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Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia (IRIN) – Cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), as well as domestic violence, are increasing in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland, with social workers attributing the trend to hard economic times made worse by recent drought in the region.

“Numbers of the displaced have increased in recent months, with many families coming to town to escape drought; lack of a police presence within the camps and inadequate lighting have contributed to the increase in some of these cases,” Shukri Osman Said, an SGBV coordinator for an NGO, Comprehensive Community-Based Rehabilitation Somaliland (CCBRS), told IRIN at the Stadium IDP camp in Hargeisa.

The Stadium IDP camp, home to an estimated 5,000 families (30,000 people), is one of several IDP camps in Hargeisa where humanitarian organizations such as CCBRS have ongoing programs aimed at addressing SGBV among vulnerable communities.

According to Said, CCBRS has been running the SGBV program in the IDP camps since 2006 with funding from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

“On average, CCBRS handled between 15 and 20 cases of SGBV per month; however, we have noticed that the cases of domestic violence have increased dramatically; in 2011 alone, we had over 500 cases of domestic violence,” Said told IRIN.

“Our SGBV prevention program has helped somewhat because the SGBV cases have started reducing; our concern is the rise in domestic violence, which is mostly due to men not coping well with economic hardship and ending up venting their frustration on their wives.”

The CCBRS program, she said, had a component targeting those with physical disabilities and provided orthopedic aids – such as wheelchairs – to some of the affected IDPs. SGBV coordinators from CCBRS also made home visits for physiotherapy sessions, provided counseling and psycho-social support and referred those requiring specialized treatment and/or legal aid to relevant institutions.

“Most of the victims of SGBV are poor and cannot afford treatment in private hospitals; some cannot even afford the transport to public hospitals, so we help by referring them to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in the main hospital in Hargeisa,” Said told IRIN.

“We also refer those requiring legal aid to organizations that help women seek justice.”

Hawo Yusuf, a member of the management committee at the Stadium IDP camp, said the committee supported SGBV survivors by helping them be accepted by society.

“We help construct shelter for those in need of a place to stay, especially those who become pregnant; we help by tracking and [apprehending] the perpetrators, although our efforts are frustrated when these people are freed without being charged with any offense.”

Livelihood projects

According to UNHCR Somaliland, Hargeisa is home to approximately 85,000 displaced people who have fled their homes mostly from south and central regions of Somalia, due to various reasons, including drought, limited livelihood opportunities and increased violence.

“IDPs often live in difficult conditions, more often than not with limited access to basic facilities such as adequate healthcare, good shelter and clean water and sanitation amenities, ample security as well as employment opportunities,” the agency said.

“UNHCR engages IDPs in Hargeisa in various projects like solar lighting or animal husbandry that will equip them with the necessary skills to start up their own businesses and provide a better life for their families.”

CCBRS is implementing an income-generating project, funded by UNHCR, aimed at empowering woman in the IDP camps. Started in 2008, the project has helped transform the lives of the IDPs by providing them with better livelihoods.

Fouzia Hassan, mother of eight and one of the beneficiaries, told IRIN: “All my children are now in school, thanks to the US$600 grant I received to boost my bread-making business. My business has expanded and I now make between 55 and 65 loaves a day, something I could not have dreamt of doing before the start of this project.”

Hassan said she can now take care of her family better: “I can meet their medical bills, I have built a latrine for the family’s use and I have installed a water tank, this is now my home. It has changed my life and my family’s.”

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– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – There’s no place like home–when it comes to giving birth.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of home births in the United States has risen dramatically since 2004.

Births taking place outside of the traditional hospital setting increased 29 percent between 2004 and 2009, from 0.56 percent of all births, to 0.72 percent, or almost 30,000 births.

For non-Hispanic white women, the increase was most pronounced, with a 36 percent increase.

The rise in home births is believed to be attributed to personal preference, although some experts point to the lower costs of giving birth at home.

Highlights in the report include:

• Among white women, home births increased 36 percent, from 0.80 percent in 2004 to 1.09 percent in 2009
• For white women, home births account for one in every 90 births
• In other racial and ethic groups, home births are less common
• Home births are more common among women aged 35 and over, and among women who have had other children.

Births that occur in the home more often involve lower risk pregnancies, with fewer among teenagers or unmarried women, and fewer pre-term, low birth weight or multiple births.

In 2009, home births varied from a low of 0.2 percent in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, to a high of 2 percent in Oregon and 2.6 percent in Montana.

Some of the benefits of home birth are privacy, comfort and continuing care from someone who women have a more personal relationship with.

The biggest objection to home births are concerns about safety for both the mother and the infant.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 21 rose by 21,000 to 377,000, compared with the previous week’s revised figure of 356,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The less volatile four-week moving average was 377,500, a drop of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 380,000.

DOL figures show that the total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Jan. 7, the most recent week for which such data is available, was 7,638,233, down by 188,612 people from the previous week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 14 were:

• Florida (+2,711)
• California (+1,682)
• Iowa (+596)
• West Virginia (+571)
• District of Columbia (+115)

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Washington, D.C, United States (AHN) – It appears that quite a few Americans got pink slips for Christmas.

In the week before the holiday, the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose.

