Peace & Freedom: 2023 Fall/Winner issue

Now’s the Time to End Violence against Women and Girls
Graphic from the UN Women webpage, FAQs: Types of violence against
women and girls
By Lois A. Herman
Managing Director, Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN)
The most risky, dangerous situation in the world is to
be a woman, and girls suffer the most persecution of
any group.
Why is violence against women and girls so normalized
and globally prevalent, year after year, in spite of
laws and country commitments? Why does violence against
women continue to be a weapon of war? Why are negative
gender stereotypes and cultural practices left unchallenged,
though they exacerbate disrespect, inequality, and violence
against women and girls?
The media gravitates toward covering sensationalist violence
against women (such as acid burning and femicide), but rarely
to never mentions the fact that most country’s gender budgets
are repeatedly shortchanged such that funding is unavailable
for the data collection, monitoring, development of effective
programs, and enforcement of laws on gender violence.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges
and Lawyers has stated:
When crimes and human rights violations go unpunished,
and assuredly those affecting women, then States should be
held accountable for contributing to a culture of impunity
and lawlessness. When certain types of crimes, such as honor
crimes, affect disproportionately one gender, go unpunished,
the State can, in addition, be held accountable for discriminatory
treatment under the law.
The United Nations has attempted to address this issue
over decades, including the following efforts:
1. The CEDAW Convention (no specific VAW component, but a
general recommendation)
2. The UPR – Universal Periodic Review: “The issue of violence
against women was by far the most prominent one on
recommendations made by countries on women’s rights....
Within violence, the issue that received the more attention
was domestic violence...which was followed by Female Genital
Mutilation and rape, and also sexual violence.”
3. The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
(not an enforceable document)
4. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – and +5, +10,
+15, +20
5. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against
Women – November 25
6. The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and
Girls
7. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
campaign
8. The Secretary-General’s ongoing campaign UNITE to End Violence
against Women
We’ve had so many resolutions on violence against women
and girls at the UN Human Rights Council, the Commission
on the Status of Women, and the General Assembly. There
are continued conferences, seminars, and colloquia on VAW.
Now is the time to hold governments accountable, create
serious policy, and raise global awareness of these violations
at all levels, from local to international.
Now is the time to stop the promises that do not result in
practice, to explore cross-sectorial impacts, and provide the
funding which always seems so elusive to women’s NGOs,
programs, and projects.
Now is the time to move beyond elitism, and power and
profit controls, and to end the impasse, the discrimination,
the inequality, and the violence. We no longer have the time
for formalities and headlines that do not reach the real “pulse
points” in the lives of women and girls.
Why Domestic Violence Matters
By April Rumery
DPoW Committee
Domestic Violence (DV) is a
pattern of behaviors used by
a partner to maintain power
and control over another
partner in a relationship. It is an invisible
killer, physically and emotionally,
which disproportionately affects cisgender
women across all demographics of society.
DV affects us all. Whether overt or covert, it impacts the
contributions of those who face additional impediments to
overcome this experience. The impacts and reverberations of
domestic violence hamper collective progress towards healthy,
thriving, and peaceful societies.
18 | PEACE & FREEDOM FALL/WINTER 2023