PRESS CONFERENCE ON LAUNCH OF ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and partners from within the Organization, civil society and the private sector had launched an Internet campaign on the occasion of the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, Joanne Sandler, the agency’s Acting Executive Director, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

She also announced that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had announced today his pledge to lead a campaign to combat violence against women until 2015, following on his study of the issue and a number of General Assembly resolutions.  The Day also marked the beginning of 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence.

Entitled “Say No to Violence against Women”, the campaign invites people to show their support for change by signing up on the website www.saynotoviolence.org.  It also calls for support to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, through which more than 250 initiatives in about 120 countries has received much needed support in the past 10 years.

And in a video statement to the press conference, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador and Hollywood film star Nicole Kidman said: “Violence against women is an appalling human rights violation, but it is not inevitable.  We can put a stop to this.  The more names we collect, the stronger our case to make ending violence against women a top priority for Governments everywhere.  This is why I was the first to sign my name.  Now, I would like to invite you to add your name to mine.”

Ms. Sandler said the momentum was increasing, noting that positive indications included a recent General Assembly resolution on the intensification of efforts to eliminate violence against women, the promulgation of laws against domestic violence in 89 countries and the adoption of national strategies and plans to end violence in many others.  However, implementation was inadequate and impunity was the rule rather than the exception.  That was why so many women were still afraid to speak up.

Describing violence against women as “a hidden pandemic”, she said it manifested itself in some $9.5 billion in earnings for human-trafficking criminal networks, in such harmful practices as female genital mutilation, in the young women and girls who constituted 61 per cent of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa and in the use of rape as a method of warfare.

Ms. Sandler also announced that 29 initiatives involving 35 countries had been awarded grants this year from the Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, pointing out that, just as violence against women remained a hidden pandemic, the UNIFEM-managed Trust Fund was a hidden resource.  Despite the scope of the problem, the Fund had struggled to secure more than $5 million for grant-making this year, while receiving well over 100 million requests.  It was important to recognize the Fund’s importance, become familiar with its work and contribute to it.

Also addressing the press conference in relation to initiatives supported by the Trust Fund were Joseph Nsengimana, Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations, and Eliana Elias, Executive Director of Mingu Peru.

Mr. Nsengimana spoke about a $100,000 grant provided to a district-level government in Rwanda with the aim of sensitizing local leaders and authorities on the need to translate national anti-violence laws and gender policies into community-level action.  The first step would be a study of domestic and sexual violence against women in the district.  Through radio broadcasts, community dialogues, conferences and work with women’s councils, the project would inform communities about women’s right to protection and legal redress.  The initiative would result in a three-year district-level plan of action to end violence against women.

Ms. Elias cited a project to raise awareness of women’s issues through a radio soap opera in Peru, noting that violence against women was among the main issues raised in letters to the programme.  The soap opera also sought to address the traditional image of masculinity and the link between HIV/AIDS and violence against women.  Support from the Trust Fund and other partners had allowed the programme’s producers to prepare 240 new episodes.  They would also train 150 teachers from 24 rural schools to incorporate women’s issues into their curricula.

Asked about expectations for the anti-violence campaign, Mr. Nsengimana said action could help women who had suffered violence during the 1994 Rwandan genocide and help overcome the culture of violence.  With support from UNIFEM and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a gender-violence desk had been organized at the national police headquarters to improve responses to cases of sexual and gender-based violence.  Incidents could also be reported through a national toll-free hotline.  Motorcycles had been provided to police officers so they could address cases in the provinces, and a programme had been launched to engage army officers in addressing gender-based violence across the country.

Ms. Sandler added that the global community was in the beginning stages of addressing the issue.  Governments and top-level decision-makers were now taking action, and there was a huge change as far as the creation of an enabling environment was concerned.  That was both an accomplishment and a challenge.  If Governments now understood the issue, if parliaments were passing laws, if ministries of justice, health and interior were taking action, the international community should be able to support the implementation of those laws.  “We need mechanisms, we need resources, we need an unswerving commitment to make good on the laws and policies that so many countries have now put into effect.”

Asked what the Internet campaign expected to accomplish, the Acting Executive Director replied that it was an important signal and a partnership with scores of organizations and Governments that had organized, during the 16 days of activism, to raise their voices and say no to violence against women.  More importantly, they were asking what they could do to end it.  The collection of a large number of signatures could “add a lot of weight” to the campaign.

Sometimes success meant more reporting on violence, she said in response to another question.  Because of advocacy, education and outreach, there were now more women and girls speaking out against violence.  Initially, however, success had meant higher numbers of victims before their numbers had gone down.

Asked to share some of the Trust Fund’s success stories, she cited a programme to end female genital mutilation as a rite of passage, noting that the project sought -- while respecting the custom -- to develop an alternative ritual that did not involve harming girls.  That strategy had been used successfully in a number of countries, including Senegal and Kenya, while campaigns in Central America and Asia involved young men and boys in anti-violence efforts.

Ms. Elias added that communication was a powerful tool for achieving social change, pointing out that Mingu Peru was working to promote a positive perception of masculinity that did not involve violence.  Recently, a seven-year old boy had sent a letter to the programme, after having heard it on the radio, saying he wanted to grow up to be one of those men represented there on the soap opera -– a man who did not beat women.

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