Metropolitan Model United Nations Conference XLII UN Women

Violence Against Women (VAW)

November 25th marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW). In recognition of the day and the issue of violence against women, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued the following: "I welcome the chorus of voices calling for an end to the violence that affects an estimated one in three women in her lifetime. I applaud leaders who are helping to enact and enforce laws and change mindsets. And I pay tribute to all those heroes around the world who help victims to heal and to become agents of change."1 Violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights. Violence and abuse affect women in every social class and ethnic group, in every country of the world, every day. In a press release dated 22 November 2013, UNAIDS wrote, Globally, according to the World Health Organization, about one in three women experience physical and/or sexual violence by a partner of sexual violence by a non-partner.2 Up to 70% of women worldwide nearly one billion women have experienced or will experience some sort of VAW in their lifetimes. One in four pregnant women are physically or sexually abused, with harmful affects for both the woman and her unborn child. In South Africa, an intimate partner murders a woman every six hours. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted every 15 seconds. In Ecuador, teachers perpetrate 37 % of all sexual assaults of adolescent girls.3 Violence against women has enormous social, educational, economic, and health impact. Abused women may withdraw themselves from social activities and decrease their contact with the outside world. Girls who are abused often drop out of school, limiting their opportunities for education and economic advancement. Women may also drop out of the workforce, impacting the local and national economies. VAW strains the legal system of many countries. Although numerous countries currently have laws in place to prevent this violence, enforcement is difficult and expensive. As a result, many countries are unable to sustain sufficient legal protection for women. Violence against women also creates extraordinary health risks for girls and women, with huge impact on health care systems in many countries. Pregnant women who are beaten face an increased risk of miscarriage. UNAIDS reports that violence against women increases the risk of HIV infection, citing research that has established a clear association between intimate partner violence and HIV, with women experiencing such violence facing a 50% increased risk of acquiring HIV. Michele Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS called for an end to gender-based violence. Every hour 50 young women become newly infected with HIV. Woman and girls have the right to live free of violence and inequities and to protect themselves against HIV.4

Surprisingly, most violence is not inflicted by stranger but by individuals close to the victims. Two particular examples of this are dowry murder and honor killings. In a dowry murder, her husband or in-laws kill a woman because her family cannot meet their demands for dowry a payment made to a womans in-laws upon her marriage as a gift to her new family. While dowries or similar payments are prevalent worldwide, dowry murder occurs predominantly in South Asia. A 2007 study showed that in India, 22 women are killed each day in dowry-related murders. The violence is not only physical, but can also be emotional or economic. In most societies, the burden of proof falls on the victim, making it difficult to bring claims against the perpetrator. The husband is not the only one who may engage in this violence; incidents of dowry- related violence also involve in-laws, former spouse, or even fiancs. The practice of honor killings involves the homicide of one member of the family by the others due to the belief that one has dishonored the family. Dishonorable actions may range anywhere from inappropriate dress to unfaithful behavior to homosexual acts. Sadly, women are often the targets of these murders. Furthermore, the males in the family are not the only ones who commit these acts, as incidents of mothers killing their daughters have become more prominent. In countries that have prosecuted these crimes, honor suicides have become more common. In these cases, her family essentially imprisons the girl or woman until she kills herself. The United Nations has supported a myriad of agreements between countries worldwide to end the violence. One of these international agreements is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979. It is often viewed as an international bill of rights for women and has been ratified by over fifty countries. In 1993, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was adopted by the General Assembly. This resolution establishes a commitment to improve the status of women. However, with increasing numbers of women being abused, it is evident that this treaty is not as effective as it needs to be. In late November 2013, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women announced grants of over $8 million to 18 countries and territories. These grants will fund a wide variety or programs aimed at reducing VAW.5 This committee may wish to study the kinds of programs that the grants will support. Progress had also been made on this issue through faith-based initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region.6 Questions to Consider: Is VAW a problem in your country? What efforts have been made in your country to curtail VAW? Is your nation actively against VAW? If not, why so?

Notes: 1. Secretary-General's Message for 2013, https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/2013/sgmessage.shtml 2. UNAIDS calls for an end to gender-based violence, http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2013/n ovember/20131122gbv/ 3. http://saynotoviolence.org/issue/facts-and-figures 4. Same as Note 2. 5. http://www.unwomen.org/co/news/stories/2013/11/un-trust-fund-to-end-violenceagainst-women-announces-over-usd-8-million 6. A Mapping of Faith-based responses to VAW and Girls in the Asia-Pacific Region, http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/publications/pid/13190 Other Sources: https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/pdf/UNiTE_TheSituation_EN.pdf This is an excellent fact sheet about VAW. https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/documents.shtml An excellent resource for UN resolutions and actions regarding VAW. http://saynotoviolence.org/issue/facts-and-figures http://www.unwomen.org/ http://www.stopvaw.org/ http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/20/international-violenceagainst-women-act-congress