Gender-based violence

A new Pentagon report say there’s progress on reporting sexual assaults in the military. But Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, whose proposed reforms were rejected earlier this year, says commanders have been “a complete failure” in protecting those who report crimes — and plans a new push to pass her bill.

In India, footage of two women defending themselves from a group of men sexually assaulting them on a public bus has gone viral. The video has renewed a national debate in India on sexual assault and the safety of women in public spaces.

Allegations against Bill Cosby dating from decades ago have stirred a debate in the US over whether legal statutes of limitations should apply to sexual assault cases. Some countries, like Canada and the UK, don’t have deadlines for prosecuting such cases, which has allowed prosecutors to open high-profile “historic cases” of assault with some success.

Women around the world often feel vulnerable to groping and sexual harassment when they ride on crowded public transit. And it can be hard to catch offenders. So the police in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, have created a new squad of mostly female officers to catch those who harass — and to support female riders.

This week a horrific scene shocked villagers in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. Bodies of two girls, raped and murdered, hung from a mango tree. The case has sparked fresh debate about violence against women and castes in India.