International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November 2014

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
25 November 2014


Introduction

The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."

Violence against women is a human rights violation

Violence against women is a consequence of discrimination against women, in law and also in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women

Violence against women impacts on, and impedes, progress in many areas, including poverty eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and security

Violence against women and girls is not inevitable. Prevention is possible and essential

Violence against women continues to be a global pandemic.

To raise awareness and trigger action to end the global scourge of violence against women and girls, the UN observes International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November every year. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence which follow (ending on 10 December, Human Rights Day) are a chance to mobilize and raise awareness.

This year, the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign invites you to “Orange YOUR Neighbourhood,” with the colour designated by the
UNiTE campaign to symbolize a brighter future without violence.



Facts and Figures

35% of women and girls globally experience some form of physical and or sexual violence in their lifetime with up to seven in ten women facing this abuse in some countries.

It is estimated that up to 30 million girls under the age of 15 remain at risk from female genital mutilation (FGM), and more than 130 million girls and women have undergone the procedure worldwide.

Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children, 250 million of whom were married before the age of 15. Girls who marry before the age of 18 are less likely to complete their education and more likely to experience domestic violence and complications in childbirth.

The costs and consequence of violence against women last for generations.



Worldwide today:

•    1 in 3 women have been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. Usually the abuser is a member of her own family or someone known to her.

•    Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood

•    In some parts of the world a girl is more likely to be raped than to learn how to read

•    Every year, 60 million girls are sexually assaulted at, or on their way to, school

•    Women and girls are 80% (640.000) of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked across national borders annually with the majority (505.600) trafficked for sexual exploitation.

•    At least 60 million girls are 'missing' from various populations - mostly in Asia - as a result of infanticide, neglect or sex-selected abortions.

•    Up to 5% of women report being physically abused while pregnant. 50% of physically abused Indian women report violence during pregnancy.

•    Between 100 and 140 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation. In six African countries over 80% of women have been subject to this practice.

•    Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides: 31.3 million in South Asia, 14.1 million  in Sub-Sahara Africa. Violence and abuse characterise married life for many of these girls.

It is time to stop this worldwide injustice.


Violence against women - particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women - are major public health problems and violations of women's human rights.

Recent global prevalence figures indicate that 35% of women worldwide have experienced either intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

On average, 30% of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their partner.

Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.

Violence can result in physical, mental, sexual, reproductive health and other health problems, and may increase vulnerability to HIV.

Risk factors for being a perpetrator include low education, exposure to child maltreatment or witnessing violence in the family, harmful use of alcohol, attitudes accepting of violence and gender inequality.

Risk factors for being a victim of intimate partner and sexual violence include low education, witnessing violence between parents, exposure to abuse during childhood and attitudes accepting violence and gender inequality.

In high-income settings, school-based programmes to prevent relationship violence among young people (or dating violence) are supported by some evidence of effectiveness.

In low-income settings, other primary prevention strategies, such as microfinance combined with gender equality training and community-based initiatives that address gender inequality and communication and relationship skills, hold promise.

Situations of conflict, post conflict and displacement may exacerbate existing violence and present additional forms of violence against women.


Intimate partner violence refers to behaviour by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours.

Sexual violence is any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body part or object.

Scope of the problem

Population-level surveys based on reports from victims provide the most accurate estimates of the prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual violence in non-conflict settings. The first report of the "WHO Multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women" (2005) in 10 mainly low- and middle-income countries found that, among women aged 15-49:

between 15% of women in Japan and 71% of women in Ethiopia reported physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime;

between 0.3–11.5% of women reported experiencing sexual violence by someone other than a partner since the age of 15 years;

the first sexual experience for many women was reported as forced – 17% of women in rural Tanzania, 24% in rural Peru, and 30% in rural Bangladesh reported that their first sexual experience was forced.

A more recent analysis of WHO with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Medical Research Council, based on existing data from over 80 countries, found that globally 35% of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner, in some regions this is much higher. Globally as many as 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners.

Intimate partner and sexual violence are mostly perpetrated by men against women and child sexual abuse affects both boys and girls. International studies reveal that approximately 20% of women and 5–10% of men report being victims of sexual violence as children. Violence among young people, including dating violence, is also a major problem.

Risk factors

Factors found to be associated with intimate partner and sexual violence occur within individuals, families and communities and wider society. Some factors are associated with being a perpetrator of violence, some are associated with experiencing violence and some are associated with both.

Risk factors for both intimate partner and sexual violence include:

lower levels of education (perpetration of sexual violence and experience of sexual violence);

exposure to child maltreatment (perpetration and experience);

witnessing family violence (perpetration and experience);

antisocial personality disorder (perpetration);

harmful use of alcohol (perpetration and experience);

having multiple partners or suspected by their partners of infidelity (perpetration); and

attitudes that are accepting of violence and gender inequality (perpetration and experience).

Factors specifically associated with intimate partner violence include:

past history of violence;

marital discord and dissatisfaction;

difficulties in communicating between partners.

Factors specifically associated with sexual violence perpetration include:

beliefs in family honour and sexual purity;

ideologies of male sexual entitlement; and

weak legal sanctions for sexual violence.

