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	Violence against women is an expression of women’s subordination and inequality by UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women   September 2013   The most common motivation of some men who have admitted to rape is the belief that they are entitled to sex even without the female partner’s consent, according to a newly released United Nations study of some Asia and Pacific countries, which urges greater measures to end impunity for men who use violence against women and girls.   According to the survey of 10,000 men at nine sites, nearly half reported using physical and or sexual violence against a female partner, and nearly a quarter admitted to having raped.   “The study’s findings reaffirm that violence against women is an expression of women’s subordination and inequality in the private and public spheres,” according to a joint news release by a coalition of the survey’s authors: UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women and United Nations Volunteers (UNV).   The study’s findings reaffirm that violence against women is an expression of women’s subordination and inequality in the private and public spheres.   The findings show how men’s use of violence against women is associated with men’s personal histories and practices, within a broader context of structural inequalities.   According to the men surveyed, rape was particularly common within relationships, but one in 10 men admitted to raping a woman who was not their partner.   Half of those who admitted to rape reported their first time was when they were teenagers. Some 23 per cent of the men who had admitted to rape in Papua New Guinea and 16 per cent in Cambodia were 14 years or younger when they first perpetrated rape.   In addition, four per cent of the people asked said they had perpetrated gang rape against a woman or girl.   Of the men who had committed rape, 72 to 97 per cent were never punished, “confirming that impunity remains a serious issue in the region,” according to the survey in nine sites across Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka.   The study, entitled Why Do Some Men Use Violence against Women and How Can We Prevent It? Quantitative Findings from the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific, was conducted by Partners for Prevention, a regional joint programme of UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNV programme in Asia and the Pacific.   The authors stressed that the study was conducted in nine sites in six countries and the data is representative of those sites, but not of the whole Asia-Pacific region nor the entire individual countries.   Its goal was to better understand how common men’s use of violence is against women in the region, what factors are relations to men’s use of violence and what can be done to prevent violence from occurring.   Among the factors common to men who perpetrated violence against women, the authors found that the men were more likely to have experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse as a child ranging from being publically humiliated or insulted to sexually abused, or witnessed the abuse of their mother.   Although not as prevalent as women’s experience of rape, some men reported also being rape by other men as adults.   A large proportion of men also suffered from work-related stress, depression and suicidal tendencies.   Although these factors are not meant to excuse men from their actions, the authors wrote, they provide a historical and societal contexts that also contributed to violence against women.   “While violence against women cuts across all socio-economic groups and sites, the study suggests that the sue of violence may increase among men who have less power compared to other men and who experience social stresses such as those caused by substance abuse or by poverty,” the authors wrote, adding that violence against women is used possibly as a way to reassert some level of power or control.   To prevent such violence, the study recommends changing social norms related to the acceptability of violence and subordination of women through community mobilization programmes and engagement with people who influence culture.   Other recommendations include promoting non-violent and caring ways to be a man, for example through sustained school-based or sports-based education programmes, as well as working with young people, with a particular focus on boys and adolescents, to understand consent, and healthy sexuality, and to foster respectful relationships.   The study also calls for ending impunity for men who use violence against women, particularly marital rape, through criminalization of all forms of violence against women, and promote legal sector reform to ensure effective access to justice.   * Part of the UN research has also been published in The Lancet Global Health.   http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/9/violence-against-women-event-at-ga68 Visit the related web page
	Madagascar - Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism: For all to see, in Total Impunity by Special Rapporteur Najat Maalla M’jid UN Office in Geneva   26 July 2013   United Nations Special Rapporteur Najat Maalla M’jid today encouraged the Government of Madagascar to step up efforts to combat efficiently the scourge of child sexual exploitation, duly protect all children at risk and victims of sale and sexual exploitation and severely punish offenders. Ms. Maalla M’jid expressed deep concerns at the banalization of sexual exploitation of children and at the impunity benefitting perpetrators. “The scourge of sexual exploitation of children through prostitution or sex tourism is omnipresent and too often justified by poverty. Its exponential growth, in particular since 2009, underlined by all stakeholders met, is alarming.   Its actual scope remains difficult to determine, due, among other factors, to reluctance to report and fear of reprisals. The low number of reported cases is very rarely followed by heavy sanctions, as provided by Malagasy law,” the expert stressed at the end of her official visit to Madagascar.   The Special Rapporteur noted the alarming poverty affecting 92% of the population, as a result of successive political crisis. This great socio-economic precariousness affecting families and communities has considerably increased the number of children out of school and the vulnerability of children to all forms of economic and sexual exploitation. She also raised with concern the survival strategy adopted by many parents who encourage their children to enter prostitution.   During her mission to Madagascar from 15 to 26 July, Ms. Maalla M’jid met with various State and local authorities, as well as representatives from UN agencies, the diplomatic community, civil society and the private sector. She also met child victims and went to the main spots of child sexual exploitation in Antananarivo, Toliara, Nosy Be and Toamasina.   Madagascar has a relatively complete legal framework but the implementation of these laws is significantly compromised by a lack of effectiveness due to corruption, impunity and difficult access for children to reporting mechanisms ensuring their protection and security. Amicable settlements take place at the expense of the rights of children, whose voice is rarely taken into account.   Furthermore, numerous efforts have been undertaken: the National Committee for the Protection of Children, Child Protection Networks, Centres for legal and psychological counseling, the “Green Line” and awareness raising campaigns aiming at combatting these crimes.   Despite all these initiatives, care and assistance to children remains very partial and suffers from a significant lack of resources. Budgets allocated to social services have been drastically reduced, especially affecting the Ministry of Population and Social Affairs which, in spite of being the cornerstone of child protection and social protection, only has 0,68% of the total State budget.   The Special Rapporteur stressed the gravity of the situation and the necessity to act urgently in order to ensure an integrated protective framework for children. The eradication of the sale and sexual exploitation of children in Madagascar will be a lengthy process which will require guaranteeing the strengthening of institutions’ capacities and services for children, the fight against impunity, operational intersectoral coordination, the establishment of sustainable socio-economic alternatives and the promotion of protective social norms. These measures will be dependent on a stable political context respectful of human rights.   “It is unacceptable that so many lives of Malagasy children are sacrificed under the excuse of the current political and economic crisis,” the Special Rapporteur said, insisting on the need to develop a responsible, ethical and protective tourism, reminding the responsibility of countries of origin of sex tourists. Ms. Maalla M’jid encouraged the international community to support the establishment of integrated child protection and development plans at the local level in order to efficiently combat all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation of children.   * Ms. Najat Maalla M’jid is Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. She is independent from any government or organization: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Pages/ChildrenIndex.aspx http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/MGIndex.aspx Visit the related web page
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