1. Stories “This is one of the stories I remember. But is one of the many I hear in my work. Maybe that’s why I can’t give many details or maybe I just rather not remember.” A sex worker in Tabasco, South East Mexico was being bribed by the local police in order to be able to work on the streets. The women paid money every night to the officers before they went to their corners. After a while the police officers demanded more bribed money. This woman stood up for herself and said that “she had to work hard in order to get her money.” The officers responded by beating her up until they left her unconscious. She was taken to a hospital. After she woke up, the sex worker went to the authorities and filed a report. Three days later, a group of men came to her house where she was raped and then beaten for the second time. This time she didn’t go to the authorities or the hospital. Instead she withdrew the charges. The civil organization that had helped her file the report the first time, Brigada Tabasco, asked her to file the report again and to add the charges from her last incident. But she hasn’t, she’s scared. She is so scared, that instead of earning money through sex work she panhandles to survive. No governmental institution has stepped up to help her, no media was alerted for her case, and everything was filed away. When you live in one of the worst parts of the country for Human Rights, the answers and help is limited. “This is one of the stories I remember. But is one of the many I hear in my work. Maybe that’s why I can’t give many details or maybe I just rather not remember.” A sex worker in Tabasco, South East Mexico was being bribed by the local police in order to be able to work on the streets. The women paid money every night to the officers before they went to their corners. After a while the police officers demanded more bribed money. This woman stood up for herself and said that “she had to work hard in order to get her money.” The officers responded by beating her up until they left her unconscious. She was taken to a hospital. After she woke up, the sex worker went to the authorities and filed a report. Three days later, a group of men came to her house where she was raped and then beaten for the second time. This time she didn’t go to the authorities or the hospital. Instead she withdrew the charges. The civil organization that had helped her file the report the first time, Brigada Tabasco, asked her to file the report again and to add the charges from her last incident. But she hasn’t, she’s scared. She is so scared, that instead of earning money through sex work she panhandles to survive. No governmental institution has stepped up to help her, no media was alerted for her case, and everything was filed away. When you live in one of the worst parts of the country for Human Rights, the answers and help is limited. “She just doesn’t want to be murdered” “She just doesn’t want to be murdered”

2. Mrs. Saira Khatun – a rural Bangladeshi woman, delivered a dead baby at home and but her placenta was still retained after several hours of her delivery. Her whole family opposed the idea to take her to the local Health Complex to seek care. After 12 hours of delivery one of the health assistant who work in the Health Complex informed the manager the Health & Family Planing Officer about the ordeal of Saira Khatun and requested him to take necessary step for saving Saira Khatun’s life. There are no trained Medical officer –OG in the health complex, but at this particular village there is one trained Anesthetist and two EmOC trained nurses in the hospital. They have all the necessary equipment for providing basic EmOC services. UHFPO, Mo- Anesthesia and trained nurses discussed among themselves and agreed that they can save Saira Khatun by removing the retained placenta. They prepared themselves to bring her to the hopital. But Saira’s family members were not interested to send her to the hospital and were even ready to accept her death. To overcome the family resistence, the UHFPO informed the local chairman and police authority of the gravity of the situation. The Chairman asked the doctors to make necessary preperations to recive Saira in the hospital and he spoke with the other village elite to convince the family to allow her to be taken to the facility. After much convincing, the family allowed Saira to be carried by the local community to to the health complex. Saira was very weak, semi conscious, and on the verge of fainting. She was also highly anemic. Saira Khatun was very anemic and needed transfusion of blood immediately. But the family was not willing to donate blood for her. The UHFPO arranged for two bags blood from the hospital staff. With the help of the trained EOC nurses‚ UHFPO manually removed placenta with in 1 hour of admission in the hospital.After two days Saira Khatun was recovered enough to returned back home. Many people from the community came to the hospital to welcome Saira Khatun back home. Mrs. Saira Khatun – a rural Bangladeshi woman, delivered a dead baby at home and but her placenta was still retained after several hours of her delivery. Her whole family opposed the idea to take her to the local Health Complex to seek care. After 12 hours of delivery one of the health assistant who work in the Health Complex informed the manager the Health & Family Planing Officer about the ordeal of Saira Khatun and requested him to take necessary step for saving Saira Khatun’s life. There are no trained Medical officer –OG in the health complex, but at this particular village there is one trained Anesthetist and two EmOC trained nurses in the hospital. They have all the necessary equipment for providing basic EmOC services. UHFPO, Mo- Anesthesia and trained nurses discussed among themselves and agreed that they can save Saira Khatun by removing the retained placenta. They prepared themselves to bring her to the hopital. But Saira’s family members were not interested to send her to the hospital and were even ready to accept her death. To overcome the family resistence, the UHFPO informed the local chairman and police authority of the gravity of the situation. The Chairman asked the doctors to make necessary preperations to recive Saira in the hospital and he spoke with the other village elite to convince the family to allow her to be taken to the facility. After much convincing, the family allowed Saira to be carried by the local community to to the health complex. Saira was very weak, semi conscious, and on the verge of fainting. She was also highly anemic. Saira Khatun was very anemic and needed transfusion of blood immediately. But the family was not willing to donate blood for her. The UHFPO arranged for two bags blood from the hospital staff. With the help of the trained EOC nurses‚ UHFPO manually removed placenta with in 1 hour of admission in the hospital.After two days Saira Khatun was recovered enough to returned back home. Many people from the community came to the hospital to welcome Saira Khatun back home.

