Human Rights Watchdog Campaigns to End Violence Against Women. [EUobserver.com, Belgium] One fifth to one quarter of all women in Europe have experienced physical violence at least once during their lives while more than one tenth have suffered sexual violence, according to a new report by Europe's main human rights watchdog. In a campaign launched called "stop domestic violence", the Council of Europe calls for domestic violence to be criminalized, victims to be protected and perpetrators to be punished across Europe. In some of the organization’s 46 member states, as much as 45% of women experience some form of violence, including stalking, with most violent acts being carried out by men in their immediate social environment such as partners and ex-partners, the Strasbourg-based body said.

Women Die Yearly Due to Home Violence. [Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran] Seventy women die in Belgium each year as a result of violence in the home, according to a Belgian women's organization. Sofie De Graeve of the Women's Consultative Committee in the Flanders region told a local radio that figures quoted by her organization mainly relate to physical and sexual violence as, according to her, it is much more difficult to record reliable figures for emotional and psychological violence. She called for urgent measures to be taken to combat domestic violence. One in five Belgian women suffers some form of violence at the hands of their partner. Worldwide the figure rises to one in three women suffering some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, according to a report carried by the VRT radio.

Number of Female Victims of Domestic Violence Not Falling. [Prague Daily Monitor, Czech Republic] The number of the female victims who have fallen prey to domestic violence and were killed by her husband or partner is not falling, as their number was put at 17 within the campaign "Silent Witness" this year, Marie Vavronova, director of the civic group ROSA, told journalists. ROSA put up ten red dolls depicting the number of the women murdered by their husbands, current or former partners at Prague's Jungmannovo namesti square. "Today's event wants to highlight that there are frustrated lives of young women who could have had children and enjoyed their offspring. It is a sort of warning that domestic violence is still poorly punished, the penalties are moderate and the protection of victims still insufficient," Vavronova said. Vavronova said she believed that the punishment for murder was "absolutely inadequate."

Female Earnings Raise Relationship Tensions. [Guardian Unlimited, UK] Women are the main breadwinners in one in five relationships and the shift in earning power is leading to increased tension between couples. Some 20% of women questioned by Skipton building society said they earned more than their partner, while 21% said they had argued about financial imbalances. Many respondents said they begrudged their male partner's lack of earning power, with one in six saying they resented him for not making more money, and one in 10 saying they disliked shouldering the financial responsibility.

£7Million Pay Out to Female Employees. [Oldham Advertiser, UK] Oldham Council is to make compensation offers to around 1,700 female staff – to the tune of around £7 million. The Advertiser can reveal that letters are now being sent to those affected with payment offers ranging between £60 and £8,000. The amounts for each employee are calculated on the basis of length of service and hours worked. Approximately 17% of the workforce is involved.

Labor’s All-Female Contest. [The Asian News, UK] A former science lecturer is amongst some of the women Labor candidates fighting for the Withington seat in the next general elections. The seat, which is currently held by Lib Dem MP John Leech, will see it be challenged an all female Labor shortlist. Amongst the contenders is Dr Yogish Virmani who stood as a candidate for the Chorlton Park ward during the 2005 local elections. Dr Virmani, who was a lecturer at Manchester University, lives in East Didsbury with her husband Bhim and has been a party member since the 60s. Her work has focused on the improvement of deprived estates in south Manchester.

Burges Salmon Names Forbes as First Female Department Head. [Legal Week Student, UK] Burges Salmon has appointed it first-ever female department head, with banking partner Sandra Forbes taking over the helm of the firm’s corporate and financial institutions department. Forbes, who also sits on the firm’s partnership committee, joined the southwest giant in 1991 from legacy firm Frere Cholmeley Bischoff – now part of Eversheds. She became a partner in 1996. Forbes takes over from Roger Hawes as head of the corporate and financial institutions group, which includes the corporate finance, banking, pensions and employment teams and is the largest department at the firm. Hawes will return to full time fee earning after five years in the role.

