Elimination of Violence

against Women and Girls

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against
Women Proclaimed by General Assembly resolution
48/104 of 20 December 1993.

Recognizing the urgent need for the universal

application to women of the rights and principles with
regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and
dignity of all human beings.
 UN History re violence issue
• 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000 UNICRI - first International Crime Victimisation
Survey (ICVS)
• 1992 General Recommendation of the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW).
• 1993 UN Declaration on Violence against Women/Girls
• 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
• 2000 Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women
• 2008 UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign
• 2013 CSW 57 Elimination of Violence against Women
 Unite to end violence
against women

“Violence against women and girls continues

unabated in every continent, country and
culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s
lives, on their families, and on societies as a
whole. Most societies prohibit such violence –
yet the reality is too often, it is covered up or
tacitly condoned”
(UN SG-Ban Ki Moon, 8 March 2007).
http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence
 World Facts

• 70% women/girls suffer violence

• 40 – 70% of women murdered killed by close partner
• 162 countries have laws against violence but perpetrators walk free
• 4.8 million children aged 6 – 15 live in conflict areas. Over half are female
and all are out of school
• Over 66% women in the Pacific are affected by DV.
• Boys start viewing pornography at 8 years of age
• More violent video games – ‘brutality cascade’
 Why violence against women/girls?
Lack of respect for human rights
Structural factors include:
dehumanising, forced labour, social exclusion
Failure to deal with core problem (What is it?)
Opt for short term solutions not long term planning
There is lack of:
prosecution, data, political will, policy coherence, gap
between commitment and action;
We all contribute to it indirectly!!!
 What stops women/girls?
Mindsets, Do you say “No”?
Attitudes, How do you behave to others?
Violence, What shows belittle girls?
Culture, Does your boyfriend tell you what to wear?
Undermining of effective decision making,
Subtle discrimination (pregnancy, care giver, sidelining pay and
promotion, less transparency, women left out of negotiations,
assignment of work, entry to jobs)
 Counteracting violence
A proposal

Elizabeth Broderick (Sex Discrimination Commissioner)

Positives:
paid parental leave,
flexibility in work arrangements,
pay rises for women,
doubling of women in business,
male champions on change,
boys/men encouraged to change stereotypes
 Violence against girls

• Every 3 seconds there is a child bride in the world

• 1 of 3 girls in developing countries (excluding China) is likely to marry
before the age of 18
• There were 14.1 million child brides in 2012
• Most of these girls are poor, less-educated & live in rural areas
• 2010 – 2020 39,000 girls under 18 will be married each day
• Early marriage (10years) leads to higher mortality, fistula problems,
school drop out, child bearing before maturity, etc
• Pregnancy and birth complications - main cause of death among
adolescent girls 15-19 in developing countries.
 Trafficking in Persons

TIP Global report:

• 83% countries have TIP legislation
• 16% no convictions, 23% 1-10 convictions 34% no prosecutions
• Forced labour in Africa big issue, big flow from East Asia; fine line
between TIP and exploiting migrants
• Often ‘victim’ prosecuted – employer freed

TIP Report: practical way of making

countries aware of extent of TIP & moral
issues. Need better implementation.

Root causes need addressing e.g. labour

demand, poverty, inequality etc
 Violence Against Children
‘Across the world, violence affects millions of children who are
working, legally and illegally.
Violence against children & child labour are closely related.

UN Study on Violence against Children recognizes high incidence of

violence in workplace, including ill-treatment by employers and
sexual violence of child workers.
It noted “of all the settings where children are exposed to violence,
the workplace is among most difficult to address.”
 How to Change

Counteract violence/discrimination by:

make discrimination visible, uncover situation,
law suits,
leadership from top,
increase transparency,
objective evaluation,
flexibility,
stop buying from companies that harass,
monitor change.
Women/girls need normative standards of equality, acceleration
of practical equality & social change. Use CEDAW in approaching
government “our government signed…”
 Positives
Important factors:
1.Hiring motivated, educated, female teachers willing to teach in
conflict regions 
2.Female teachers are influential role models
3.Girls and their families can become motivated to make girls’
education a priority.
4.Ensuring community leaders encourage girls to attend schools.
5.Conflicts create new communities (refugee camps & migrants)
community leaders help by pooling resources, creating alternative
education strategies, alleviating localized violence against girls.
6.Educators build fences & walls around schools, hold classes in
mosques or community centres, and create stronger buildings to
sustain girls’ education during conflict.
 Action Plan to prevent violence
1. Create and implement school based curriculum
2. Public awareness campaign – explain & get men’s interest
3. Scale up by-stander intervention e.g. banging pots in Sth Africa,
doorbell ringing in India,
4. Scale up media campaign
5. Develop scale of prevention strategies to help victims
6. Implement alcohol reduction strategies
7. Restrict access to guns
8. Minimize violence prevention programs as women gain skills
9. Parent training for fatherhood
10. Research and evaluate interventions
 CSW57 Agreed Conclusions

• This agreement is one step more for realizing the rights and
dignity of women and girls.
• By adopting this document, governments have made clear that
discrimination and violence against women and girls has no
place in the 21st century.
• The document calls for increased attention and accelerated
action for prevention and response.
• The important focus is on prevention, including through
education and awareness-raising, and addressing gender
inequalities in the political, economic and social spheres.
 Reasons to stop violence

• Violence against women/girls human rights issue

• World can’t afford cost of violence
• Full participation of women/girls is worthwhile economically
and culturally

What surprised you? What challenged you? What will you do?