Sixteen days of activism: bringing awareness to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Violence Against Women #ViolenceAgainstWomen
By Wayne Campbell
“Violence against women is a horrific violation of human rights, a public health crisis, and a major obstacle to sustainable development. Let’s build a world that refuses to tolerate violence against women anywhere, and in any form, once and for all.”
– António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) reports that the global cost of violence against women is estimated to be at least $1.5 trillion–or approximately 2 percent–of global gross domestic product (GDP). Still, its impact is often invisible or ignored, when instead it should be featured and funded at the highest levels of the political agenda. There can be no excuses for violence against women and girls.
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The UN indicates that although women and girls account for a far smaller share of total homicides than men, they bear by far the greatest burden of intimate partner or family‐related homicide. Undoubtedly, help is needed in all spheres of society to counter this scourge against our women. Unfortunately, in almost all societies violence against women has been normalized. Oftentimes we go about our daily lives without even paying attention to the levels of violence that is pervasive against women whether online, or in the private and public spaces. The traits and seeds of violence against women are fertilized and nourished very early in most societies through the agents of socialization. From the classroom to the playground, from the street corner to the boardroom men are cultured in numerous ways; some subtle to discriminate against women.
School-related gender-based violence is a major obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls, according to the UN. It must be said too that female teachers have also borne a lot of violence directed against them by their male colleagues. Globally, one in three students, aged 11–15, have been bullied by their peers at school at least once in the past month, with girls and boys equally likely to experience bullying. In many co-educational institutions, almost on a daily basis, boys attack girls. Many of these incidents go unreported– or the perpetrator is given a slap on the wrist. Given that no corrective measure is taken, many of these boys who display such violence tendencies will grow up and very likely become perpetrators of violence against women. Our education system therefore has a critical role to play to interrogate the narrative steeped in patriarchy that says if a man does not beat his woman then the man does not love the woman. The education system will first require an overall or reset in order to raise awareness of gender-related issues. In fact gender related courses should be mandatory for all students at teachers’ colleges. Misogyny has always been an issue in the media. The popular culture, especially dance hall music, particularly dancehall has been known to support the sexualization and objectification of women. This strand of negativity is rooted in a culture of male entitlement over the bodies of women. Most of these lyrics paint the female in a negative and demeaning light and this, too, is problematic. Despite the adoption of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by the UN General Assembly in 1979, violence against women and girls remains a pervasive problem worldwide. Violence against women can be eliminated or greatly reduced. It is for this reason why the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women observed on Nov. 25 is most welcomed.
The day aims to raise public awareness around the issue as well as increase both policymaking and resources dedicated to ending violence against women and girls worldwide. Associated with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women are 16 days of activism against gender-based violence to be observed Nov. 25 through Dec. 10, Human Rights Day. This year’s theme is “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls”; which emphasizes the need for funding prevention strategies to proactively stop gender-based violence. Women’s rights activists have observed Nov. 25 as a day against gender-based violence since 1981. This date was selected to honor the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the country’s ruler, Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).
The United Nations (UN), reports that violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, an estimated 736 million women, almost one in three, have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life. This scourge has intensified in different settings, including the workplace and online spaces, and has been exacerbated by post-pandemic effects conflicts, and climate change. The solution lies in robust responses, including investment in prevention. However, alarmingly, data on how much nations are committing to counteract violence against women and girls remains glaringly sparse.
Why we must eliminate violence against women
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “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 in private life.” The United Nations states, the adverse psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences of VAWG affect women at all stages of their life. For example, early-set educational disadvantages not only represent the primary obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls; down the line they are also to blame for restricting access to higher education and even translate into limited opportunities for women in the labor market.
While gender-based violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, some women and girls are particularly vulnerable – for instance, young girls and older women, women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrants and refugees, indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or women and girls living with HIV and disabilities, and those living through humanitarian crises. Yet, there is still a long way to go at the global scale. The UN reports that to date, only two out of three countries have outlawed domestic violence, while 37 countries worldwide still exempt rape perpetrators from prosecution if they are married to or eventually marry the victim and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence. It is therefore critical that governments enact legislation in order to put in measures to safeguard women rights from institutional violence that sometimes come through marriage.