Female IT Workforce Shrinks Again. [ZDNet UK, UK] The proportion of women in IT continues to decrease, meaning that now just one in six IT professionals is female. The figures, which come from research sponsored by the Government's Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) show that just 16% of IT workers are women, down from 19% four years ago. "The continuing drop in the number of women in the IT industry continues to have serious and far reaching implications for the UK economy," said Carrie Hartnell, private sector program manager for Intellect, the trade association. "There are good initiatives, but these have clearly not been persuasive enough or resulted in the necessary improvements." But the headline figures mask a considerable variance between IT disciplines. Although just 12% of IT strategy/planning professionals are female, women account for 61% of database assistants. One in five ICT managers is female.

British Women Occupy 'Lower-Skilled' IT Jobs. [Contractor UK] A worrying decline in the number of female ICT professionals has “serious and far reaching consequences for the UK economy”, Intellect has warned. The warning from the hi-tech trade body comes in light of its own DTI-backed research, which shows the number of women employed in Britain’s IT sector has fallen to a low of 16%. Initiatives to attract more women into ICT have largely failed, evidenced by the pool of female candidates narrowing for the past five years, the group’s research shows. Many of today’s women working in information technology, electronics and communications industries can be found in the “lower skilled” and “lower paid areas”.

Female Entrepreneurs Make Safer Bet. [Times of Malta, Malta] Research carried out in the UK by Barclays Bank shows that female entrepreneurs are more bankable than males, they are more likely to hold their business together than their male counterparts, and much more likely to repay their loans, Elizabeth Muir, a Welsh expert on the subject, said yesterday. The reason, Dr Muir suggested, may stem from the fact that women are culturally inclined to think in terms of sustainability rather than merely profit-making. Women, Dr Muir said, quoting the statistics produced by the Barclays study, were three times more likely to pay their loans and four times more likely to sustain a business over more than five years - quite a significant statistic, she pointed out, given that 70% of newly set up businesses in the UK were known to collapse within a few years.

Glass Ceiling. [Mortgage Solutions, UK] The changing profile of the market place has created a better environment for women, but many top flight firms are missing out in their men-only zones Slowly but surely, it appears that the status of women in financial services – and particularly the mortgage industry – is improving. One needs only to look at the range of articles lauding the success of the female high-flyers in sales and management to notice the change in what was once an almost exclusively male industry. The number of women forming opinion in the financial press is ever-increasing, as is their presence in marketing and product development functions. But women controlling their own finances is a different story. This year's Bradford & Bingley Savings Barometer – a survey of 1500 savers – shows while women keep a tight rein on the household finances, they are in need of advice when it comes to bigger financial commitments. They are particularly unprepared for retirement. According to the survey, 60% had no idea how much they would need to live on during retirement and 45% of women had not started to save for retirement. Also, 52% of the women who participated in the survey did not think they had enough funds for retirement. However, they are more likely than men to be saving for a deposit for a house and furnishings, and they tend to take responsibility for home improvements and décor.

Women Suffer in Legacy of Male Domains. [Recruiter Magazine, UK] Women may be suffering the legacy of the male-dominated workforce, according to research from management consultancy Hay Group. Hay Group’s Women’s Work? report reveals a significant gap in motivation and ambition levels between men and women, as well as fundamental differences in what drives the sexes in the workplace. According to the study, men are 73% more likely than women to describe to themselves as highly motivated at work. More than half of men (54%) describe themselves as ambitious, compared to just 42% of women. Men are also 62% more likely to be doing their dream job than women, with two thirds of men stating their job is well matched to their skills and abilities, compared to just two fifths of women. Women believe that they would be as much as 46% more productive if they were doing a job they loved, and up to a third more productive with better training, according to the Hay Group study.

Natalia Imbruglia Leads Campaign for Women. [soFeminine.co.uk, France] Natalia Imbruglia is leading a campaign to help women suffering from post-pregnancy injuries. ITV reported that the singer and former Neighbors actress is voicing her concern for women suffering from obstetric fistula in Ethiopia and Nigeria. Young women with the condition suffer constant pain and can become incontinent, and are often rejected by society and cast out by their families. Imbruglia aims to help such women manage alone, and made a series of visits to Nigeria and Ethiopia to see the terrible conditions they live in. There are surgical procedures to lessen their suffering, but they are very costly. Imbruglia, 31, is inviting the public to join in her campaign for better treatment.

