May 20, 2008 South Africa: Migrants under Attack
"Xenophobia is rife in South Africa. However, repression of
immigrants, refugees and undocumented people goes beyond naked
violence in poor communities. Earlier this year, police raided the
Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, beating up and arresting
immigrants, mainly from Zimbabwe. The state systematically abuses
the rights of immigrants: health workers deny treatment, home
affairs officials demand bribes and police assault immigrants
regularly." - Treatment Action Campaign
Apr 28, 2008 South Africa: Women, AIDS, and Violence, 2
"In the Southern African region the results of a large scale
household survey conducted in eight countries showed that nearly
a fifth of the women interviewed reported being a victim of
partner physical violence in the preceding year. ... South African
based-studies have found that women who experience intimate
partner violence are at long-term increased risk of HIV infection,
particularly where their partners were involved in multiple
concurrent, unprotected sexual relationships." - Amnesty
International
Apr 28, 2008 South Africa: Women, AIDS, and Violence, 1
"Despite gradual improvements in the government's response to the
HIV epidemic and the adoption of a widely-welcomed five-year plan,
five and a half million South Africans are HIV-infected - one of
the highest numbers in any country in the world. Fifty-five percent
of them are women. South African women under 25 are three to four
times more likely to be HIV-infected than men in the same age
group. ... the level of new HIV infections amongst women in South
Africa continues to increase, while overall incidence of the
disease has levelled off." - Amnesty International
