned film mogul, is facing six new sexual assault charges, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced on Friday.

Weinstein, 68, was charged with three additional forcible rape felonies and three forcible oral copulation charges stemming from alleged attacks between 2004 and 2010 in Beverly Hills. The new criminal complaint expands the LA case to a total of five victims, authorities said.

Continue reading...

Ex-BBC presenter and pastor jailed for 10 years for prolific sexual abuse

Benjamin Thomas pleaded guilty to 40 offences over 30 years, mainly against teenage boys

A former pastor and BBC television presenter has been jailed for 10 years and four months after he admitted abusing boys and men over almost three decades.

Ben Thomas, 44, carried out many of his attacks while his victims were sleeping at Christian camps and conferences, Mold crown court in north Wales heard.

Continue reading...

DRC protesters demand justice over unprosecuted rapes and murders

Women lead protests against conflict violence in Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid calls for action on hundreds of civil war crimes

Women led thousands of people in demonstrations in four cities across the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday, demanding justice for historic murders and rapes committed in the east of the country.

Organisers said police beat protesters in Kisangani, one of the cities, as they marked a decade since the UN documented hundreds of crimes in DRC between 1993 and 2003 that have not been prosecuted.

Continue reading...