By Human Rights Watch

  Over the last year, over half a million people have crossed the Darién Gap, a swampy jungle between Colombia and Panama, on their journey north, often to the United States. Venezuelans, Haitians, and Ecuadorians, but also people from other regions like Asia and Africa, risk their lives in this difficult terrain. “This Hell Was My Only Option”: Abuses Against Migrants and Asylum Seekers Pushed to Cross the Darién Gap, the first in a series of Human Rights Watch reports on migration via the Darién Gap, documents how a lack of safe and legal pathways has pushed migrants and asylum seekers fleeing human rights crises in Latin America to cross the Darién Gap. Data analyzed in the report suggests restrictions on movement to Mexico and Central America, often promoted by the US government, have contributed to sharp increases in the number of people crossing the Darién Gap, exposing them to abuses, including rape, and empowering organized crime in the area. Whether seeking international protection or economic opportunities, asylum seekers and migrants deserve safe, orderly, and dignified paths to make their claims or to offer their skills. In all cases, they are entitled to safety and respect for their human rights during their journey.   

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2023. 68p.

By Amnesty International

Based on 112 interviews – including with 51 children – Amnesty International examined the impact of gang violence on children in Haiti. Abuses and violations documented in eight communes of the West Department included: recruitment and use of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and killings and injuries. The impact of the violence on children with disabilities was also documented. The report shows how gangs exploit children in desperate conditions including to run deliveries, gather information, and do domestic chores. Girls as young as 14 spoke of how multiple gang members raped them during attacks on neighbourhoods or after abductions. Researchers documented cases of children who lost limbs and sustained other catastrophic injuries due to stray bullets or from being targeted. Child protection actors said they need significantly more resources to address the situation. The Haitian government must immediately step up efforts to address this assault on childhood, including through mobilizing international assistance. Donors and the humanitarian community must ensure that funding and technical expertise are made available to support Haitian authorities, including in developing a comprehensive child protection plan. Community-based initiatives are needed to start an effective reintegration process for children associated with the gangs. Crucial services such as education and psycho-social support are at the heart of ensuring rehabilitation for the victims  

London: Amnesty International, 2025. 68p.

By Physicians for Human Rights

Survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and rigorous medico-legal documentation is essential to offer survivors a pathway to justice, with standardized forensic medical evaluations playing a key role in documenting and corroborating accounts of sexual violence and torture. To support Ukrainian government officials, civil society, and international partners in building systems to support survivors, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) assessed the medico-legal documentation pathway in Ukraine to identify opportunities to strengthen systems to center survivors’ well-being, autonomy, and access to remedies.

Physicians for Human Rights assessed the medico-legal documentation pathway in Ukraine to identify opportunities to strengthen systems to center survivors’ well-being, autonomy, and access to remedies.

Building on the numerous efforts by Ukrainian authorities and their partners to address challenges to medico-legal documentation, this policy brief outlines current obstacles that impede justice and healing for survivors and sets forth actionable opportunities for the Ukrainian government and other stakeholders for reform. The recommendations put forward in the brief emphasize the need to expand the pool of qualified professionals authorized to conduct forensic medical evaluations in cases of conflict-related sexual violence and torture. They also call for legislative reforms to empower survivors in the justice process, the development of standardized medico-legal documentation tools, and the implementation of capacity-building initiatives to ensure trauma-informed, survivor-centered approaches. Together, these efforts can transform the experience of survivors as they seek remedy and reparation and ultimately facilitate greater accountability and healing.

New York: Physicians for Human Rights, 2024. 10p.

By Mohammad Musfequs Salehin

This open-access book investigates the gendered violence and vulnerabilities experienced by Rohingya men and women, drawing on qualitative data from refugee camps in Bangladesh. It shows that in Myanmar, men suffered torture and sexual violence, while women experienced physical, mental, and sexual violence, legitimized by patriarchal norms. Sexual violence was wielded as a weapon to coerce their exodus from Myanmar and to disrupt the essential facets of Rohingya femininity, motherhood, and reproductive capabilities. Structural, cultural, and symbolic violence affected the Rohingya differently across gender lines. A gendered threat narrative and othering cast women as ‘ugly’ and reproductive threats while men are framed as potential threats to national security and Buddhist nationalism. In Bangladesh, gendered othering continued, with Rohingya men seen as security threats and women as vulnerable victims. This book contributes to peace and conflict studies, gender studies, and migration and refugee studies, by analyzing gendered violence.

Cham: Springer Nature, 2024.