Muslim Women and the Niqab: A Sign of Freedom, Multiculturalism. [Hamilton Spectator, Canada] A niqabi Muslim woman might view the niqab as "not a conspiracy or ploy to separate marginalized Muslim women from running loose in society but rather to elevate the beautiful women of Islam to an untouchable status." While most Muslim women wear the hijab (covering of the hair, ears, neck and bosom) and not the niqab, a niqabi vocal minority has defended their own choice as "empowering," "a choice of privacy," "an act of feminism" or "freedom from fashion-slavery." In the west, many non-Muslims and few secular Muslims view the hijab and of course the niqab as a rejection of values held most dear by the western dominant culture. Some view the niqab as a symbol of espousal of terrorism and standing against it is simply defending their personal safety. It is sad to see a Muslim woman's body or what she chooses to wear used by some (intentionally or not) to widen the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in order to achieve their political, religious or personal agendas.

More Women Have Abortions As It Loses Stigma. [Telegraph.co.uk] Women are finding it more acceptable to have an abortion than to drift into an unplanned pregnancy, the head of Britain's leading abortion agency said. Ann Furedi, the chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said one women in five was now childless at the age of 45 and an increasing number were making the choice not to have children at all. Abortion figures continue to rise year on year. Latest figures show that there are about 165,500 abortions for British residents a year. The BPAS says that the opportunity to get pregnant is greater as more women are sexually active for longer, with no intention of starting a family. Contraception could fail and couples would sometimes fail to use contraception.

Another Woman Missing In England. [CBS 4] British police said that they were investigating the case of another missing woman in the area of Ipswich, where a serial killer has taken the lives of five prostitutes, according to British media. The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that a man contacted police, saying he had spoken with the missing woman, and that police helicopters were seen flying low over Ipswich all day, only later confirming that they were searching for another person. According to the reports, police said the missing woman is also believed to have worked as a prostitute in Ipswich. Two other girls were reported missing several days ago, but were later located by police unharmed. If the killer or killers - dubbed by local media the "Suffolk Strangler" - did manage to abduct another sex worker from the Ipswich area, it will have been in spite of a massively increased police presence in the area normally frequented by the city's prostitutes.

Analysis: France's Would-Be Female President Still a Mystery. [World Peace Herald] Socialist Segolene Royal's triumphant inner-party victory boosted her chances of becoming the first female president of France, but so far no one really knows how such a presidency would look. Watching her thanking voters on election night, last Thursday, one can understand why some 61% of France's Socialist Party felt compelled to vote for the relatively inexperienced Royal instead of her seasoned rivals, Laurent Fabius and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. And now Royal will be pinned against Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the ever-present candidate of the conservative party UMP, in the race for France's highest political office.

France Seeks to Increase Number of Elected Women. [People's Daily Online, China] The French government outlined a bill which is intended to increase the number of women in elected position.  Executive councils at the local and regional level would be required to have as many women as men, according to the bill outlined during a French cabinet meeting. For the parties who have more male than female candidates in legislative elections, the fine would be increased, the bill said. France ranks 17th out of European Union's 25 members for the share of women in Parliament, with seven of eight members of the National Assembly being men.

Views on Female Politicians Shift in France. [Angus Reid Global Scan, Canada] Fewer adults in France believe women who participate in public service behave distinctly from their male counterparts. 50% of respondents think female politicians are different than men, down five points since September. Current leader of the Poitou-Charentes regional government Ségolène Royal became the presidential nominee of the Socialist Party (PS) on Nov. 16, defeating former finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn and former prime minister Laurent Fabius in an internal primary with more than 60% of all ballots. Royal announced that the first legislation she would enact if she becomes president of France is "a law against violence perpetrated against women" similar to the one introduced by Spain in December 2005.

