PRESS BRIEFING BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN

Violence was a fact of life for millions of women around the world, devastating lives, destroying communities and impeding development, Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) said at Headquarters this morning.

Speaking at a press briefing to commemorate the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, she noted, however, that 45 countries had already enacted laws against domestic violence and that 11 of the 12 countries of South-East Asia had agreed upon national plans dealing with the issue.

She said that UNIFEM had been spearheading campaigns to harmonize national laws with international standards, build relationships between police forces and women’s crisis centres, study links between HIV/AIDS and women in conflict situations, and examine measures to prevent honour killings.  Noting that those strategies were financed by a trust fund created by the General Assembly in 1997, she called, nevertheless, for additional investment in strategies that had made the greatest differences in women’s lives.  The UNIFEM’s work would be highlighted from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. today in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, she added.

Responding to a question about the killing of men by their wives and girlfriends, Ms. Heyzer replied that such cases were rare and that females still comprised the great majority of domestic violence victims.

Asked to pinpoint specific regions where violence against women was most prevalent, she said it was more helpful to examine the four types of violence faced by women in general.  The first, which was home-based and usually involved dowry issues and honour killings, was found in, but not limited to, the Middle East; the second type, concerning traditional practices, was more common in an African context; the third variety, characterized by rape and other crimes against women, was found in countries or regions in conflict; and the fourth type, involving the trafficking of women and girls, was most common in economically poor countries.

In response to questions about finances, she stressed that legal activities relating to domestic violence were expensive.  In a single year, New York City alone had spent $500 million to cover court fees, police work, and medical charges, among other things.  In that context, she called for greater investment by national governments in UNIFEM’s projects.

Asked what concrete measures the Fund had taken to convince national governments to enact anti-violence legislation, she replied that as a result of a campaign in Latin America, 22 countries had changed their laws.  They included Peru, where a rapist was previously not considered a criminal if he agreed to marry the victim.  Fortunately, that was no longer the case, she added.

Regarding the relevance of beauty pageants to women today, she said that beauty could be expressed in many ways and that women throughout the world had been working hard to ensure that their skills were respected.

Asked about differences between Western and non-Western views on women’s rights, she said that now more than ever, there was an international consensus on that question.  Nowhere in the world did one find people condoning violence against women.

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