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For over a month now, people from Côte d'Ivoire have been seeking refuge in neighbouring Liberia, victims of the uncertainty and post electoral tensions in their country.

The majority are women and children.

Legislation has been passed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) national assembly aimed at reforming the country's police force, which, staffed by ex-soldiers and former rebels - riddled with corruption, poorly trained and lacking basic equipment - is widely seen as more of a threat to the population than a guarantor of its security.

The United Nations Children's Fund is appealing for more than $20 million to provide life-saving assistance to tens of thousands of children and women affected by the post-election crisis in the Ivory Coast and five neighboring countries. The funds will support humanitarian operations in the region over the next three months.

In an effort to help law enforcement agencies in southern Africa respond to gender-based violence effectively, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said today that it has launched a handbook and a training curriculum to improve the capacity of national police forces in the region to combat the problem.

It was systematic rape to assert dominance and shatter resistance. That is how Luis Moreno-Ocampo described the campaign of terror allegedly committed seven years ago by a Congolese militia group against civilians from the Central African Republic (CAR).

Slapped into submission by a child soldier, a man thanks the gunmen who have just raped his wife and daughter, now bedraggled and whimpering. Dozens of women in a large circle observe the harrowing scene. But this is theatre - as therapy.

With the New Year, we may see a new country born through a referendum that will be held this weekend in Sudan. Today I'd like to share a word from Karak Mayik, my sister who heads Women for Women International's Sudan program and is everyday a hero striving for peace and prosperity in her homeland.

The overwhelming issue this year will be elections. This election will be in many ways more difficult and challenging than the 2006 election. Then, the incumbent was likely to win (and he did), the business and political establishment just wanted stability and the biggest rebel threat (RCD) had been marginalized.

January 7, 2011 (NAIROBI) – Sudan must refrain from ramping up military attacks in Darfur and guard against human rights violations during and after the referendum on south Sudan's independence, which is due to begin on Sunday, Amnesty International has demanded.

How will the outcome of the South Sudan referendum affect the prospects for women's participation and activism in the North and South?