Amidst a Sea of Victims, Anne Frank's Name Stands Out in Vast Nazi Archive. [The Associated Press] The lists run into the tens of thousands — men, women and children tossed into the Nazi machinery of death from just one small country, Holland. Most are unknown, lost in the ashes of the Holocaust. But buried in List No. 40 in a frayed ledger in the world's largest storehouse of documents on Holocaust victims, the name Anne Frank is quickly recognizable. Today, her diary has made her world famous, but on a day in September 1944 she was just another name — a terrified teenager herded into a train of cattle cars with 1,018 other Jews, headed east to the concentration camps.

Euphoria Long Gone as Germany's Merkel Marks 1 Year in Office. [The Associated Press] Angela Merkel has cut a convincing figure on the world stage in a year as Germany's first female chancellor. But at home, her government has lost its sparkle. Even though the economy is powering out of stagnation, Merkel's "grand coalition" of Germany's two biggest parties marks its first anniversary with its popularity sagging amid discord among the former rivals and a perceived lack of direction. 

Women Under-Represented in Top Jobs. [Irish Times] Women are still under-represented in top jobs and the State's major decision-making structures. The Central Statistics Office gender report - Women and Men in Ireland 2006- finds just 20% of the members of regional and local authorities are women, that women account for just 34% of membership of State boards and that just 14% of the TDs in the Dáil are female. Women accounted for three-quarters of workers in the clerical and secretarial group, but only around 5% of those in the craft and related occupations CSO report. However, nearly 60% of women were in employment in Ireland this year compared with just over 43% a decade ago. The employment rate for women in the second quarter of the year was 59%, putting Ireland close to the EU 2010 target of 60%. The employment rate for men was over 77%, well above the average EU rate of around 71%.

Employment Rate Among Women hits 60%. [Ireland Online, Ireland] The proportion of women entering the workforce has reached record levels, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO says the employment rate among women was 60.3% in the third quarter of this year, the first time it has ever exceeded the 60% mark.

Murdered Women Commemorated. [Irish Times, Ireland] Nearly half of all resolved cases of female homicide were committed by the partner or ex-partner of the victim. With 125 women murdered in Ireland over the last  ten years - 80 in their own homes - the director of Women's Aid, Margaret Martin, said that the seriousness of the levels of violence against women could not be over-emphasized. "The tragic reality is that some women pay the ultimate price of their lives," she added. Ms Martin called for adequate funding to be given in the year's budget to tackle the issue. "Women's Aid has been making this call for the past four years and still in Ireland every month on average one woman is murdered," she said. The group will hold a minute's silence outside the Dáil this afternoon to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women.

Ulster Girl with Anorexia in Plea to Fellow Victims. [Belfast Telegraph] Seriously ill Ulster anorexic Lauren Martin yesterday urged fellow sufferers to seek professional help. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph from her hospital bed, the 17-year-old trainee hairdresser said the illness was too difficult to beat alone. "It's not a good way to be," she said. "It ruins you. It pulls you apart and destroys you and takes over. You lose all control. I know I needed help. Sufferers need to get help from people who know how to help. "A lot of it is about anger and annoyance and then the stubbornness kicks in."

15 Million Euro for Female Entrepreneurs. [Agenize Giornalistica Italia, Italy] Campania's regional junta, on the proposal of the councilman for Agriculture and Productive Activities, Andrea Cozzolino, for Equal Opportunities, Rosa D'Amelio, and for Education, Training and Work, Corrado Gabriele, has approved the Regulation regarding the regional regime of assistance in favor of women's entrepreneurship and autonomous work. The regulation's goal, for which the Junta has allocated 15 million euro, is to promote, sustain and consolidate female work through help in favor of company and autonomous work initiatives, led mostly and exclusively by women. The projects admissible to the special terms regard the investments programs for the start of new activities, as well as enlargement, adaptation, re-conversion, restructuring of local bodies already existing in the region.

