Symposium brings violence against women to the forefront

They come from different backgrounds: Uganda, Iran, Argentina, Palestine and the United States. Their stories are different: wars, religious dictatorships, military coups and sex trafficking.

But these five women have all experienced violence.

They came together on Thursday night to share their experiences and to bring awareness of the global issue of violence against women.

"These are the great crimes in the world," said Rick Halperin, Director of the Human Rights Education Program. "No county is immune from this plague. Women are targets everywhere."

Halperin said these crimes will be passed down and a legacy of anger will be in future generations if these crimes are not solved and if there is no punishment or justice.

He said the main problem is men. According to Halperin, men commit most of the crimes in the world. The average human rights violation act is committed by a man against a woman.

"All men have women in their lives; we just call them different names," Halperin said.

He went on to say that they were mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. He noted that most men are outraged when such acts are committed to women that are in their lives. However, Halperin said it was a "pity" that these feelings don't extend beyond their own immediate circle.

"It is not enough to go through life being 'a good guy,'" he said. "Men must take a greater role in human rights on behalf of women everywhere. This is our gender-based job. We have to be human rights advocated and defenders of women everywhere."

Halperin ended his opening statements by saying, "these women have done more than survive. They have triumphed."

Kidnapped, tortured in Argentina

Ana Maria Careaga was one of the "disappeared."

During the Dirty War of Argentina that lasted from 1976 to 1983, many citizens were detained and tortured. It is estimated that 30,000 people were "disappeared" during this time, including about 500 babies who were stolen from their mothers and whose real identities were replaced.

Careaga, speaking through a translator, said the babies were taken as "war booty." About 95 of these babies have been recovered and identified due to the efforts of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Maya.

The military coup that occurred in Argentina on March 24, 1976 was one of the "most cruel and unprecedented," according to Careaga, who noted that it was not the only coup in the area. She explained that Operation Condor, a campaign of political repressions, occurred throughout South America and was supported by the United States.

In Argentina, there were 502 clandestine detention centers, 46 in the capital of Buenos Aires. Though the number was great, Careaga said the methodologies used were the same.

About 500 people were taken to the Naval Mechanic School (ESMA) during this time. Careaga herself was taken to another detention center, Club Atletico, which was located in the basement of the supplies building on the federal police.

She was 16 and three months pregnant when she was taken in 1977.

"I was tortured there for four months," she said. Careaga explained that while she was detained, she lost her identity and became "K04."

"In those places, being a women meant more cruel punishment and torture," she said.

Careaga said her family had been persecuted; her parents were refugees from Paraguay. When she and her brother-in-law were kidnapped, her family began to meet and walk in the Plaza de Maya because they could not find any information about what happened. People still walk in the Plaza today.

Careaga was eventually released and fled to Brazil. She then moved to Sweden as a refugee. After she was released, Careaga had her daughter. Three days later, when she called her family to let them know, Careaga found out that her mother had been kidnapped.

In what is now known as the "Abduction of the Santa Cruz Church," Careaga's mother and several others were taken when a naval officer infiltrated the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Maya.

Careaga did not discover her mother's whereabouts until July 2005, when declassified documents showed that the U.S. embassy in Argentina had identified the remains of her body in 1977.

"It proves that the U.S. embassy knew what took us 20 years to find out," she said.

Today Careaga is the director of the Space for Memory Institute, which promotes public policies for the memory and human rights. She also speaks out against state terrorism in Argentina.

Careaga said that her mother and the others continue to fight today, even though they are dead.

"They will tell the world what happened," she said.

A country ravaged by conflict

Jessica Okello believes "you can't talk about women without talking about children."

She said women and children were the "most vulnerable."

In Uganda, she said, many have lost their "dear ones," in the struggle of one rebel tribe against the government.

Okello is the National Coordinator in the Women and Children Ministry in Uganda.

"The people who has suffered the most is the women," Okello said.

Why? Because, she said, women must watch as their children are forced to fight. In addition, girls are not allowed to go to school. Many are forced to be mothers at 12 or 13 because they have lost their parents in the war.

"It's much safer for children to sleep on the side of the street," Okello said, "because it is safer than staying in their homes, where they would be abducted."

Okello said boys are forced into the military and brainwashed. Girls are given away as sex slaves. Many become infected with diseases such as HIV/AIDS and have children.

"Many [of the girls] don't love those children," she said, "because of the circumstances they were brought in."

Okello said many women are forced into prostitution to feed their families.