Climate change and violence against women and girls
Research indicates that women and girls are up to 14 times more likely to be harmed during a disaster. For those who are victims of such events, climate-induced disasters can amplify gender inequalities, making them more vulnerable to GBV. Climate change and slow environmental degradation exacerbate the risks of violence against women and girls due to displacement, resource scarcity and food insecurity and disruption to service provision for survivors.
According to the World Bank, in disasters such as flooding and wildfires, additional workloads may mean that women and girls are not able to be as responsive to domestic demands, increasing household tensions that result in violence. During times of resource scarcity, women are more likely to be coerced into sexual exploitation in exchange for goods or services, and walk increasingly longer distances to find potable water and food, making them vulnerable to sexual assault. Sadly, in some instances when families are unable to meet basic needs, the risk of child marriage increases significantly.
The World Bank adds that displacement increases risk for women and girls, whether in transit, displacement camps, or living without resources. Away from their communities, exposure to violence often increases, including sexual assault, exploitation, and trafficking. Intimate partner violence may increase because of resulting household tensions. The UN adds that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the rate of rape among women displaced to trailer parks increased 53.6 times the baseline rate in the state of Mississippi.
In Ethiopia there was an increase in girls sold into early marriage in exchange for livestock to help families cope with the impacts of prolonged droughts. Nepal witnessed an increase in trafficking from an estimated 3,000–5,000 annually in 1990 to 12,000–20,000 per year after the 2015 earthquake.
Zero gender-based violence
The path to zero gender-based violence will not be easy. Many of us know of instances where violence is targeted against a female, yet we chose to remain silent. Gender-based violence (GBV) is violence targeted at a woman because she is a woman or violence that disproportionately affects women. Surveys compiled by UN Women suggest that 46 percent of women in the Caribbean have experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime. Particularly critical are the cases of Guyana and Jamaica. In Guyana, 55 percent of women reported having experienced at least one form of violence, including intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual abuse. Jamaica has the second-highest rate of femicide in the world.
The UN defines femicide as an intentional killing with a gender-related motivation; femicide may be driven by stereotyped gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls, unequal power relations between women and men, women and women, or harmful social norms. The numbers are alarming, UN Women reports that in 2022, around 48,800 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members (including fathers, mothers, uncles and brothers). This means that, on average, more than 133 women or girls are killed every day by someone in their own family. Current and former intimate partners are by far the most likely perpetrators of femicide, accounting for an average of 55 per cent of all intimate partner and family related killings.
While gender-based violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, some women and girls are particularly vulnerable for instance, young girls and older women, women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrants and refugees, indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or women and girls living with HIV and disabilities, and those living through humanitarian crises. We must pause to remember the women and girls who have recently been displaced by ongoing conflicts in Israel and Palestine, as well in the Russian- Ukraine war.
The adverse psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences of VAWG affect women at all stages of their life. For example, early-set educational disadvantages not only represent the primary obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls; down the line they are also to blame for restricting access to higher education and even translate into limited opportunities for women in the labor market.
Finding solutions
Violence against women is a learnt behavior. Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. In examining the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that seeks to leave no one behind it is clear that we must all examine ourselves to see whether or not we too have contributed or is contributing in any way or form to violence against women and girls. The time has come for us to call out those men who continue to abuse women.
Unquestionably, we will not achieve an inclusive society where gender equality drives the engine of growth, investment and peaceful existence. There should be no shame on the part of the survivor of gender-based violence. Women need to support women more, men need to support women more. Governments need to invest more in women’s organizations, gender responsive legislation. There needs to be more robust prosecution of perpetrators of gender-based violence. Additionally, more support services for survivors such as, more shelters for abused women, as well specialized training for law enforcement officials to deal with gender-based violence are all needed.
It has been documented that in some instances when a woman seeks the assistance of law enforcement regarding violence the advice is that it is a man and woman situation and that she should return to her home which is often the site of the abuse and violence. This narrative needs to be interrogated and disrupted. There needs to be a heightened sense of awareness within the society concerning gender-based violence. Last but by no means least we must not only speak of changes but we should be instructive in bringing about the changes. As a result the national curriculum should be modified to reflect practical ways to address this social issue within the society. There needs to be mandatory modules dealing exclusively with gender- based violence for all students beginning at the primary level. There needs to be new and bold approaches and a paradigm shift regarding how we treat violence against women and girls in order to scaffold women’s empowerment.
In the words of Kofi Annan, 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. Gender-based violence is preventable. Together we can.
Wayne Campbell can be reached via email at waykam@yahoo.com.
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