Gender MainstreamingViolence Against Women

“State Responsibility in Promulgating Promising Tools for

Fighting Violence Against Women”

Samia Raoof AliWorld in ConsultingNCRD 12. Feb. 2014

Gender Based Violence

• What is Gender Based Violence?

Gender Based Violence

• Violence is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women.

• This type of violence is gender-based, meaning that the acts of violence are committed against women expressly because they are women, or as a result of patriarchal gender constructs.

Gender Based Violence

• 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“.

Categories of Gender Based Violence

• These include violence carried out by ‘individuals’ as well as ‘states.’

• These are further categorized into GBV carried by ‘criminal networks’

Gender Based Violence

• The World Health Organization (WHO), in its research on VAW, categorized it as occurring through five stages of the life cycle:

• pre-birth• infancy• girlhood • adolescence and adulthood and • elderly

Gender Based Violence by Individuals

• Rape• domestic violence• Sexual harassment• Coercive use of contraceptives• Female infanticide• Prenatal sex selection• Obstetric violence• Mob violence• harmful customary or traditional practices such as honor

killing, dowry violence, marriage by abduction , forced marriage and, widowhood

Gender Based Violence by Individuals

• harmful customary or traditional practices such as:

• honor killing• dowry violence• marriage by abduction • forced marriage • stove burning• Acid burning

Gender Based Violence by organized Criminal Networks

• Many forms of VAW are perpetrated by organized criminal networks

• Trafficking in women and children • Forced prostitution • Slavery • Trafficking in Human Organs

Gender Based Violence Approached at International Level Instruments

• Through Conventions• Directives

Gender Based Violence Approached at International Level Instruments

• 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 & 19.

• The 1993 World congress on Human Rights, which recognized violence against women as a human rights violation, and which contributed to the following UN declaration.

• 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. (Include current 2nd paragraph here). 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.

Gender Based Violence Approached at International Level Effots

• The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development linking violence against women to reproductive health & rights, and also providing recommendations to governments on how to prevent & respond to violence against women and girls.

• In 1996, the World Health assembly (WHA) declared violence a major public health issue, and included in the subtypes recognized were intimate partner violence and sexual violence, two kinds of violence which are often perpetrated as violence against women. This was followed by a WHO report in 2002 (see below)

• In 1999,the UN designated November 25 as the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women

• In 2002, as a follow-up of the WHA declaration in 1996 of violence as a major public health issue, the World Health Organization published the first World Report on Violence and Health, which addressed many types of violence and their impact on public health, including forms of violence affecting women particularly strongly. The report specifically noted the sharp rise in civil society organizations and activities directed at responding to gender-based violence against women from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Gender Based Violence Approached at International Level Instruments

• In 2004, the World health Organization published its "Multi-country study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women," a study of women's health and domestic violence by surveying over 24,000 women in 10 countries from all regions of the world, which assessed the prevalence & extent of violence against women, particularly violence by intimate partners, and linked this with health outcomes to women as well as documenting strategies & services which women use to cope with intimate-partner violence.

• The 2006 UN Secretary General's "In-depth study on all forms of violence against women," the first comprehensive international document on the issue.

• The 2011 Council of Europe Convention on Prevention and commbatting violence against women and domestic violence, which is the second regional legally-binding instrument on violence against women and girls

• In 2013, the United Nations Commission on Status of Women (CSW) adopted, by consensus, Agreed Conclusions on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls (formerly, there were no agreed-upon conclusions).

Gender Based Violence Approached at International Level Instruments

• 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

State Responsibility in Promulgating Promising Tools for Fighting GBV

• In response to the International Conventions, Declarations and Milestones, national governments and individual countries have also organized efforts (legally, politically, socially) to prevent, reduce and punish violence against women.

Gender Based Violence

• What Measures are important to address GBV?

