Earthcharter

Two weeks ago, we celebrated the work of 18 Tampa-area businesses who support the vision of the Earth Charter through their commitment to people and planet, in addition to profit in their business practices. Today, we learned about the Zimbabwean Women's Rights Project that one of our recent winners, DLA Piper, is involved in.

First, some background. Around the time of the 2008 presidential elections in Zimbabwe, a number of Zimbabwean women were victims of torture and sexual abuse at the hands of the youth militia of the ruling party, ZANU-PF, as a result of their expressed or perceived support of the opposition party. Over the last year, DLA Piper lawyers have been working with the organization AIDS-Free World, under their partner non-profit, New Perimeter, to document, publicize, and address politically-motivated abuses against Zimbabwean women.

The assistance of DLA Piper lawyers in collecting 70 sworn affidavits from victims laying out the details of their stories, was integral in the production of the report recently released by AIDS-Free World titled "Electing to Rape: Sexual Terror in Mugabe's Zimbabwe". The lawyers through the New Perimeter organization also analyzed the data that was collected and provided legal analysis.

The ongoing efforts of New Perimeter lawyers to litigate and provide advocacy strategies to AIDS-Free World demonstrate an impressive commitment to the principles of the Earth Charter. Read the full report, "Electing to Rape: Sexual Terror in Mugabe's Zimbabwe", and more about the pro bono work of DLA Piper lawyers at NewPerimeter.com.