The 44-page report, “Navigating Obstacles: Abortion Access in the State of Mexico,” found that the state’s abortion law does not guarantee access to this essential service, even for legally eligible cases. Barriers to access include healthcare providers denying or delaying services, withholding necessary information, questioning the veracity of sexual violence survivors' statements, subjecting women to mistreatment, and imposing arbitrary requirements for access that contradict existing law and regulations.
This 54-page report documents the lifelong damage to girls who are forced to marry young. Yemeni girls and women told Human Rights Watch about being forced into child marriages by their families, and then having no control over whether and when to bear children and other important aspects of their lives.
Violence and Discrimination against Black Lesbians and Transgender Men in South Africa
This 93-page report is based on more than 120 interviews conducted in six provinces. Human Rights Watch found that lesbians and transgender men face extensive discrimination and violence in their daily lives, both from private individuals and government officials.
This 47-page report examines the legal and practical questions surrounding the case and concludes that Haiti has an obligation under international law to investigate and prosecute the grave violations of human rights under Duvalier's rule.
Human Rights in Iraq Eight Years after the US-Led Invasion
This 102-page report calls on the government to protect the rights of vulnerable groups and to amend its penal code and all other laws that discriminate against women and violate freedom of speech. The report also urges Baghdad to open independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of abuse against detainees, minorities, and journalists.
The Ampatuans, State-Backed Militias, and Killings in the Southern Philippines
This 96-page report charts the Ampatuans’ rise to power, including their use of violence to expand their control and eliminate threats to the family’s rule. It is based on more than 80 interviews, including with people having insider knowledge of the Ampatuan family security structure, victims of abuses and their family members, and witnesses to crimes.
Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
This 62-page report details how the government uses article 347 bis of the Penal Code to deny basic rights to people perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). The report describes arrests, beatings by the police, abuses in prison, and a homophobic atmosphere that encourages shunning and abuse in the community.
Lawlessness, Rape, and Impunity in Western Côte d’Ivoire
This report documents the often brutal physical and sexual violence in the western administrative regions of Moyen Cavally and Dix-Huit Montagnes. The widespread criminality has been fueled by the disintegration of legal institutions, a failed disarmament process that has left the region awash with arms, and state officials’ refusal to respond to attacks.
India’s Need for Sound Standards for Conducting and Interpreting Forensic Examinations of Rape Survivors
This 54-page report documents the continued use of the archaic practice and the continued reliance on the "results" by many defense counsel and courts.
This 42-page report collected comprehensive testing data from 127 of 264 jurisdictions in Illinois and found that only 1,474 of 7,494 sets of physical evidence, known as "rape kits," booked into evidence since 1995 could be confirmed as tested. That suggests 80 percent of rape kits may never have been examined in the state.
Based on interviews with over 100 refugees, this 99-page report documents widespread police extortion of asylum seekers trying to reach three camps near the Kenyan town of Dadaab, the world's largest refugee settlement.
The September 28 Massacre and Rapes by Security Forces in Guinea
This 108-page report describes in detail the killings, sexual assaults, and other abuses at an opposition rally in a stadium in Conakry, the capital, committed largely by members of Guinea's elite Presidential Guard, and the evidence suggesting that the attacks must have been planned in advance.
Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo
This 56-page report documents persistent sexual violence by the army, and the limited impact of government and donor efforts to address the problem. The report looks closely at the conduct of the army's 14th brigade as an example of the wider problem of sexual violence by soldiers.
The Rape Kit Backlog in Los Angeles City and County
The 68-page report reveals that the backlog of untested rape kits in Los Angeles County is larger and more widespread than previously reported. Through dozens of interviews with police officers, public officials, criminalists, rape treatment providers, and rape victims, the report documents the devastating effects of the backlog on victims of sexual abuse.
Gender-Based Abuses and Women’s HIV Treatment in Zambia
While acknowledging the significant overall progress made by the Zambian government in scaling up HIV treatment generally, this report documents how the government has fallen short of its international legal obligations to combat violence and discrimination against women.
