While lamenting that the world continues to witness appalling levels of sexual violence in conflict, involving women, girls, boys and men, the United Nations chief is optimistic that there has also been clear progress and unprecedented political momentum to address these crimes. “There have been landmark cases against political and military leaders, demonstrating that the era of impunity for sexual violence as a tool of war is over,” UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon said in a message for the first International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, observed on Sunday. While paying tribute to the many thousands of caregivers, medical practitioners, advocates, and others on the frontline of this battle, who are fighting for change, Ban condemned Daesh, Boko Haram and other extremist groups that are using sexual violence as a means of attracting and retaining fighters, and to generate revenue. Particularly condemning the abduction of more than 200 girls from Chibok, Nigeria, in 2014 and the continued tragedy of women and girls subjected to forced marriage or sexual slavery by extremist groups in the Middle East, the UN chief called for their immediate release and urged for the care and support of those who return. (Source: UN)
Article Archive
International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict
Related Articles • More Articles
People join together during a "Rally to Stop the Six-Week Abortion Ban" held at Lake Eola Park on April 13, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 23, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).The Florida Supreme Court recently made national headlines when it issued two significant abortion rulings on the same day. One ruling cleared the way for a law to take effect that protects unborn life at six weeks and beyond. The other allowed a far-reaching abortion proposal, titled the Limiting Government Interference with Abortion Amendment, to be placed on the November ballot.If passed, the amendment would change the Florida Constitution to include a provision reading: "No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's health care provider."With the abortion amendment now officially on the ballot in Florida, many will be looking...
Orvich said he wanted to share his experience with same sex attraction "so that the Lord might touch hearts and that people repent and try returning to a chaste life." / Credit: Fran OrvichACI Prensa Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).For the last five years Fran Orvich, 30, has been living chastely following a conversion process that began after a traumatic childhood and years of sexual libertinism.The young man shared his conversion process in a telephone interview with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, "for the glory of God and the salvation of souls and to give light, hope, and salvation to these poor brothers of ours who are in the Church and are very confused."Specifically, Orvich said he wanted to share his experience with same-sex attraction "so that the Lord might touch hearts and that people repent and try returning to a chaste life."A difficult childhoodWhile only five years have passed since his conversion, to explain what he has experienced Or...
Reporter Catherine Hadro speaks with Sister Mary Gianna of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and Frank DeAngelis on "EWTN News In Depth" on April 19, 2024. Sister Mary Gianna, also known as Jenica Thornby, was a sophomore at Columbine High School and DeAngelis was principal on April 20, 1999, when two gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher before turning their guns on themselves. / Credit: "EWTN News In Depth" screen shotsCNA Staff, Apr 22, 2024 / 15:30 pm (CNA).Throughout her freshman and sophomore years at Columbine High School, Jenica Thornby went to the library every single day."Not one day went by that I did not go to the library," Thornby recently told "EWTN News In Depth" reporter Catherine Hadro. "Except one day."That day was April 20, 1999. "I was 16 years old, and I was sitting in my art class when all of a sudden I had this overwhelming urge to leave school," she recalled. "I just over [and over] in my head kept repeating, 'There's no way I'm staying her...