One Billion Rising brought worldwide publicity to the campaign to end gender violence.
Ending Gender Violence. What Works?
Condemnation of violence against women is widespread. But how do communities actually eliminate these attacks?
Maeve Shearlaw, Guardian.co.uk, 12 February 2013
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/feb/12/talk-point-ending-gender-violence?intcmp=239
A woman marches with underwear reading ‘Not one more minute of violence against women’ during a demonstration in Guatemala City, 2011.
Widespread protests in India followed the gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus, putting the country’s record on tackling gender violence in the spotlight and giving global prominence to an often sidelined “women’s” issue.
The attack, in December, led to a tightening of legislation on sexual assault in India. But will legal changes and tougher punishments for perpetrators change people’s attitudes to violence? Many countries have laws outlawing rape and assault, but traditional attitudes about women and towards sexual violence often undermine legal processes and prevent people from reporting crimes.
For example, Afghanistan’s constitution offers protection to women, yet domestic violence, sexual harassment and trafficking are common. Such behaviour is often considered a family matter, dealt with through the country’s informal justice systems, largely composed of male elders, making it difficult for women to speak out.
Although South Africa has a progressive constitution that enshrines women’s rights, the gang rape of a girl with disabilities in South Africa last year highlighted a continued ambivalence towards gender violence.
In Somalia, a woman who reported a rape was jailed for a year, along with the journalists who interviewed her.
Statistics on gender violence are stark. In 2003, the UN said worldwide one in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. Up to 140 million women and children are living with the effects of female genital mutilation. Women are more at risk in conflict situations where sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. Violence can result in physical, mental and reproductive health problems, including increased vulnerability to HIV, and is a violation of human rights.
In March the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will discuss the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. The issue is a priority under the UK’s leadership of the G8 this year.
via Golden Age of Gaia
