To mark this year's 16 Days campaign - a global effort to promote action against gender violence - the IRC is publishing a series of blogs on the work with women and girls of IRC staff around the world. Heidi Lehmann, director of the IRC's gender-based violence programmes, introduces the series >

Fearing rape in eastern Congo

Julie had just blown out the kerosene lamp when suddenly the night was pierced by enraged shouts and the sound of a door being kicked open. Eight armed men wielding machetes and automatic rifles burst into her house. More >

IRC women honoured

Two remarkable IRC women have been honoured by the media for their outstanding achievements working with refugees. Find our more about Sarah Spencer and Khadija Bahram. More > More >

Pakistan crisis

While hundreds of thousands have returned to rebuild their lives in Pakistan's conflict-ridden Swat Valley, some of the poorest people in the country are unable to return to their destroyed homes and crops. More >

"Have you ever wondered?" Download our Annual Review 2008, this year themed around feelings of displacement, and find out what your support makes possible. It's one of our ways of saying thank you.

A hidden crisis When the civil war in the Central African Republic ended in 2007, observers hoped that peace would usher in a new era. Instead the country faces a crisis that threatens to plunge the population even deeper into misery. More >