Opinion>>Only changes in attitude will eliminate violence against women


First published: 2010-11-24

Alice Kerr-Wilson argues that both changes in attitudes and better law enforcement are necessary to stop further human rights abuses against women.

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world. It can be systematic or opportunistic. It takes place in war and in peace. It happens on the street, in women's homes, at work or in other public places. It is almost always a means of subjugating and controlling women and girls. According to UN figures at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in the course of her lifetime. Rape by strangers or employers, trafficking for sexual exploitation, female infanticide and female genital mutilation are, of course, in addition to domestic violence. Perpetrators are predominantly male and usually known to the victim. Whilst perpetrators and victims come from all backgrounds, poor women and girls are most vulnerable to violence according to the Indian National Family Health Survey. When a woman is abused it affects not only her physical and psychological health, but also impacts on her ability to leave the home, to work and earn money, to participate in public life and to look after her children. Violence against women also results in enormous economic costs to societies.

"Violence against women impedes achievement of broader development goals, including the MDGs."

Women's organisations have always been the main providers of support services for victims of violence. However, over the past few years, the international community has slowly started to acknowledge, not only that women's rights are being violated in such great numbers, but that violence against women impedes achievement of broader development goals, including the MDGs. The Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women has been ratified by 186 countries. Many have put into force national legislation to criminalise abuse of women, including abuse within marriage. However, whilst this is a step forward, the difficulty is in enforcing these laws, where the capacities of the security and judicial sectors are weak or reluctant to do so. As violence against women and girls is an extreme manifestation of gender inequality, ending it requires fundamentally changing attitudes towards women's roles and the relationship between men and women at all levels of society.

In 1999, the UN General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and invited governments, international organisations and NGOs to organise activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on that day. Between that day and International Human Rights Day on 10th December, there will be 16 days of activism to end violence against women. This year, the UK government will mark the 25th November by launching its revised National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 which addresses the need for women to participate in peacebuilding and to be protected from violence in times of conflict.

SDDirect is currently working with the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) on two projects focusing on violence against women. UNIFEM has developed a web-based, one-stop shop www.endvawnow.org to support policymakers, activists and advocates around the world in effective design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes. For this, we are developing an online guide, providing guidance, tools and good practice case studies on how to work with the security sector to address violence against women and girls. The website will be relaunched and updated on the 25th November to coincide with the International Day.

We are also delighted to have been awarded a contract to conduct a baseline study for Phase Two of the DFID-funded UNIFEM programme: Supporting women's participation in peacebuilding and preventing sexual and gender-based violence: Community-led approaches. This innovative multi-country programme focuses on community-level initiatives to ensure that national commitments to women's rights and needs, including where they relate to violence against women, result in changed attitudes as well as increased security on the ground. This work builds upon an evaluation of the first phase of the programme, which SDDirect conducted for UNIFEM in 2009. The study will take place in Timor Leste, Liberia, Haiti and Uganda and will be completed next year.

This year, we are taking action during the 16 days of activism to follow up our activities in October which commemorated the 10th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. We screened Lisa F. Jackson's award-winning documentary The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo at the Barbican in London and launched a postcard campaign to press UK Foreign Secretary William Hague to implement UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. This was followed by an online campaign which attracted close to 200 signatures. To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we are extending the online campaign. For each signature, an email will be sent to Mr. Hague, pressing him to act now.

To join us fighting violence against women, please sign the petition by clicking on the widget on our home page or go to Change.org/Women's Rights - Stop the rape in the Congo.

As always, SDDirect is interested in hearing your views. Please send your feedback to info@sddirect.org.uk