This mission will help us to understand the situation on the ground for women and children and how and where we can provide effective support, either directly or through others.
a Saturday night in late May, I sat in the back seat of a taxi as it drove through a shantytown in Baghdad.
We were not far from Firdos Square, where, in April of 2003, invading American troops famously toppled a large statue of Saddam Hussein.
Children darted in and out of the shadows, and a pregnant woman in a long-sleeved, turquoise ankle-length dress stepped out to see who was approaching. In 2012, Iraq passed its first law specifically against human trafficking, but the law is routinely ignored, and sexual crimes, including rape and forced prostitution, are common, women’s-rights groups say.
Statistics are hard to come by, but in 2011, according to the latest Ministry of Planning report, a survey found that more than nine per cent of respondents between the ages of fifteen and fifty-four said they had been subjected to sexual violence.
If victims are to rebuild their lives, and indeed those of their children, they need justice and they need redress,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
The United Nations had previously urged Baghdad not to subject the families of IS fighters to collective punishments.The team will also discuss with local experts ways in which our 2 countries can work with them, including to identify new projects and support for existing efforts.The UK and Canada are committed to protecting human rights of women and girls.But as dark as the sex trade world in Iraq is, Abouzeid writes about one very strong and brave woman. Layla is a former prostitute who was arrested and jailed.After her release, she decided to turn her life around. Some have chosen this work voluntarily but others have been lured in.