• Awareness • Sensitization• Legislation • Prevention• Protection• Rehabilitation

Gender Based Violence– Adoption of specific legislation

• Criminal sanctions• Civil remedies including protection/restraining and/or expulsion orders

• – Development of awareness-raising campaigns, including large-scale media

campaigns• National days of action on gender violence• “Zero tolerance” campaigns• Efforts to involve men and boys in prevention activities

• – Provision of training for specified professional groups

• Including police, prosecutors, and members of judiciary•

• Development of national action plans to coordinate VAW activities

Gender Based Violence• General methods of seeking to fulfil protection

obligations:– Provision of services• Telephone hotlines• Health care• Counseling centers• Legal assistance• Shelters• Restraining/Protection orders• Financial aid to victims

Gender Based Violence– Address lack of enforcement of protective measures by the police or the judiciary

• – Address absence or inadequate provision of services

• Lack of shelters force women to continue living with abuser• Focus on short-term emergency assistance neglects to provide victims with means

of avoiding re-victimization. •

– Provide effective and appropriate mechanisms to prevent further harm in situations where women have already been victims or are at known risk of violence

• – Provide a safe and conducive environment for reporting by establishing strong

victim/witness protection measures, such as restraining or expulsion orders, which protect women from retaliation

• – Provide quality physical and psychological health services, and material assistance

such as shelter or child maintenance.

State Responsibility in Promulgating Promising Tools for Fighting GBV

• Legislation

• Punishment

State Responsibility in Promulgating Promising Tools for Fighting GBV

• In the Context of Pakistan• Criminal Law (Crimes in the name of Honour)

Amendment Act, 2004• The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws

Amendments) Act, 2006. July 7, 2006 more than 1300 women languishing in jails because of the controvesrial Hadood Ordinance were released on immediate bail

• Prevention of Harassment at Workplace Act, 2010• Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act, 2010

State Responsibility in Promulgating Promising Tools for Fighting GBV

• In the Context of Pakistan• Two additional bills were signed into law by the

President in December 2012 criminalizing the primitive practices of Vani, watta-satta, swara and marriage to Holy Quran which used women as tradable commodities for settlement of disputes.

• Furthermore special task force was established in the interior Sindh region for action against the practice of Karo Kari

• Help lines and offices established in the districts of Sukker, Jacobabad, Larkana and Khairpur

The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendments) Act, 2006

• This bill amended the Pakistan Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws to provide relief and protection to women against misuse and abuse of law and to prevent their exploitation. This law actually amended the Zina Ordinance and the Qazaf Ordinance 1979. The amendments of the Hudood Ordinances have broken the “myth” that the Hudood Ordinances are God made laws and should not be altered. The Hudood Laws which were imposed on the people of Pakistan through an Ordinance (undemocratically) were amended by a democratic process.

• These also gave relief to women who were unfairly registered under Zina Ordinance when they complained of Rape

Prevention of Harassment at Workplace Act, 2010

• The purpose of this Bill is to ensure a work environment where women and men can feel safe at work and to have fair accountability system for any gender harassment or abuse at the workplace.

• Whereas Islam and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan aim at elimination of all forms of exploitation, protection of body, liberty, reputation and dignity of men and woman and safeguard against discrimination based on gender.

• Further recognize the principles of equal opportunity and right to earn a livelihood without fear of abuse and harassment; it is, therefore, necessary and expedient to provide a law for guaranteeing safe work environment and eliminating discrimination.

Prevention Act, 2010 Acid Control and Acid Crime

• This bill was introduced and was passed in national assembly in 2010 in relation to protection against acid crimes and rehabilitation of and compensation for victims of acid crimes.

• Whereas constitution recognizes the fundamental rights of women and children to security of life and liberty and dignity of person;

• And whereas it is expedient to institutionalize measures which prevent and protect women and children from acid crimes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;

Role of State and Civil Society

• Collaboration of the two is important to address GBV

• Activism• Awareness • Information• Networks at all levels

• Thanks for your Patience