End Violence against Women by UN Women 2:38pm 25th Nov, 2013   Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. According to a 2013 WHO global study, 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence. However, some national studies show that up to 70 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime from an intimate partner.    To raise awareness and trigger action to end this global scourge, the UN observes International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November. The date marks the brutal assassination in 1960 of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic.    Every year, 25 November and the ensuing 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence which follow (ending on 10 December, Human Rights Day) are commemorated around the world, providing individuals and groups a chance to mobilize and call attention to the urgent need to end violence against women and girls.    Ending violence against women is one of UN Women’s key priority areas, with programmes addressing the pandemic implemented globally. UN Women also coordinates the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign and supports widespread social mobilization through its Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter. In addition, UN Women manages the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women which commemorates its 17th anniversary in 2013.    International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.    Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation. It is violence against families, communities, nations and humanity. It is a threat to international peace and security, as recognized by the UN Security Council. It has reached a crisis point and demands action from all of us, young and old, women and men.    Today on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and every day, we must stand up, speak out and be part of creating solutions to end these human rights violations.    Leaders have a responsibility to take action to end all forms of violence against women and girls and to protect 50 per cent of the population. Today as part of the UNiTE campaign, the Secretary-General and I invite you to join us and show your solidarity by wearing orange for a brighter future. We invite you to declare with us that every woman and girl has the fundamental human right to live free from violence.    Today an estimated one in three women will be subject to violence in her lifetime. One in three girls will be married as a child bride before the age of 18. Approximately 125 million girls and women in the world have suffered female genital mutilation.    Trafficking ensnares millions of women and girls in modern-day slavery. Rape is a rampant tactic in warfare. And femicide, the murder of women because they are women, is taking an increasingly brutal toll.    This violence knows no borders and it affects women and girls of all ages, all income levels, all races, and all faiths and cultures. From conflict zones to urban spaces to university campuses, this violence compels all of us to be preventers of this pandemic and to take action NOW. The vast majority of cases go unreported and unacknowledged and survivors are left wounded, invisible and suffering in silence. This situation is intolerable.    Today I call on world leaders to show determination and mount a response that is proportionate to the violence threatening the lives of women and girls. It is time to take the necessary measures, in line with international human rights standards and the agreement reached earlier this year in the Commission on the Status of Women, to prevent and end violence against women.    To be effective, prevention must address its root cause: gender inequality. We need education in schools that teaches human rights and mutual respect, and that inspires young people to be leaders for equality. We need equal economic opportunities and access to justice for women. We need women’s voices to be heard. We need more women politicians, police and peacekeepers.    Let us continue to explore innovative prevention strategies and employ technology, including mobile technology, to raise awareness and protect women’s rights.    We need to protect women and girls from being violated and when violence takes place, we need to ensure access to essential services for all survivors. This includes health services, shelters, hotlines, police, justice and legal aid. We must ensure that women and girls are safe and that perpetrators are held accountable for their crimes and brought to justice.    Through the Safe Cities global initiative, we can reach women all over the world and reach law enforcers closest to where these crimes are committed. We have to reach out and work with men and boys and with young people.    It is a glaring omission that ending violence against women was not included in the Millennium Development Goals. I urge all UN Member States to make ending violence against women and girls a priority in the new development framework that comes after the MDGs expire in 2015. UN Women is calling for a stand-alone goal on women’s rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality.    With determined leadership for prevention, protection, prosecution and provision of services for survivors, we can end this global pandemic. It is up to all of us. Together we can end violence against women and girls.    http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women    Violence against women is unacceptable – no matter what she was wearing, by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.    Violence against women remains one of the greatest scourges of our time. It is disgraceful that even today, for many women and girls everywhere, violence is lurking around street corners, in workplaces or in their very own homes. And too often, justice is elusive.    In Busia, Kenya, in June this year, a 16-year-old girl was gang-raped and thrown into a six-metre-deep pit latrine, breaking her back and leaving her with obstetric fistula. Police chose not to prosecute the men, instead ordering them to cut grass around the police station as punishment. The news unleashed a rare outpouring of public indignation and a petition was signed by 1.4 million people. The “Justice for Liz” campaign led the Chief Justice of Kenya to call for immediate action in the case.    Why did it take agitation by 1.4 million people to begin the process of justice which is the victim’s fundamental human right?    Halfway around the world, in Auckland, New Zealand, when a 13-year-old girl had gone to the police to report that she had been raped by three young men, one of the first questions she was reportedly asked was: “What were you wearing”. This was in 2011. Two years later, after many similar attacks by the same gang, it took a public exposé to rattle the authorities into action. The Independent Police Conduct Authority of New Zealand has been ordered to look into the handling of these cases and police are now finally conducting the investigations they should have begun two years ago.    Sadly, these are not isolated cases. Such crimes occur on a daily basis in countries across the world, but they rarely make headlines or lead to public outrage and action by high-level officials. In most parts of the world, women are too ashamed or fearful to report violence, particularly sexual violence, to the police. And when they overcome various societal barriers and taboos to file a complaint, they are all too often met with callous, insensitive official reactions, effectively blocking all access to justice.    Violence against women and girls has been perpetuated by centuries of male dominance and gender-based discrimination. Building on deeply entrenched social norms that frame women’s worth around discriminatory notions of chastity and “honour”, violence is often used to control and humiliate not only the victims, but also their families and communities. It is essential to challenge such notions, which often permeate the justice system itself, resulting in a vicious cycle of impunity and further violence.    The UN Committee on the Elimination on Discrimination against Women and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women have been documenting violence against women, its causes and consequences in all parts of the world and recommending measures to eliminate such violence and to remedy its consequences. These recommendations must be taken seriously. States are obliged by international human rights law to ensure that the criminal justice system, at every stage, is free of gender bias, including in investigation, prosecution, interrogation and protection of victims and witnesses, and in sentencing.    The suggestion that women have a propensity to lie and that their testimony must be corroborated or treated with caution should be eliminated from every level of the judicial process, as must the idea that women invite sexual violence by being out late or by dressing in a particular manner.    On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us do our part to eliminate the harmful gender stereotypes that help perpetuate a climate where violence against women is considered acceptable or “deserved”. Violence is simply and totally unacceptable – no matter what she was wearing.    http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/16Days2013/Pages/16DaysIndex.aspx Visit the related web page
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