Asia

Pedophiles Among Female Carers. [Australia] Sexual abuse by women is a bigger problem than previously thought, and nuns and nannies are among the female pedophiles who have preyed on the children in their care. Women are responsible for 6 per cent of all reported cases of sexual abuse, a study by Child Wise, the nation's peak child protection group, has shown. And much of the abuse occurs while the women are acting in positions of authority. Child Wise national program manager Karen Flanagan said that while there was no definitive profile of female abusers, those known to have molested children included babysitters, nannies, nuns and teachers. "It is fact of life that women have easy and open access to children all the time," she said.

Protecting Women. [Indonesia] While women throughout the world are celebrating International Women's Day on March 8, lots of women in Indonesia are feeling disturbed by the controversial pornography bill which is being deliberated in the House of Representatives. It is said that the pornography bill is meant to protect women from sexual exploitation but because of its heavy content which tends more to frighten rather than to make women feel secure, it creates greater confusion and unrest among women. It is earnestly hoped that the bill which will be enacted into law will not disadvantage any community particularly women. In fact, many women groups such as Yayasan Jurnal Perempuan, Srikandi Demokrasi

Indonesia

and Seknas Koalisi Perempuan are against the bill because of its interference in the private sphere, thereby restricting freedom of expression. Criticism of the bill include its failure to clearly define those guilty of producing pornography materials, thereby victimizing women. If the bill really intends to protect women, then it must do so with wording that protects women, not threatens them. Before the pornography bill passes into law, more and more women experts should be consulted. Within the society itself, the bill has caused panic among various groups. The legislature should be wise in accommodating the interests and aspirations of all people throughout Indonesia.

Justice Minister Under Attack Over Death of Sexually Assaulted Inmate. [

Korea

] A female inmate who tried to commit suicide last month after being sexually assaulted by a correctional officer died Saturday. Her death is expected to prompt civic and women's rights advocacy groups to call on Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae to step down over the incident. Chun publicly appologised last week for the case. The groups are calling for harsher punishment of sex offenders and increased preventative measures. The inmate, identified as Kim, 35, who had been in a coma since February 19 after her attempted suicide, died early Saturday morning, the Ministry of Justice said Sunday. Last Thursday, Chun issued a public apology for Kim's sexual harassment at the Seoul Detention Center by a correctional officer, identified by the surname, Lee, 57. The ministry's inspection team found that Lee touched Kim's body under her clothes during an examination last month to decide whether to release her on parole. The detention center officials, however, did not take any measures after being made aware of the case, refusing Kim's demands to be admitted to a mental hospital. They persuaded Kim not to tell anyone outside of the prison about the incident and, in an apparent cover-up, did not fully report the case to the ministry.

Impact of the Conflict on Women. [Nepal] The United Nations in Nepal said it is concerned at how women are suffering from the Maoist insurgency that has flared up again following a four-month ceasefire. "In the past few weeks, women have been beaten to death, shot at, blown up by landmines and abducted across the country," said Mathew Kahane, UN Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal, on the occasion of International Women's Day. The insurgency, that has claimed more than 13,000 lives over the past decade, means many women are left on their own to take care of the household - often at the mercy of rebels or the army - as men flee to the cities or to neighbouring India in search of work. That's according to a new national study, "Changing Roles of Nepali Women due to Ongoing Conflict and its Impact," conducted by local NGO, Samanta. The study reported an increase in women's poverty: absent husbands often mean months or years of destitution for female-headed households in Nepal. The report noted how vulnerable many women are to sexual abuse and rape at the hands of both rebels and security forces. Many rape cases often go unreported, out of fear of reprisals from the perpetrator.

Employed Female Population Up 7.2%: Survey. [Taiwan] A survey showed that the number of the employed women in Taiwan rose to 4.19 million in 2005 from 3.91 million in 2002, marking a 7.2 percent growth in the four-year period, according to a report reaching here from Taipei on Tuesday. The survey was conducted by a local labor affairs organization in last December to better understand the job market situation after a local gender equality regulation took effect at the beginning of 2002. The organization sent questionnaires to local companies that have joined the national labor insurance program. A total of 4,149 valid samples were collected. Over the past four years, the survey further found, the ratio of female corporate managers rose from 14.6 percent in 2002 to 16.5 percent in 2005. The female population growth also helped expand women's labor participation rate, rising from 46.59 percent in 2002 to 48.12 percent in 2005, according to the survey. Meanwhile, the survey found that the women's unemployment rate slid an average of 0.22 percent in the four years after the enforcement of the workplace gender equality regulation.

'Female Assassin' Struggles in Amway Cup. [Taiwan] Taiwan's top ranked player, Lin Yuan-chun, was off to a rough start yesterday after losing both of her opening matches on the first day of the Amway Cup women's 9-ball tournament in Taipei on Wednesday. "I wore a short-sleeved shirt yesterday and the temperature in the gymnasium was too cold, which made it difficult to play," Lin said about her first loss. She blamed her second loss on over-coaching, saying a crowd of supporters and friends had filled her head with what turned out to be detrimental comments, rattling her confidence as she lost her next match. Facing an early elimination from a tournament she was expected to dominate, Lin, nicknamed the "Female Assassin," showed her steely nerves and came back from a large deficit to win 5:4 over an opponent yesterday afternoon, before eventually falling 3:5 to the UK's Valerie Finnie, making it next to impossible for Lin to advance to the final 24 single-elimination tournament.

Call to Give Women Bigger Role in Disaster Responses. [Thailand] Marking International Women's Day yesterday, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) called on the global community to support the integration of gender concerns into emergency response and disaster management. ''There are advantages and disadvantages in being the gentle sex, but overall, women are playing significant roles in emergency situations,''said Suvit Yodmani, ADPC executive director. He said that when disasters occur, women tend to be more responsible in looking after their families and taking care of the children. Under the theme ''Emergencies and the Strength of Women,'' ADPC and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem) honoured Senator Prateep Ungsongtham Hata from the Duang Prateep Foundation and World Vision Foundation of Thailand for contributing to disaster management in the region, particularly with regards to gender concerns in disasters. Ms Prateep and her team have helped victims of the Dec 26 tsunami, particularly women and children, to come to terms with the disaster. Her activities involved art therapy, scholarships for tsunami-affected children and income-generating programmes for women. The World Vision Foundation of Thailand also came up with emergency relief, short-term rehabilitation and long-term development projects to empower women affected by the tsunami.