At an event in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last night, the foreign secretary will launch a high-profile new initiative on tackling sexual violence in conflict.

As Papua New Guinea is gearing up for elections next month, four women candidates have come forward in the autonomous region of Bougainville to contest seats against 65 men.

Magdeline Toroansi is vying for the Bougainville regional seat.

Rachael Konaka and Francesca Semoso are endorsed by the People Party for the North Bougainville seat.

Theresa Jaintong is the People Party candidate for the Central Bougainville seat.

The government has kicked off efforts of Localizing the National Action Plan (LNAP) on Women, Peace and Security in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Trafficked to Britain from Moldova, Gloria was forced into prostitution before escaping her traffickers and seeking asylum in the UK.

She said if she returned home she would almost certainly face violent reprisals from the gang that trafficked her, and she won her case.

Thousands of people joined a march in the Colombian capital to demand justice in a case of rape and murder that has shocked the country.

Rosa Elvira Cely, a single mother who worked selling sweets in the streets of Bogota, was attacked on 23 May. She died four days later of her injuries.

Her story has led to an outcry in Colombia, where more than 51,000 women were victims of violence last year.

Endless economic and military interference by the U-S and former European colonial powers has resulted in years and years of instability in Central America.

Violence is common and the homicide rate soars above the global average. And it's the region's women who bear the largest brunt of the violence.

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, commemorated each year on 29 of May, is an occasion to salute the 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions in some of the world's most volatile and dangerous environments. In the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the Bangladeshi contingent is composed entirely of women.

Indigenous women around the world suffer disproportionately from gender-related violence, but they say a lack of hard numbers has allowed governments to ignore the problem.

Members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues asked the United Nations on Thursday for better data to pinpoint the problem and help develop solutions.

Social activists say that attempts to rehabilitate sex workers in this former monarchy call for special efforts to uplift the Badi, a Hindu caste that has for centuries been associated with entertainment and prostitution.

A report on Wednesday reveals that child marriage has become less prevalent in South Asia over the last two decades, but not for brides of all age groups. While matrimonial unions for girls under 14 are less frequent, adolescents over 15 are still marrying at about the same rate as they did two decades ago.