PRESS CONFERENCE on Secretary-General’s report on violence against women

José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said today that violence against women was a global problem, with estimates showing that one out of three women had experienced violence at some stage of their lives and that more than 130 million girls had been subjected to female genital mutilation.

At a Headquarters press conference, Mr. Ocampo joined Rachel N. Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and Carolyn Hannan, the Department of Social and Economic Affairs Director for the Advancement of Women to discuss the major findings of the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on violence against women.

The study found that the major form of violence takes place at the household level and is pervasive throughout all societies, Mr. Ocampo said.

Global conferences on gender equality, including the Beijing Platform for Action, had led to legislation:  89 States had developed legislation on domestic violence; 140 prosecuted marital rape; and 90 created legislation against sexual harassment.

Despite these achievements, half of all Member States did not have that type of legislation, and implementation remained weak among those that did, he said.

The report highlighted the significant contribution of women’s movements in transforming the issue of violence against women into a truly global concern, and developing and applying norms at the country level.

Naming yesterday’s release of the report as “historic”, and stating that the report “drew the curtain away” from the problem of violence against women, Ms. Mayanja said the international community was obliged to act, since the problem was now a public issue.  She hoped the study would put the private sector, non-governmental organizations and Government institutions into “action mode”.  She also called for the end of impunity -- that those responsible for violence against women would be prosecuted.

Ms. Hannan noted two of the study’s most important findings:  that implementation remained slack, despite a strong policy and legal framework, and that the problem of impunity persisted.  States had an obligation to investigate crimes, punish perpetrators and provide means of redress for the victims.  The fact that that was not being done indicated the need for a clear message that violence against women was unacceptable.

Responding to a question about how the study’s recommendations would be integrated with the existing human rights mechanisms, Ms. Hannan said the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and others had constantly cited implementation as a problem.  The study encouraged all aspects of the United Nations system to be actively engaged, including treaty bodies, the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.  The study also made a strong call for coherent, multisectoral, multi-stakeholder response.

Outlining how to combat deeply embedded cultural norms that sometimes punish women who try to assert their rights, she said the study showed that violence emanating from negative cultural practices was regrettably also enforced by women, as cultures had perpetuated those practices.  She called for efforts to work within local communities to gradually change the value system, starting with families, children and schools.  It was also important to engage men.  “This is not going to be changed by women alone,” she said.

Concrete steps of an “action mode” would start with data collection.  In that pursuit, every sector must be sensitized.  Social workers in hospitals, for example, could be engaged to systematically gather data on victims of violence.  Working with law enforcement and judiciary bodies would help illuminate the extent of the problem.

On whether a female Secretary-General would help eliminate violence against women, Mr. Ocampo said that, although a female Secretary-General would be a very powerful symbol, societies themselves must transform domestic behaviour.  Eliminating the problem would require engaging all domestic instruments including education systems, legislation and mass media.  Further, women’s movements should continue generating sensitivity to the issue on a global level.

When asked about how the United Nations was ensuring the security of female human rights advocates who were often threatened or killed, Ms. Mayanja said the Organization had tried as much as possible to protect civil society members working in the same area as peacekeepers and other humanitarian personnel.  Member States, however, must be asked to do more, particularly in finding and prosecuting perpetrators.

To prompt States into action, the United Nations had made interventions at the highest level, at times involving the Secretary-General.  Interventions also were conducted at the levels of the Under-Secretary for Peacekeeping, Under-Secretary for Political Affairs and at the mission level.  The Special Representative of the Secretary-General had also intervened many times.  Even in situations where people were expelled from the country, the United Nations had intervened, as those expulsions had constituted interference in the work of the Organization.

Addressing a question on the lack of coordination among United Nations bodies to address the issue, Ms. Hannan said, although there perhaps had not been enough sharing of experience, the preparation for the study had raised awareness about the range of United Nations activities under way, and highlighted the need for effective common strategies.  An inter-agency task force on violence against women had begun work last December to enhance collaboration.  Country teams should also take up the issue as an integral part of their activities.

Responding to a question on what constituted violence against women, Ms. Hannan quoted the definition contained in the study:  “Any act of gender-based violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman, or that affects women disproportionately.”  Definitions were important, as there was increasing understanding that violence against women went beyond a purely physical definition to incorporate psychological and economic violence.  Stereotypes were at the root of the problem and must, therefore, be understood.  Education, awareness campaigns and sensitization were key to helping even women understand that violence against them constituted a violation of human rights.

Ms. Mayanja added that harmful cultural practices, including female genital mutilation and child marriages, had been incorporated into the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in its definition of violence against women.  Dissemination of information remained the biggest problem.  Practices in Africa were no different than those in other parts of the world, and definitions were merging.

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For information media • not an official record