Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN & GIRLS
WOMANKIND Worldwide
is working to end violence against women.
Violence against women is a direct consequence of the inequalities between women and men. It denies women their most basic human rights, such as the right to health, and undermines the social and economic development of communities and whole countries.
One of WOMANKIND's aims is to reduce violence against women, by:
- providing direct support to women and girls affected by violence
- supporting education and awareness-raising activities
- informing and influencing relevant laws, policies and practices
What is violence against women?
In all societies, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture.
Poverty, marginalisation and specific
aspects of women’s identity, such as their race or ethnicity, leaves
some women more vulnerable to violence. While men also experience violence,
women’s lower social status puts them at particular risk and the number
of cases of violence against women continues to grow at an alarming rate.
The 1992 UN Declaration on Violence Against Women, the first international human rights instrument to address the issue, contains this definition:
‘The term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life’.
Some women experience domestic violence in the family at the hands of an abusive partner or relative. Others face sexual harassment in the workplace. In some countries, women are subjected to harmful traditional practices — such as female genital mutilation — which can leave them scarred or severely traumatised, or may be forced to marry at an early age, increasing their vulnerability to abuse. Women may also be forced into prostitution by traffickers and, in times of conflict, it is women who are most likely to be the target of sexual violence, especially rape. And abuse is not just physical, but may also be emotional, sexual or psychological.
What is the effect of violence against women?
WOMANKIND believes that violence against women is an abuse of their fundamental human rights, including their rights to health and freedom from torture.
Aside from the physical, emotional and mental toll on women, violence prevents women from participating fully in society. Violence limits women’s access to resources, such as land, water and food and their ability to participate in activities such as work, education, travel and community meetings.
Violence against women also carries
economic costs for both the individual and society, including missed work,
health care for survivors, emergency shelters and legal procedures to bring
perpetrators to justice. For these reasons, violence against women constitutes
a major obstacle to development, peace and security.
What causes violence against women?
WOMANKIND believes that discrimination and unequal power relations lie at the heart of women’s greater vulnerability to violence and that addressing the inequality that is deeply entrenched in all societies must be central to our responses to the issue.
Throughout history, violence has been used as a way of controlling women, both within the family and the wider society, and reinforcing their subordinate position to men. There are a number of cultural, social and political factors which perpetuate and exacerbate the problem. Factors such as cultural norms, military tactics, negative media images, inadequate laws to prohibit violence against women, government complacency and the absence of educational programmes to address the causes and consequences of violence.
Equally, the issue of violence against women cannot be separated from other important issues affecting women, such as HIV and AIDS. Women are at a heightened risk of infection due to violence; but are also subject to violence if their positive status is disclosed.
What is WOMANKIND doing to tackle the problem of violence against women?
The forms of violence that we respond to and the types of responses may differ from country to country but in each instance, we encourage women and men to work together and to involve the wider community in order to bring about lasting change in attitudes and behaviours. We also bring partners together to share information about lessons learnt and new strategies and to use this information to inform future planning and to shape the views of decision-makers.
For example:
- In Ghana, WOMANKIND supports Community-based Action Teams or COMBATs
to find local solutions to the problem of domestic violence. Our partners
are also part of a wider coalition that has successfully lobbied the government
to pass a law prohibiting violence against women.
- In Peru, WOMANKIND supports organisations providing a range of services
to women survivors of domestic violence, including legal advice and representation,
counselling and a help-line. They also conduct research and advocacy work
aimed at changing public attitudes towards violence against women.
In addition to our country programmes, WOMANKIND is also lobbying for improvements in current policies and practices to tackle violence against women and raising awareness of the issue, both in the UK and at the international level. For example:
- In November 2009, with a coalition of other UK-based organisations, we called on the UK government to make ending violence against women a priority in its foreign, defence and aid policies.
- Each year, as part of the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, WOMANKIND promotes the link between local and international work to end violence against women. For example, in November 2009 we brought five of our partners from Ghana, Nepal, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Peru to the UK to share innovative best practice with UK women's activists. The 16 Days period symbolically links November 25th, International Day Against Violence Against Women with December 10th, International Human Rights Day, to emphasise that violence is a violation of women’s human rights
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