2012: the year when it became okay to blame victims of sexual assault
The myth that women can be held responsible for men’s sex crimes has returned, writes Laura Bates
At Caernarfon Crown Court earlier this month, a 49-year-old man was convicted of raping a teenage girl. Jailing the rapist, the judge told him: “She let herself down badly. She consumed far too much alcohol and took drugs, but she also had the misfortune of meeting you”.
It was the latest in a wave of examples of victim-blaming, a phenomenon that Christina Diamandopoulos, of the Rape Crisis charity, describes as the “myth that women are responsible for men’s sexual behaviour. From this stems the idea that what a woman wears, says, where she goes, or what she does can make her responsible for the crime committed against her.” The problem is compounded by common misconceptions, such as the idea that all rapists are strangers, who attack in dark alleys at night. In fact, Ms Diamandopoulos says, “most rape is committed by partners, ex-partners and men who are known to the woman”.
CRIME
Indian rape victim dies in hospital
A 23-year-old Indian woman who was raped by six men on a bus, has died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital. The hospital said in a statement she "died peacefully," after almost two weeks fighting for survival.
Mount Elizabeth Hospital said in a statement that the young Indian woman died of her injuries early on Saturday morning. She was gang-raped, beaten and then thrown from a bus by six men on December 16.
"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4.45 a.m. [local time, 2045 UCT on the previous day] on 29 December, 2012," Kelvin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said in a statement. "Her family and officials from the High Commission of India were by her side. The Mount Elizabeth Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning her loss."
Talk or you try running the West Bank, Abbas tells Netanyahu
December 29, 2012
JERUSALEM: The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has warned he will disband his Palestinian Authority if there is no Israeli movement towards renewing peace talks after Israel's elections on January 22.
In an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, Mr Abbas said that if such a situation arose he would hand full responsibility for the occupied West Bank to the Israeli government.
''If there is no progress even after the election I will take the phone and call [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,'' Mr Abbas said. ''I'll tell him … Sit in the chair here instead of me, take the keys, and you will be responsible for the Palestinian Authority.
''Once the new government in Israel is in place, Netanyahu will have to decide - yes or no,'' Mr Abbas said.
Central African Republic neighbours to send help
Central African Republic's neighbours are to send soldiers to intervene in the troubled country, where rebels are trying to overthrow its leader.
Representatives from the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States meeting in Gabon, though, did not specify how many troops they could contribute nor did they outline how quickly the military assistance would arrive.
President Francois Bozize had pleaded for international help on Thursday as fears grew that the rebels would attack the capital of 600 000 next. Former colonial power France already has said that its forces in the country are there to protect French interests and not Bozize's government.
"We are now thinking about the arrangements to make so that this mission can be deployed as quickly as possible, said Gabon's Foreign Affairs Minister Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet.
Venezuela: South America's most dangerous country
According to calculations made by a respected NGO, Venezuela is now far and away the most dangerous country in South America, with Caracas one of the most dangerous capitals in the world.
By Jeremy McDermott, Guest Blogger
The Venezuelan Observatory Of Violence (Observatorio Venezolano de la Violencia) has released a study on homicides during 2012 putting the national homicide rate at 73 per 100,000 of the population, with Caracas registering 122 per 100,000. As a point of comparison, neighboringColombia, still in the midst of the civil conflict, last year registered just over 31 homicides per 100,000.
The study was conducted by the NGO working with six national universities. It put the number of homicides during the year at 21,692, a significant increase on 2011 (19,336), which had gone down as the most violent year on record in Venezuelan history.
According to the government, the homicide rate for 2011 was just over 48 per 100,000 of the population. Even at this level Venezuela was one of the most dangerous nations in South America.
29 December 2012 Last updated at 00:17 GMT
Sex, lies and videotapes: A year in Chinese microblogs
The year 2012 was meant to be a stable one for China as it prepared for its once-in-a-generation leadership change.
But things didn't quite go to script as lurid scandals emerged across the country featuring officials from the all-powerful Communist Party, some of whom were local and some very prominent.
One of the most notable features was the number of scandals unearthed by angry microbloggers determined to root out official corruption.
China's emboldened microbloggers?
As growing concern about corruption and abuse of power spread through China's microblogs, netizens began a quest to expose what they saw as official malpractice themselves.
All of this took place despite official measures such as in March when millions of microblog users, initially in Beijing, had to register with their real identities to post online. It was an effort by the authorities to prevent the spread of what they called "unfounded rumours".
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