Each country and society in the world differs in its view of the degree of rights women should have. In western societies, women tend to have more freedom as there has been an eradication of arranged marriages, the right for women to vote and hold seats in government, and the termination of the notion that women have to stay home and watch after the children rather than receive education and have careers. However, in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDC’s) women still have yet to gain these rights given to women in the western world. Cultures and religions that hold firm in a society make it difficult for political activists, non-profitable organizations etc. to try to help the women gain their rights.
Due to these lesser roles women hold, violence against them has yet to cease as it has been carrying on for generations throughout centuries. Examples of violence against women include honor killings (the homicide of a female by family member or social group due to the belief that the victim is a perpetrator and has brought dishonor to the family, usually practiced in the Middle East and Southwest Asia), domestic abuse, rape (including sexual assault within marriage), dowry deaths (women murdered or driven to suicide by husbands or in-laws in an effort to extort or increase a dowry,) child marriages, prostitution and trafficking, pornography, male preference at birth, female circumcision/ genital mutation etc. All of these violate a women’s human rights.
According to the Secretary- General, domestic violence is greatly increasing as studies in 10 countries show that between 17 to 38 percent of women have suffered physical assaults by a partner.
Female-targeted violence was not explicitly acknowledged prior to December of 1993 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. Until this time, many regarded and believed that violence against women was a private/ personal matter between individuals that should be kept within that individuals boundaries and did not see it as a pervasive human rights problem that required government or State intervention. Due to the recorded increase in violence against women, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, including its and consequences.
This Special Rapporteur’s use is to collect, analyze, and recommend measures aimed at eliminating violence at the international, national, and regional levels. “The mandate is threefold:
To collect information on violence against women and its causes and consequences from sources such as Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and to respond effectively to such information;
To recommend measures and ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences;
To work closely with other special rapporteurs, special representatives, groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights.” (Women and Violence, United Nations)
Another job of the Rapporteur is to explicity define what exactly violence against women is, what it entails and inclines. It is defined as"any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life".
“A preliminary report in 1994 by the Special Rapporteur, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, focused on three areas of concern where women are particularly vulnerable: in the family (including domestic violence, traditional practices, infanticide); in the community (including rape, sexual assault, commercialized violence such as trafficking in women, labour exploitation, female migrant workers etc.); and by the State (including violence against women in detention as well as violence against women in situations of armed conflict and against refugee women.)”
The much sought-after support of governments have been sustained in several nations, with some governments agreeing to adopt and implement national legislation to end violence against women. In so much that shelters, legal aid and other services for women and girls at risk have been provided for. Education, which has been determined to be key to eradicating violence against women, has also been implemented by governments. These government facilities aim to educate citizens on the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women.
“The meaning of gender and sexuality and the balance of power between women and men at all levels of society must be reviewed.” (United Nations) Combating violence against women requires challenging the way that gender roles and power relations are articulated in society. In many countries women have a low status. They are considered as inferior and there is a strong belief that men are superior to them and even own them.
Background on the History of Women’s Violence in the United Nations (taken from the UN website):
The importance of the question of violence against women was emphasized over the last decade through the holding of several expert group meetings sponsored by the United Nations to draw attention to the extent and severity of the problem.
In September 1992, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women established a special Working Group and gave it a mandate to draw up a draft declaration on violence against women.
The following year, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, in resolution 1993/46 of 3 March, condemned all forms of violence and violations of human rights directed specifically against women.
The World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, laid extensive groundwork for eliminating violence against women. In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Governments declared that the United Nations system and Member States should work towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life; of all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women; of gender bias in the administration of justice; and of any conflicts arising between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism.
The document also declared that "violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflicts are violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law", and that all violations of this kind -- including murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy -- "require a particularly effective response".
Bibliography:
United Nations Department of Public Information. "Women and Violence." UN News Center. UN, Feb. 1996. Web. 17 July 2012. <http://www.un.org/rights/dpi1772e.htm>.
by
midannadealmada (student)
