Joining Hands for Women’s Rights:

Combating Violence Against Women

Human Rights Council (HRC)

Brianne Berry - IES Alfonso Moreno

 • In March 2006, the General
Assembly voted to create the
Human Rights Council
– Replaced the Commission on
United Human Rights.
Nations • Addresses human rights violations
around the world.
Human Rights
• Composed of 47 countries
Council – elected by a majority of the General
(UN HRC) Assembly through a secret ballot.
• Member states required to uphold
human rights in their own
countries and policies – can have
membership suspended
• Meets 3 times a year
 History of Violence Against Women
• Human Rights concern that
affects millions of women
around the world in both
developed and developing
countries
• Women especially vulnerable
to physical and sexual abuse
because social circumstances
enable or excuse violence
• Occurs both families/intimate
relationships and in public
• Crosses social, cultural and
religious barriers
 Statistics of Violence Against Women

• 10-50 % of women report being

physically abused by someone close
to them
• 12-25% have been victims of rape
or attempted rape by someone
close to them
• World Bank Study reports women
between ages of 15-44 are more
likely to die from rape/domestic
violence than from war, cancer,
malaria, and motor accidents
• ***only reported statistics from
participating countries***
Violence Against Women Takes Many
Forms

Women can be abused in domestic situation or because

of social or cultural trends.

Women are particularly vulnerable in times of conflict

when gender-based violence may be used as a tactic of
war.
 Traditional Forms of Violence
• Violence against Women
often occurs as a part of
cultural practice or belief
1. Female Genital Mutilation
2. Honor Killings
3. Dowry Murder
4. Early Marriage
• Some of these practices
are “necessary” rituals for
a girl/woman to be
accepted in society
• These forms are often not
considered to be
“violence” at all
• Tradition and culture DO
NOT excuse violence
• Although it is important to
respect traditions of a
society…
• It is also important to
recognize women’s rights
to safety, health and dignity
• Integrity of cultures CAN
be protected while at the
same time ensuring its
women’s safety and respect
 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
• Operation performed on female
babies and children to remove
parts of their genitalia
• To promote hygiene and ensure
“purity” – sometimes a transition
to womanhood
• Prevent women from having sexual
desires – make her unfaithful to
husband
• VERY damaging
– Performed in unsanitary conditions,
leads to infections/ HIV
– Lifelong pain, difficulty in childbirth,
and sterility
• According to UNITE to End
Violence against Women:
– >130 million females have undergone
FGM and suffer from effects
 Honor Killings
• Killing of a relative, especially a girl or
woman, who is perceived to have
brought dishonor on the family.
• Women accused of engaging in illicit
sex, (including rape), are murdered by
male relatives
• Accused of “damaging” families’
honor by behaving shamefully–deaths
“redeem” families reputations
• Occur in many countries where
“purity” is linked to honor
– Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt,
Guatemala, Iran, Israel, Jordan,
Pakistan, etc
• >1,000 women in Pakistan every year
• Honor Killings not often punished
• UN Population Fund ~ 5k women
each year
 Early Marriages
• Girls forced into marriage at a very young
age – human rights violence when there is
not consent of the bride
• Parents believe they are ensuring
daughters security later in life by making
her marry a wealthy man
• Worst cases can entail:
– Kidnapping, threatening, physical violence,
rape, murder
• In some countries, a rapist isn’t punishes
if he marries victim
• Posing huge risk to girls
• Psychologically harmful,
• Sex at a young age – emotionally &
physically damaging
• Young pregnancies hurt girls and may
result in death
 Early Marriage Statistics
• 1/3 of girls in the • Education ends abruptly;
developing world are women are taken away
married before the age of from families/support
18 and 1 in 9 are married systems; no chance for
before the age of 15.
personal growth
• In 2012, 70 million women
20-24 around the world
had been married before
the age of 18.
• Girls who marry before 18
are more likely to
experience domestic
violence and sexual abuse.
 Dowry Murder
• Dowry: an amount of property
or money brought by a bride to
her husband on their marriage.
• Sometimes a woman’s family is
unable, or refuses to pay the
dowry
• Dowry Murder: women who
are murdered or driven to suicide
by continuous harassment and
torture by husbands and in-laws
in an effort to gain an increased
dowry.
• In many countries (India), dowry
payments have been outlawed to
discourage killings, however they
persist
 Other Forms of
Violence Against Women

