PHM-Exch> UN Agreements on Ending Violence Against Women

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: sarojini N.B <sarojinipr at gmail.com>


*Women’s Rights Activists Welcome UN Agreements on Ending Violence Against
Women*



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2013

Today, the UN Member States resoundingly committed to ending violence
against women and girls, including strong agreements on promoting gender
equality, women’s empowerment, and ensuring reproductive rights and access
to sexual and reproductive health services.

The Agreed Conclusions of the 57th Session of the Commission on the Status
of Women represent another important step forward, building on the global
momentum of the past twenty years, which has created a strong framework by
which to end all forms of violence against women, young women, and girls.

Women’s health and rights organizations congratulated the governments who
have defended the human right of women and girls to live free from all
forms of violence. We have seen two weeks of intense negotiations, in which
culture, tradition, and religion have been used to try to deny women their
rights.

In this context an important outcome of the Agreed Conclusions is the
recognition accorded to women human rights defenders, who often come under
attack when they defend universal human rights, including sexual and
reproductive health and rights.

The Agreed Conclusions explicitly call for accessible and affordable health
care services, including sexual and reproductive health services such as
emergency contraception and safe abortion, for victims of violence. For the
first time the CSW Agreed Conclusions have urged governments to procure and
supply female condoms. The CSW reaffirmed previous commitments made in the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and in the Programme of Action
at the International Conference on Population and Development and the key
actions for its further implementation.

Governments have also recommitted to important strategies such as
comprehensive sexuality education, the need to end harmful practices
perpetuated in the context of negative culture and traditions, and the need
to focus services based on the diverse experiences of women and girls,
including indigenous women, older women, migrant women workers, women with
disabilities, women living with HIV, and women who are held in state
custody. The links between HIV and violence against women was noted
throughout the Agreed Conclusions. The Agreed Conclusions condemned and
called for action to prevent violence against women in health care
settings, including forced sterilisation.

Violence against girls is also a major theme throughout the document. The
Commission calls for an end to child, early and forced marriage, which is
an increasing problem in many countries. Worldwide, 67 million girls are
forced into marriage before the age of 18. Countries also committed to
improving safety of girls on their way to and from school, at school, and
in playgrounds; ensuring educational opportunities for girls who already
married and/or pregnant; and preventing, investigating, and punishing acts
of violence against women and girls that are perpetrated by people in
positions of authority, such as teachers and religious leaders.

The Agreed Conclusions emphasize the role of men and boys in ending
violence against women, and call for national policies to counteract gender
stereotypes that present women and girls as subordinate to men and boys.
The CSW calls on governments toengage, educate, encourage, and support men
and boys to take responsibility for their sexual and reproductive behaviour
and become strategic partners and allies in the prevention and elimination
of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.

The Agreed Conclusions emphasize the need to abolish legislation, policies,
and programs that discriminate against women or have a discriminatory
impact on women. The CSW also calls for women and girls’ unimpeded access
to justice and to effective legal assistance. The Agreed Conclusions also
recognize that small arms and light weapons aggravate violence against
women and girls.

Importantly, the Agreed Conclusions recognize new issues in the campaign to
end violence against women, including the need for strategies to address
the role of new media; the impact of climate change on women; the need for
measures to encourage businesses to act on workplace violence, but also
their responsibility to support workers experiencing violence in the home;
and the need for multisectoral responses to end violence against women.

In addition, discussions at this CSW showed high levels of support for
governments to address violence against women and girls based on their
actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. There was also
widespread support for addressing the problem of intimate partner violence.
Although Member States at this year’s CSW failed to agree on specific
language about these issues, human rights groups are confident that
consensus that has been achieved on these matters throughout the UN system
and will soon be reflected in Agreed Conclusions of the CSW.

However, civil society groups expressed deep concern over attempts by
conservative members to derail negotiations during the CSW. Thankfully,
many governments held firm on commitments to women’s rights. A statement
signed of concern signed by feminist organizations during CSW is available
online at
http://cwgl.rutgers.edu/program-areas/gender-based-violence/csw57/statement-on-outcome-document
.

The UN Commission on the Status of Women meets annually in New York and in
2013 has focused on the elimination of violence against women. Comprised of
45 Member States the CSW is the principal global policy-making body
dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women with the
sole aim of promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social,
and educational fields. Its mandate is to ensure the full implementation of
existing international agreements on women’s human rights and gender
equality.
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