Campaign Updates

Shabunda Region of South Kivu: 70% of the female population have been raped.

50% of women raped in the DRC are under 18 years old.

What will it take to see us as more than just numbers?

SCIAF’s new campaign highlights the shocking scale of rape and sexual abuse in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and we need your help to call on the UK government to step up its efforts to end the horror and increase desperately needed care for survivors.

The explosion in violent sexual assaults in the country is closely linked to a long-running conflict in the eastern region of the DRC which has involved Congolese forces, neighbouring countries including Rwanda, and over 20 independent militias. Rape is being used as a tool of war to humiliate and destroy communities.

Rape survivors often have to walk for miles to reach the nearest hospital or rural health centre, and once there the local services are often ill-equipped, overcrowded and unable to cope. The brutal attacks leave many women with severe internal injuries, HIV positive, or infertile. Meanwhile, a weak legal system combined with the stigma attached to rape means women face multiple barriers in bringing their cases to court, and few perpetrators are ever brought to justice.

SCIAF funds support for survivors of rape in the DRC. But more must be done. Our campaign calls on Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, to ensure that funding is increased to reflect the high levels of need, and targeted so that survivors receive medical and psychological care, legal assistance and compensation, and so that police receive training on sexual and gender based violence as well as victim and child protection.

Take action! Email Douglas Alexander now.

GLOBAL WARNING! CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Thousands of Global Warning! campaign postcards have been sent by SCIAF supporters to their MSPs, asking for a strong Scottish Climate Change Bill.

This summer our campaigners have been taking the campaign out to the public, from T in the Park to the Edinburgh World Justice Festival, and have gained hundreds more signatures of support. However, we are reaching a crucial stage Bill process. We are expecting a draft to go before the Parliament in November. This is the first stage in analysing the Bill and amending it where it is lacking. Every MSP will have a role to play in this process, so we must continue to make sure they know what the people who voted for them want! If you haven't already done so, please write to your MSP, and attend their surgeries to push for a good Bill.

As part of the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland Coalition, we will be taking part in a number of events across the country to help encourage people to approach their MSPs on the issues that matter to them. We have identified the most influential MSPs in the Bill process and will be putting on events in their areas. Look out for more information on events in Inverness, Inverurie, Arbroath, Perth, Elgin and Ayr in the coming months, on the SCIAF website.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland Energy and Climate Question Time: Monday 6th October 5:30pm-7:30pm, Edinburgh University InSpace Building, Crichton Street, Edinburgh.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is holding a Question Time Event on Energy and Climate. This is your chance to grill politicians and experts about future energy policy in the UK and Scotland, and how to meet the challenges of climate change.

Chaired by Sunday Herald Environment Correspondent Rob Edwards, the full panel line-up will include MPs and MSPs from across the parties, and representatives from NGOs and the energy industry.For full details visit the SCCS website at www.stopclimatechaosscotland.org.

Questions for the panel can be submitted in advance by email, or on the night.

BECOME A PARTNER FOR JUSTICE

SCIAF’s Partners for Justice scheme is about to launch, and we are looking for groups and parishes from across Scotland to get involved.

The scheme will focus on a different area of SCIAF’s work every year, taking members on a journey around our international projects and the issues that affect them. As a Partner for Justice your group can really help SCIAF tackle injustice by fundraising, campaigning and awareness raising in parishes here in Scotland. SCIAF will support our Partners for Justice with different ideas and resources, and information on how to get involved in events and talks.

The new scheme will be focusing on SCIAF’s work with farmers in Brazil who have been forced from their land to make way for crops grown for fuel, leaving these communities without enough to eat. Find out how your group can be involved or contact SCIAF Parishes Officer, Laura Hastie, on 0141 354 5508.