3. Wioleta, Poland Wioleta, Poland Wioleta, 28-years old, 1 child (4 years old) - She was indicted for the murder of her child and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She had been living with her partner for almost 2 years. During that time she was raped and beaten many times. Her partner didn’t let her tell anyone that she was pregnant. She delivered her second child at home. Immediately after the delivery (20 minutes), her partner took the child away. She protested, but was too weak to do anything. Probably, he killed child and buried him outside. Finally, the court indicted Wioleta for the murder. Her partner got a sentence of 2 years in suspension. She is in prison. He is free. Source: Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning www.federa.org.pl Wioleta, 28-years old, 1 child (4 years old) - She was indicted for the murder of her child and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She had been living with her partner for almost 2 years. During that time she was raped and beaten many times. Her partner didn’t let her tell anyone that she was pregnant. She delivered her second child at home. Immediately after the delivery (20 minutes), her partner took the child away. She protested, but was too weak to do anything. Probably, he killed child and buried him outside. Finally, the court indicted Wioleta for the murder. Her partner got a sentence of 2 years in suspension. She is in prison. He is free. Source: Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning www.federa.org.pl www.federa.org.pl

4. Kanchi,, Nepal Kanchi,, Nepal I am serving in prison for the sin committed by my father-in-law. I am from Sindhuli District. I was raped by my own father-in-law. My husband was working abroad as a laborer when this incident occurred. I became pregnant. I gave birth to the still child. It happened to me as a result of hard work. But, my father in-law who raped me called the police and complaint that I slept with other people and had that child. Moreover, he also accused me of doing abortion intentionally to hide my mistake. The sky fall on me at that point. It’s been seven years since I am in this jail but I am still asking for justice. My father in-law who committed the crime is roaming around freely. I don’t know why it is so hard for them to believe that he is the perpetrator. Since I am in jail I have not have access to work to feed my other son. At this time he is now studying with the help of the Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA Nepal) [This story was told to Indira Rana Magar of founder of PA Nepal by the victim. Indira Rana Magar is the activist working for the such kind of victims.]

5. Hafiza, Bangladesh Hafiza, Bangladesh In the village where I grew up, women had no voice, no rights. I grew up always knowing that my life was not as valuable as my brother's. I always felt like a burden on my family. I was married off quite young. I was only 16, but all girls in my village were [married off young]. As soon as I got pregnant, my husband started to beat me. Day and night, whenever he felt like it, he beat me. He was angry that I was pregnant, that we did not have money to feed ourselves and he was angry that soon we would have a child to feed, too. He beat me so bad I did not think that my baby would survive. If I had had some money of my own, I would have gone into the city to get the best medical care for my unborn baby. I prayed and prayed that my child would be healthy, and that it would be a boy. Maybe if I bore my husband a son, he would stop beating me. But as the months went on, the beatings got worse. One night, I just began to bleed and I could not control it. There was so much blood and there was such pain underneath my belly, and the pain made me shout for help. There were no doctors, no clinics in my village, nowhere I could go for help. All the women came to house and someone went and got the local midwife. I could feel my child dying inside me. I knew I would never see my child. There was so much pain, so much blood. The midwife tried to deliver my baby, but the feet and hands were coming out first. She looked at me and told me that my baby was not going to survive. She had to stick her hand in me to get the baby out. It was born dead. It was a baby boy. In the village where I grew up, women had no voice, no rights. I grew up always knowing that my life was not as valuable as my brother's. I always felt like a burden on my family. I was married off quite young. I was only 16, but all girls in my village were [married off young]. As soon as I got pregnant, my husband started to beat me. Day and night, whenever he felt like it, he beat me. He was angry that I was pregnant, that we did not have money to feed ourselves and he was angry that soon we would have a child to feed, too. He beat me so bad I did not think that my baby would survive. If I had had some money of my own, I would have gone into the city to get the best medical care for my unborn baby. I prayed and prayed that my child would be healthy, and that it would be a boy. Maybe if I bore my husband a son, he would stop beating me. But as the months went on, the beatings got worse. One night, I just began to bleed and I could not control it. There was so much blood and there was such pain underneath my belly, and the pain made me shout for help. There were no doctors, no clinics in my village, nowhere I could go for help. All the women came to house and someone went and got the local midwife. I could feel my child dying inside me. I knew I would never see my child. There was so much pain, so much blood. The midwife tried to deliver my baby, but the feet and hands were coming out first. She looked at me and told me that my baby was not going to survive. She had to stick her hand in me to get the baby out. It was born dead. It was a baby boy.

11. http://www.guerrillagirls.com

12. http://www.feministcampus.org/globalvoices http://www.feministcampus.org/globalvoices http://www.feministcampus.org/globalvoices www.kethi.gr www.kethi.gr www.kethi.gr