Sunday, June 28, 2009

Bolivia - Violence Against Women and Girls

From BBC News:
Seven members of Bolivia's Mennonite Christian community have been detained over the alleged rape of 60 women or girls from their own community.

Alleged victims in the Manitoba colony, which is in Bolivia's eastern lowlands, include girls as young as 14, a prosecutor said.

The allegations emerged after the suspicious behaviour of one of the men alerted community elders.

All of those accused deny the allegations against them.

Some 30-40,000 Mennonites live as farmers in Paraguay and Bolivia.

While many Mennonites, particularly in North America, are indistinguishable from their neighbours and have religious beliefs very similar to mainline Protestant and Evangelical groups, others reject modern life and live in isolated communities.