Victims in Conflict
Prenatal Sex Selection
Trafficking
HIV/AIDS
 Victims in Conflict
• Women are especially
vulnerable in times of war
• Soldiers often use rape as a
tactic of war – to humiliate
women and families
• Displaced women in refugee
camps are vulnerable to attack
and abuse
• 1994 Rwanda genocide --
~1/2 million women were
raped
 Prenatal Sex Selection
• Aborting a child based on
their gender
• Common in South Asian
countries, despite laws that
ban the procedure
• Daughters = less economic
asset, can’t contribute to
income, require dowries
• Largely populated countries
have pressure for 1-2 children,
resort to sex selection to
ensure they have sons
 Prenatal Sex Selection Statistics
• Profitable business for doctors
• National Fertility and Family Health
Survey of the Republic of Korea
reported:
– 90% of pregnancies with a male fetus
resulted in normal birth
– 30% of pregnancies with a female fetus
were aborted
• Abortions often inexpensive and easy
to access
– In Vietnam, walk-in abortion is $10
• According to UNICEF, easy access to
ultra sounds / abortions in India has
led to 7,000 less girls born every day
• Chinese boy/girl ratio is 135 boys to
100 girls
 Trafficking
• Women trafficked/transported from
one country to another and forced to
work as sex workers, in unsafe labor
condition in factories, or exploited in
other ways
• Women often deceived into believing
they will have a safe job – only to be
put in a situation resembling slavery
• Women often have no protection when
they arrive – if they seek help, they are
arrested fro illegal immigration or
illegal prostitution – scares women into
not getting help
• 127 countries of origin, 137
destination countries
• 2 million girls > 15 are trafficked as sex
workers worldwide
 HIV/AIDS and Violence
• Women’s inability to protect
themselves from unwanted
sex.
– Physical and sexual violence
against women is linked to more
women getting HIV/AIDS.
• Lack of education on
HIV/AIDS – women don’t
know it can be spread through
unsafe/unwanted sex
– In Bangladesh, only 1 in 5
women have heard of
HIV/AIDS.
– Sudan, only 5% knew HIV
could be spread through
condom
 HIV/AIDS and Violence
• Women who are victims of
violence are 48% more likely
to get HIV/AIDS
• Violence leads to lack of
treatment
– Women who make their HIV-
positive status public are
often abused or kicked out
• Fear of violence has caused
60% of women in Zambia
to avoid seeking treatment
• 1998, South African women
was stoned to death by men
after making status public.
 Causes of Violence Against Women
• War
• Traditional beliefs about women’s role in society
• Misconceptions about masculinity (what it means to be
a man)
– Men are more likely to be abusive when they believe “real
men” don’t show signs of weakness or should be
controlling/forceful
– Women’s rights is making men feel powerless – leads to
violence to show dominance
– Men in Philippines more likely to be violent if they are
unemployed or earn less
• Gender roles are more prominent in developed
countries than developing
So….What have
we done about
this???
Declaration on the Elimination
of Discrimination Against
Women
• 1967 – Proclamation of
the UN General Assembly
• First sign of international
acceptance of the equality
of women
• Declared discrimination
against women as
“fundamentally unjust
and...an offence against
human dignity”.
Convention on the Elimination
of all forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)
• 1979 – next international
step towards protecting
women
• Defined men and women
as equals
• Declares nations must
take whatever effort
possible to eliminate
discrimination against
women for any reason.
 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
Against Women
• For a long time, people
believe violence against women
was a family/cultural matters
and not an international
issue.
• As countries and men began
to see women as equals –
leaders began to realize
violence against women is a
human rights issue
• Finally, international
attention was brought to the
problem.
• 1993, passed by the UN
General Assembly
• Document that recognizes
woman’s right to equality and
protection under the law
• Calls for all member states to
ensure their laws protect
women from violence and
punish offenders
• Calls for international
cooperation on programs that
provide medical care and
counseling to victims.
 Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
• In 1994, Commission on Human Rights appointed
Special Rapportuer in order to collect information
about the causes and consequences of violence
against women and to recommend ways to eliminate
it
• In 1996, Special Rapporteur recommended:
– Refugee camps improve security for women
– Passing of laws punishing those who abuse women
– Outlaw early marriage
– Educate public about the dangers of rape
– Outlaw FGM
– Take legal action preventing young girls from being
trafficked as prostitutes
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

• In 1996, General Assembly adopted Resolution 50/1066

– Urged UNIFEM to concentrate on ways to reduce violence
against women and to focus on empowering women by helping
them find jobs
• Holds sensitivity training sessions for governments– teaching
lawmakers about special dangers women face
• Created men’s network to combat gender inequality – makes
reducing violence against gender not only the responsibility
of women
• Set up trauma-counseling centers where many women are
trafficked as prostitutes
• Assisted rape victims and educated men about the emotional
trauma of rape
• Supported program that encouraged people to replace female
genital mutilation with other rituals
 Stop Rape Now

• UN program against
sexual violence in conflict
•12 UN entities
• Three pillars:
• Learning by Doing
•Advocating for Action
•Country Level Action
• Hopes to address the
problem of sexual
violence and eradicate it
in areas of conflict
Violence against women is a complicated
problem with many causes to
address.
This issue must be considered from many
different perspectives.
 Delegates Must:
• Try to encourage governments to punish offenders who
abuse women and to provide assistance to victims of
violence;
• Discuss ways to help women who cannot be aided by
governments, such as women in war zones, refugees of
women who are being illegally trafficked;
• Consider the importance of education, such as teaching
people about the harms of certain cultural practices (like
female genital mutilation or dowries) and teaching people
that men and women have equal value;
• Show respect for the differences in cultures and the
importance of local traditions; and
• Consider how to fund these measures