Today is celebrated worldwide as the international day for the elimination
of violence against women. In 1999,the UN adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination
of Violence against Women.
The
pertinent question to ask is what we understand by violence against women. The UN Declaration
on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states that:
"Violence against women is a manifestation of historically
unequal power relations between men and women" and that "violence
against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced
into a subordinate position compared with men. Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based
violence, is collectively,
violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women. Sometimes considered as hate
crime
targeted against a specific group with the
victim's gender as a primary motive. This type of violence is
gender-based, meaning that the acts of violence are committed against women
expressly because they are women.
Classification of
violence
Violence against women can fit into several
broad categories.
A.
Violence perpetuated by "individuals».
Some of the forms of violence perpetrated by individuals vary from harmful
traditional practices to behavioral patterns of culprits. Harmful traditional
practices or customary rites such as mutilation, breast ironing, marriage, honor, dowry
violence, abduction. Behavioral pattern assigned violence such as rape, selection, domestic, female infanticide, sexual
harassment; coercive use of contraceptives,
emotional abuse.
B.
Violence perpetrated or condoned by
the state such as war rape, sexual
slavery during conflict; sterilization, forced, violence by the police and authoritative personnel; stoning and flogging, violence
against immigrant and refugee women
C. “Societal” violence which include
different forms of violence not clearly such as incent and child abuse, race
and class violence, trafficking in women and forced prostitution,
violence against women at work, violence
against women with disabilities, mistreatment
of widows Dating and courtship violence (e.g. acid throwing and date rape);
economically coerced sex (e.g. school girls having sex with "sugar
daddies" in return for school fees, teacher student sex and employer
employee sex)
Violence
against women is a worldwide yet still hidden problem because violence is a
concept that most of us have a hard time imagining because violence is such a
deep part of our cultures and our lives. In
the struggle to end violence, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence,
which is an international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global
Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in
1991 starting from November 25- International Day Against Violence Against
Women to December 10- International Human Rights Day- in order to
symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that
such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also
highlights other significant dates including November
29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, United
Nations' International Day of Persons with Disabilities – December 3 International Volunteer Day – December 5.
The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by
individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all
forms of violence against women by:
-
raising awareness
about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national,
regional and international levels
-
strengthening local
work around violence against women
-
establishing a clear
link between local and international work to end violence against women
-
providing a forum in
which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies
- demonstrating the
solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women
- creating tools to
pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against
women
Over 3,700 organizations in approximately 164
countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign since 1991
Take action;how to stop violence against women(VAW)
Given the devastating effect violence has on women, efforts have
mainly focused on responses and services for survivors. However, the best way
to end violence against women and girls is to prevent it from happening in the
first place by addressing its root and structural causes. Notwithstanding here
are some measures put in place.
1.
Public policies and
interventions
-The
1979 Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which recognizes violence as a
part of discrimination against women in recommendations 12 and 19
-The
1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women was the
first international instrument explicitly defining and addressing violence
against women. This document specifically refers to the historically
forever-present nature of gender inequalities in understanding violence against
women. This
Declaration, as well as the World Conference of the same year, is often viewed
as a "turning point" at which the consideration of violence against
women by the international community began to be taken much more seriously, and
after which more countries mobilized around this problem
-Also
in 2013, the UN General Assembly passed its first resolution calling for the
protection of defenders of women's human rights. The resolution urges states to put in place
gender-specific laws and policies for the protection of women's human rights
defenders and to ensure that
defenders themselves are involved in the design and implementation of these
measures, and calls on states to protect women's human rights defenders from
reprisals for cooperating with the UN and to ensure their unhindered access to
and communication with international human rights bodies and mechanisms
-national levels have
also enacted comparable legislative, political and
social instruments to address violence against women.
2. Education for
prevention
It’s primordial to sensitive the
World at large to join the battle.
Firstly by understanding the root causes of violence in communities, and
secondly to educate and involve all persons to prevent such violence, and to
learn about where to access support if violence is experienced.
3.
Speak up campaigns
Because of threats during violating of women or shame, most
victims do not speak up thereby letting go unpunished their violators and perpetuation
of crime. Therefore “speak ups” should be encouraged.
4.
Partnership for change
Building partnerships with long-term goal of reducing the
prevalence of gender-based violence through behavior and attitudinal change
among boys and men.
5.
Empowering women
The prevention through the promotion of gender equality,
women’s empowerment and their enjoyment of human rights is another master piece
to prevention of violence which enables women to challenge the deeply rooted
inequalities and social norms that perpetuate men’s control and power over them
and reinforce tolerance for violence against women and girls. It also means
making the home and public spaces safer for women and girls, ensuring women’s
economic autonomy and security, and increasing women’s participation and
decision-making powers—in the home and relationships, as well as in public life
and politics.
6.
Defending Ourselves Against Violence.
Self-defense can increase the options and choices that we have in any given
situation, including situations where we are at risk of violence. Self-defense
itself is a choice that is made at a particular moment
Challenges faced by women in implementing measures
Even though measures have been taken to fight against violence on women,the applicability and results sort are almsot discouraging either at the preventive level or at the level of justice.there can be a de jure or the facto acceptance of violent behaviors and lack of remedies for the victims
I.
Lack of criminalization. In many places, acts
of abuse, especially acts such as female
genital mutilation, marital rape, forced marriage and child marriage, are not criminalized,
or are illegal but widely tolerated, with the laws against them being rarely enforced.
There are instances where crimes against women are also categorized as minor
offenses.
II.
Lack of awareness of the existing laws. In many places,
although there are laws against violence on the books, many women do not know
of their existence. This is especially the case with marital rape - its
criminalization being very recent in most countries.
III.
Challenges in making a case in court. The burden of proof can
be placed on the victim. It can also be difficult to make a case of sexual
assault in court, when members of the judiciary expect evidence of severe
struggle and injury as determinative evidence of non-consent
IV.
Existing laws are insufficient, conflicting, and have no effect in
practice.
Some laws on domestic violence, for instance, conflict with other provisions
and ultimately contradict their goals. In Ukraine, a law on domestic violence
also provides that the police can arrest the victim for
« provocation ». Legal
frameworks can also be flawed when laws that integrate protection do so in
isolation, notably in relation to immigration laws. Despite advances in
legislation and policies, the lack of implementation of the measures put in
place prevents significant progress in eradicating violence against women
globally. This failure to apply existing laws and procedures is often due to
the persisting issue of gender stereotyping.
V.
Persistent
discrimination. The barriers that women face in participating in the justice
system as lawyers, law enforcement officers etc. also play an important role in
perpetuating a lack of concern for women victims of violence. In war and
post-conflict times, women are often denied a seat at the negotiation table
despite the role they may have played in peace building processes, thus
preventing issues such as sexual violence to be pushed forward on the agenda.
VI.
Blaming the victim.
The most common emotional responses to sexual harassment, battering, and rape
are guilt, fear, powerlessness, shame, betrayal, anger, and denial. Guilt is
often the first and deepest response. We may feel guilty about violence done to
us because we are taught that our job is, to be likable, to be nice to men, to
make men happy and if they aren't, we are to blame. So “Boys will be boys, so
girls must take care"--the message being that we can avoid unwanted male
attention if only we are careful enough. If anything goes wrong, it must be our
fault. Blaming the victim releases the man who commits violence from the responsibility
for what he has done. Friends or family may blame the victim in order to feel
safe themselves: "She got raped because she walked alone after midnight.
I'd never do that, so rape won't happen to me.” Or “she got raped because of
her provocative dress” etc. there is no excuse whatsoever for crime. Women are
not guilty for violence committed by men on our body, mind, and spirit.
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