FRW news in brief

    | August 11, 2014

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    1-Democratic Republic of Congo: Mobile phone app could help prosecute sexual violence suspects

    The international NGO, Physicians for Human Rights, or PHR, is testing a smartphone application called MediCapt in the DRC.

    The organization is using the app to document victims of rape and sexual assault in the DRC. The app stores photographic images of victims’ injuries along with medical examination forms in an online database. Law enforcement officials can use MediCapt as forensic evidence.

    Though the application is still being developed, PHR has trained physicians how to use the new technology, and hopes that the system will be available in areas of conflict around the world in the near future.

    To read the full article, go to: http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/07/11/3459162/app-rape-war-zones/

    2-Liberia: Rape in post-war Liberia

    During Liberia’s 14-year civil war, sexual violence affected as many as 77 per cent of the country’s women and girls.

    According to a new report from UK-based Overseas Development Institute entitled The Fallout of Rape as a Weapon of War, the incidence of sexual violence and rape in post-war Liberia is still “extremely high.” Data from 2013 show that up to a quarter of women and girls report being raped by a stranger, and nearly three in four married women have been sexually assaulted by their husbands.

    Under President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia’s government has enacted new anti-rape laws and established new courts, but prosecution rates remain low.

    To read the full article, go to: http://www.irinnews.org/report/100364/tackling-liberia-s-high-rape-rate

    3-Zambia: Sexual and reproductive health education on the radio

    A new radio program, made by youth and for youth in Zambia, is raising awareness of sexual and reproductive health across the country.

    The presenters and producers, aged between 16 and 22, want to de-stigmatize the subject of sexual and reproductive health and condom use.

    Tikambe natulande, or “Let’s talk,” was developed by BBC Media Action and Restless Development, a Zambian youth-led organization.

    Three radio stations − Radio Mkushi in Central Province, Radio Kasama in Northern Province, and the state broadcaster, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation − each  air their own version of the program.

    To read the full article, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcmediaaction/posts/zambia_blog_boyd_chibale_tikambe