Roughly 381,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Dec. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was more than forecast and marked an increase of 15,000 from the prior week when claims dropped to their lowest level since April 2008.

Continuing claims, which include Americans filing for their second week of claims or more, increased 34,000 to 3,601,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the most recent data shows.

Initial claims tend to be volatile around the holidays, so many economist say not to read too much into the increase. Thursday’s numbers are still well below the level of applications for claims during the same period a year ago.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe warned on Friday about an alarming rise in anti-Semitism in European countries in the past three years.

The organization held a conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss an increase in hate crimes that appears to reflect anger over conflicts between Middle Eastern countries and Western nations.

The hate crimes have been directed at both Muslims and Jews.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is an intergovernmental group chartered by the United Nations that promotes security and human rights. Its 56-member nations in the northern hemisphere include the United States.

Representatives from the organization met in Washington Friday to talk about the kind of hate crimes described in a recent OSCE report on attacks against people targeted for their ethnicity or religion.

When the report was released Nov. 16, Janez Lenarcic, the OSCE’s director for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said, “It is extremely worrying that bias-motivated violence continues seemingly unabated in our region.”

The report was based on hate crime statistics from 33 countries. It concluded that the global economic crisis is contributing to hate crimes by angry and frustrated people.

In one example, police in Sweden’s third-largest city of Malmo reported 21 anti-Semitic crimes in the first six months of 2011, compared with 20 in all of 2010. A top police official acknowledged in a radio interview the actual number is probably higher.

The Swedish government set aside $600,000 in September to increase security around Jewish synagogues.

In France, police are reporting a rise in the number of Jewish tombstones defaced with swastikas.

In Belgium, recent news reports told about two teenaged girls who changed schools after being taunted and beaten in separate incidents because of their Jewish heritage.

On Thursday, a group of lawyers announced in Brussels, Belgium, they have organized a task force to fight anti-Semitism throughout Europe.

The five-lawyer task force is spearheaded by the European Jewish Union and the European Jewish Lawyers Association.

The task force was organized to respond to “the increasing and constant growth of anti-Semitism in the whole of Europe and the campaign to delegitimize Israel…,” a resolution from the groups said.

They plan to share information, tactics and strategies to counter anti-Semitism, they said in a statement. The group is modeled on the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League.

As the OSCE announced its report on rising hate crimes, the group also complained about the lack of cooperation by its member nations in collecting data.

Only 31 of the 56 nations asked to submit hate crime data responded to the OSCE’s survey, the group said.

“Significant gaps in data collection remain a major obstacle to understanding the prevalence and nature of hate crimes within most participating states and across the OSCE as a region,” said the report by the organization’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “A number of participating states do not collect any statistics at all on hate crimes. Some participating states collect data, but do not make the data public.”

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – There was a 33 percent rise in the number of extended family members living with relatives and friends compared to a decade ago, indicating the impact of the recession on American life.

According to data from the 2010 Census, at least 54 million people are sharing the same house with adult children, siblings, parents and roommates.

The numbers changes the social landscape after 30 years of the nuclear family being the rule in U.S. households and many adult children leaving home upon turning 18.

Experts explained that the phenomenon of the extended family growing among American households is the result of the unprecedented number of foreclosures and high unemployment rates across the country.

Among the states where the number of adult children living with their parents were noticeably high were in Virginia which registered a 45 percent increase, Maryland (40) percent and the District of Columbia (29 percent).

However, it is more than just a response to the hard times, but also part of the societal changes in the U.S., which include the baby boomers caring for their aging parents and the rise in number of Hispanic and Asian immigrants, who are still used to the extended family arrangement.

One option available when family members and relatives need to be accommodated on a long-term basis is to build an extra room or space within the existing structure,

Michael Litchfield, author of the book In-Laws, Outlaws and Granny Flats, wrote that by staying within the existing footprint when renovating a house to take in extra people would save the family money and help comply with housing codes.

Litchfield listed six options, namely: to convert the basement, garage or attic into a new unit or remodel exiting rooms, build a detached cottage or construct a smaller house on shared walls.

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As the economy grows, credit unions’ saving balances are expected to stay steady and their loan balances are expected to rise during the next two years, according to CUNA economists, who met last week to update their outlook for economic conditions and credit union operating results.

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The financial sector spotlight was on insurance giant and investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Thursday morning, a day after the abrupt resignation of executive David Sokol, who purchased shares in Lubrizol before making a recommendation that his firm buy the company. Berkshire Class A and B shares both fell about 1.5%. Sokol profited on his purchase of Lubrizol shares after Berkshire agreed to buy the company after he had bought them. In the broader financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR , which tracks the financial stocks in the S&P 500, fell 0.5%. In the banking sector, the KBW Bank Index ETF added 0.7%. The Federal Reserve will release the identity of commercial banks which received emergency loans during the peak of the financial crisis in 2008 later on Thursday. The material spans the period from August 8, 2007 until March 1, 2010.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Underwater mortgages rose to 23 percent at the end of 2010. In Nevade, underwater mortgages account for roughly two-thirds of home loans.

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Reforms are needed to protect consumers from being unfairly hounded by debt collectors

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