Transcript UNESCO and Violence Against Women (VAW)

UNESCO
and
Violence Against Women (VAW)
Presentation by Saniye Gulser Corat
Chief, Women and Gender Equality Section
Bureau of Strategic Planning
UNESCO
1 March 2005 - New York
Gender-based Violence
• Gender based violence or violence against
women and girls is a major human rights
problem throughout the world today.
• It is also acknowledged as a public health
problem and as a crime against women and
society.
Scope of the Problem
• Violence against women and girls affects one in
three women/girls
• Violence against women and girls kills and maims
many
• Violence against women and girls is a major cause
of death and disability for women 16 to 44 years
of age and it is considered a major public health
emergency
• Violence against women and girls has become a
new strategy of warfare
VAW: Invisible Problem
Violence against women and girls has been
invisible for a long time – invisible both
literally because it often happens behind
closed doors or effectively because legal
systems, cultural norms often treat it not as
a crime but as a family matter or a normal
part of life
Making VAW Visible
The international community has been making
every effort to move the issue from the
shadows to foreground, from the private
sphere to the public fora.
International Efforts I
• Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (1967)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979)
• General Recommendation 19 on Violence against Women
(1992)
• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
(1993)
• Special Rapporteur on violence against women (1994)
• The Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference
on Women in Beijing (1995)
International Efforts II
• General Assembly Resolution 52/86 on Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice Measures to Eliminate Violence
against Women (1997)
• Optional Protocol to CEDAW (1999)
• UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace
and Security (2000)
• UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (2000)
• UN General Assembly Resolution 58/185 (22 December
2003) adopted by consensus. The resolution entitled “Indepth study on all forms of violence against women”
requests the SG to conduct an in-depth study on all forms
and manifestations of violence against women.
UNESCO Policy Context
UNESCO’s work in the area of VAW is
guided by the Organization’s gender
mainstreaming policy as stated in paragraph
32 of its Medium Term Strategy for 20022007 and its Gender Mainstreaming
Implementation Framework for 20022007 (GMIF).
UNESCO and Gender Equality I
The Medium Term Strategy for 2002-2007
states:
“a gender equality perspective will be
integrated in policy, planning, programming,
implementation and evaluation activities in
all areas of UNESCO’s competence with a
view to promoting empowerment and
achieving gender equality”.
UNESCO and Gender Equality II
This policy commitment is translated into
practical guidance and well-defined lines of
responsibility in the document Gender
Mainstreaming Implementation
Framework, 2002-2007 prepared by the
Women and Gender Equality Section of the
Bureau of Strategic Planning in
collaboration with UNESCO sectors and
Field Offices.
UNESCO and CEDAW
UNESCO actively promotes CEDAW,
especially Article 10, which calls for all
appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of
education and the elimination of
stereotyped concepts of roles of men and
women at all levels and in all forms of
education.
UNESCO and VAW
Currently UNESCO addresses the following
types of VAW:
• Inter-personal violence in and out of schools
• The trafficking of women
• Women in conflict and post-conflict
situations (including the use of rape as a
tool of war)
UNESCO’s Approach to VAW
UNESCO has a two-pronged approach to
VAW :
• A behavioral approach
• A structural approach
UNESCO’s Approach to VAW:
A Behavioral Approach
Through education and with the help of ICTs,
UNESCO seeks to build commitment to peace
and non-violence in the minds of men and
women. This includes the promotion of
gender-sensitive human rights education and
non-violent conflict resolution approaches.
UNESCO’s Approach to VAW:
A Structural Approach
Through its programmes, UNESCO looks at
the structural causes of violence against
women and seeks to encourage holistic and
culturally appropriate policy responses
towards their elimination.
UNESCO Initiatives on VAW (I)
• Development of training methods in nonviolent conflict resolution - Education for a
Culture of Peace in a Gender Perspective
(training manual) in English (2001) and
French (2003).
• Collection of best practices in the area of
non-violent conflict resolution in the field of
formal and non-formal education
UNESCO Initiatives on VAW (II)
Promotion of gender equality in primary and
secondary education through curriculum
reform (Pakistan; Morocco, Mauritania).
Sensitization workshops on men’s roles in the
struggle for gender equality (Pakistan).
UNESCO Initiatives on VAW (III)
Within the context of UNESCO’s project
“Culturally appropriate approaches to
HIV/AIDS”, activities are being undertaken
in order to raise public awareness on
traditional attitudes and practices that are
harmful to women’s health or put them at
risk of infection.
Awareness Raising and Outreach I
International Years coordinated by UNESCO; UNESCO Prizes and Awards
contributing to the recognition of women’s and men’s contribution to the fight
against violence in all its forms including VAW:
• UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and NonViolence. Taslima Nasrin wins UNESCO prize for the promotion of tolerance
and non-violence. October 12, 2004 (UNESCO) –
• UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. Ms Betty Reardon (Honourable
Mention, USA, in 2001); Ms Christiana Ayoka Mary Thorpe (Honourable
Mention, Sierra Leone in 2002)
• International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence; one of its 8
Action Areas relate to equality between women and men. UNESCO
coordinates this decade. Site : http://www.unesco.org/cp
Awareness Raising and Outreach II
Production of monographs and case studies:
• Research papers prepared on “Women in the Conflict in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo”, (2004/2005)
• Research paper on “Family Law in the Islamic Republic of Iran”
(2004)
• Male roles, masculinities and violence (2004)
• Women and a Culture of Peace in Africa: Case studies on traditional
conflict resolution (2003)
• Women’s Rights and bioethics; chapter on Violence against Women
(2000)
• Women Say No to War (1999)
• The Use of Rape as a Tool of War (1995).
Awareness Raising and Outreach III
Development of gender-sensitive information, education and
communication materials and radio programmes for
post/neo-literates addressing issues of VAW:
• STOP This Violence ! (Kenya)
• Changing Times, Changing Attitudes. Alternative Portrayals
of Men and Women (2001)
• Minority language radio programming for trafficking
prevention (Mekong region, expanding southern China)
Awareness Raising and Outreach IV
International and Regional Conferences:
• Building a More Secure Future for Women Reporters” (Paris, 2005);
conference focused on the role of the media in the elimination of
VAW
• “Women in the Service of Peace” (Paris – 2004)
• “Women’s Contribution to a Culture of Peace” Conferences and
political Declarations (Hanoi- 2000; Zanzibar – 1999)
UNESCO Web Sites
Non-violence Education
Site: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=1261&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH)
Site: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=36790&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Education in situations of armed conflict and crisis – Women
and Girls Education
Site: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.phpURL_ID=23014&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
UNESCO’s Social Science Sector Programme in favour of
Women and Gender Equality
Site: http://www.unesco.org/shs/gender
UNESCO’s Gender Mainstreaming Resource Center
Site: http://www.unesco.org/women
Contact information for Women and
Gender Equality at UNESCO:
Ms Saniye Gülser CORAT
Chief, Section for Women and Gender Equality
Bureau of Strategic Planning
7, Place de Fontenoy
75007 Paris – FRANCe
Tel : 33 1 45 68 17 44
Fax : 33 1 45 68 55 58
Email : [email protected]