Violence Against Women: Bertinotti, Schools Build Respect. [Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy] Violence against women "still exists and there is much work to do, especially in making more people aware of the problem on a cultural, social and political level". Speaker of the House Fausto Bertinotti said this in a speech on the occasion of the Parliament day on violence against women, in the Sala della Lupa in Senate. Stressing the "growing aptitude for violence in the young generations", Bertinotti asked for an intervention "of school, family, in all places of civil and social formation of children, to prevent degradation, to build respect and recognition of diversity, the refusal of intolerance and of physical abuse, the control of emotions, beyond the relational inequality between man and women and the prejudices that feed discrimination and violence against women". For Bertinotti, "it is necessary to uproot the pervasiveness of some patriarchal forms that still exist, also in Italy, and that feed stereotypes that prevent the full equality between the sexes: cultural stereotypes that also Italian politics hasn't been able to defeat sufficiently".

Violence Against Women: Apply and Update Laws. [Agenzia Giornalistica Italia, Italy] Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, on the occasion of the international day against violence against women sent a message in which he underlines that "today's reality is still dramatic: the data on abortion, rapes, genital mutilation, forced weddings show the tragedy of the situation of women in many parts of the world. But violence against women" Napolitano explains "unfortunately is a phenomenon that is still present in economically developed, democratic countries as well. This year, in Italy, there has been a strong increase women victim of (sexual) violence. The aggression is most frequently registered inside family circles, making it harder to discover the phenomenon and to fight against it. The violence happens despite the specific laws against it and despite concrete assistance for the victims like 'shelter homes' and services for denunciation. The laws must be rigorously applied and, if necessary, updated. But the law alone is not enough. Initiatives are needed to spread a culture of non-violence and respect for the dignity of women in order to actuate the constitutional principles that favor the respect for human dignity and equality between sexes. This culture has to be translated into daily behavior, private and public language in all fields and environments, to become a constitutive element of our civil life".

Low Level of Reporting Violence Against Women. [MRT online, Macedonia] According to the preliminary results from the research conducted by ESE in support with the Institute for Sustainable Communities through USAID funds every second women in the Republic of Macedonia is a victim of psychical violence. 18.6% of the women are physical victims threatened by use of physical force, beating, pushing. Dominant types of sexual violence, which include 10.6% of the women, are unwanted and humiliating sexual relations. Despite of the relatively high% of the victims who consider the family violence as criminal behavior, i.e. 56.9% of them, still the level of reporting the violence in police, CSR or civic organizations is at low level.

Elimination of Violence Against Women Day Exhibits. [Maltamedia Daily News, Malta] An exhibition has been launched to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Most victims of domestic violence are women, but it can also happen to men, children, the elderly and those with mental and physical health problems. The exhibition includes information on the services provided by the Shelters, Ghabex, Merhba Bik, Qalb ta’ Gesù and Tereza Spinelli. It also gives the opportunity to the women and children who are residents of the shelters to exhibit drawings, crafts and so forth, positively acknowledging their talents and abilities.

Dutch Women's Breasts Getting Bigger. [Expatica, Netherlands] Dutch women are getting bigger breasts and 32 percent of them now have a D-cup or bigger compared with 20 percent five years ago. In Europe, Dutch women are ranked third behind British and Danish women in terms of bra size, research commissioned by Bodyfashion Promotion indicated. Some 42 percent of women aged 30-39 have D-cup breasts and feel in general okay about that. Women with a large bra size are now the largest group in the Netherlands. But the shape and size of breasts start to change once women reach the age of 40 and women then opt for a smaller bra size.

Warsaw Gets First Female Mayor. [News24, South Africa] Poland's capital was set to get its first woman mayor, liberal Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, after voters in weekend municipal elections dealt a symbolic blow to the conservative government of identical twins Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, final results showed. The country's national electoral commission gave the 54-year-old banker, who heads Poland's central bank and is vice-president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (BERD), 53.18% of the vote against 46.82% for rival Kazimierz Marcinkiewicw. "With this vote, Warsaw has given a red card to PiS," Gronkiewicz-Waltz said in a speech. "And thanks to women," she said, noting she was set to become the city's first-ever female mayor.

Romanian President Traian Basescu Makes Bad Jokes on Young Female Journalist. [Jurnalul National, Romania] During Romanian President Traian Basescu’s visit at the county hospital in Timisoara, western Romania, he was given a crash-course in resuscitation. As soon as he received the diploma, Basescu volunteered to show his newly acquired skills on the young female journalist who asked him what exactly he had learned during the crash-course. “I will show you provided you climb up and lay down on this table,” said Basescu. If someone would have made the same invitation to his two daughters, I bet Basescu would not have found it very funny or in good taste.

Slovene Premier Asks Parliament to Oust Minister Over Abortion Stance. [Pravda, Russia] Prime Minister Janez Jansa asked parliament to oust a Cabinet minister whose recommendation that women pay for abortions triggered widespread criticism. Janez Drobnic, minister in charge of family, labor and social welfare, refused Jansa's request to step down earlier in the day, saying that he did his job properly. Jansa did not specifically mention the abortion issue, but Drobnic has faced harsh public criticism for the past 10 days after proposing that women seeking abortion pay for the procedure, now covered by the country's health care system up to the 10th week of pregnancy.

Suspect of Krasnoyarsk Petrol Station Female Operator's Slaying Arrested. [Siberian News Online, Russia] A suspect of a shop assistant's slaying of Krasnoyarsk petrol station owned by Mc Dale Ltd has been arrested, Krasnoyarsk Territory prosecutor's senior aid Yelena Pimonenko announced. A 24-year-old man, who appeared to be a relative of the slain girl's female shift mate, was arrested by regional police hot on trail. The man has no previous criminal records. At present police are taking operative and investigative actions to establish the whereabouts of the victim's body and find evidences.

Famous Scots Back Campaign to Halt Domestic Abuse. [Glasgow Daily Record] Twenty well known Scotsmen have joined the international campaign to stamp out violence against women. Today has been chosen by the United Nations as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It marks the start of a 16-day campaign to highlight the issue. For the first time, these high-profile Scots from politics, business, sport, media and the arts have come together to speak out against the violence women experience every day in Scotland.

A Balanced Approach to Gender Will Help Us All. [Sunday Herald, UK] Women make up only one-third of public appointments, and merely 12.5% of the judiciary at high court judge level or above. More women than men are entering higher education, but only 14% of university vice-chancellors are female, and only 15% of Scottish MPs are female. Despite some significant advances - Elish Angiolini's recent appointment as Lord Advocate, or the fact that nearly 40% of MSPs are female - Scotland's movers and shakers tend to be male and white.

First Double Hand Transplant On Female. [Playfuls.com, Romania] Doctors at Sante Fe Hospital in Valencia, Spain, say the first double hand transplant in the world on a female is a success. Surgeon Pedro Cavadas expects results to be "brilliant," The Times of London reports. Within a few months, the woman should have two hands "as close as possible to normality." He said her hands will be "far better" than prosthetic devices. The patient, identified only as Alba, lost both her hands as a result of an explosion from a chemistry experiment 28 years ago in Colombia. Her arms were amputated above her wrists.

Violence Against Women is Close to Home. [NZZ Online, Switzerland] On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Swiss groups have warned that the problem still affects many women in the country. A number of events are being held across the country to help raise awareness of the issue, including distributing more information on advice centers and women's refuges. In Switzerland it has been estimated that one in five women between the ages of 20 and 60 has suffered physical or sexual abuse at the hands of a partner.

More Women Giving Birth at Home. [Daily Mail, UK] More women are choosing to give birth at home. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 17,279 UK births in 2005 took place at home, compared with 15,198 in 2004. Analysis by the NCT showed that the biggest increase - 18.9% - was in Wales, where ministers have pledged to increase the number of home births. That figure is up on the 16.2% recorded in the previous year. Wales now has a home birth rate of 3.61% - the fastest growing home birth rate in the UK, the charity said.