The unequal position of women relative to men and the normative use of violence to resolve conflict are strongly associated with both intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence.

Health consequences

Intimate partner and sexual violence have serious short- and long-term physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems for survivors and for their children, and lead to high social and economic costs.

Violence against women can have fatal results like homicide or suicide.

It can lead to injuries, with 42% of women who experience intimate partner reporting an injury as a consequences of this violence.

Intimate partner violence and sexual violence can lead to unintended pregnancies, induced abortions, gynaecological problems, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The 2013 analysis found that women who had been physically or sexually abused were 1.5 times more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection and, in some regions, HIV, compared to women who had not experienced partner violence. They are also twice as likely to have an abortion.

Intimate partner violence in pregnancy also increases the likelihood of miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term delivery and low birth weight babies.

These forms of violence can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep difficulties, eating disorders, emotional distress and suicide attempts. The same study found that women who have experienced intimate partner violence were almost twice as likely to experience depression and problem drinking. The rate was even higher for women who had experienced non partner sexual violence.

Health effects can also include headaches, back pain, abdominal pain, fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal disorders, limited mobility and poor overall health.

Sexual violence, particularly during childhood, can lead to increased smoking, drug and alcohol misuse, and risky sexual behaviours in later life. It is also associated with perpetration of violence (for males) and being a victim of violence (for females).

Impact on children

Children who grow up in families where there is violence may suffer a range of behavioural and emotional disturbances. These can also be associated with perpetrating or experiencing violence later in life.

Intimate partner violence has also been associated with higher rates of infant and child mortality and morbidity (e.g. diarrhoeal disease, malnutrition).

Social and economic costs

The social and economic costs of intimate partner and sexual violence are enormous and have ripple effects throughout society. Women may suffer isolation, inability to work, loss of wages, lack of participation in regular activities and limited ability to care for themselves and their children.

Prevention and response

Currently, there are few interventions whose effectiveness has been proven through well designed studies. More resources are needed to strengthen the prevention of intimate partner and sexual violence, including primary prevention, i.e. stopping it from happening in the first place.

Regarding primary prevention, there is some evidence from high-income countries that school-based programmes to prevent violence within dating relationships have shown effectiveness. However, these have yet to be assessed for use in resource-poor settings. Several other primary prevention strategies: those that combine microfinance with gender equality training; that promote communication and relationship skills within couples and communities; that reduce access to, and harmful use of alcohol; and that change cultural gender norms, have shown some promise but need to be evaluated further.

To achieve lasting change, it is important to enact legislation and develop policies that:

address discrimination against women;

promote gender equality;

support women; and

help to move towards more peaceful cultural norms.

An appropriate response from the health sector can play an important role in the prevention of violence. Sensitization and education of health and other service providers is therefore another important strategy. To address fully the consequences of violence and the needs of victims/survivors requires a multi-sectoral response.

Current efforts to prevent violence against women and girls are inadequate, according to a new Series published in The Lancet. Estimates suggest that globally, 1 in 3 women has experienced either physical or sexual violence from their partner, and that 7% of women will experience sexual assault by a non-partner at some point in their lives.

Yet, despite increased global attention to violence perpetrated against women and girls, and recent advances in knowledge about how to tackle these abuses, levels of violence against women – including intimate partner violence, rape, female genital mutilation, trafficking, and forced marriages – remain unacceptably high, with serious consequences for victims’ physical and mental health. Conflict and other humanitarian crises may exacerbate ongoing violence.

Between 100 and 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), with more than 3 million girls at risk of the practice every year in Africa alone. Some 70 million girls worldwide have been married before their eighteenth birthday, many against their will.

Although many countries have made substantial progress towards criminalising violence against women and promoting gender equality, the Series authors argue that governments and donors need to commit sufficient financial resources to ensure their verbal commitments translate into real change. Even where laws are progressive, many women and girls still suffer discrimination, experience violence, and lack access to vital health and legal services.

Action needed on causes of violence

Importantly, reviewing the latest evidence, the authors show that not enough is being done to prevent violence against women and girls from occurring in the first place. Although resources have grown to support women and girls in the aftermath of violence (e.g., access to justice and emergency care), research suggests that actions to tackle gender inequity and other root causes of violence are needed to prevent all forms of abuse, and thereby reduce violence overall.

"We must work towards achieving gender equality and preventing violence before it even starts.”


Violence is often seen as a social and criminal justice problem, and not as a clinical or public health issue, but the health system has a crucial part to play both in treating the consequences of violence, and in preventing it.

“Health-care providers are often the first point of contact for women and girls experiencing violence.

“Early identification of women and children subjected to violence and a supportive and effective response can improve women’s lives and wellbeing, and help them to access vital services. Health-care providers can send a powerful message – that violence is not only a social problem, but a dangerous, unhealthy, and harmful practice – and they can champion prevention efforts in the community. The health community is missing important opportunities to integrate violence programming meaningfully into public health initiatives on HIV/AIDS, adolescent health, maternal health, and mental health.”

Five key actions needed

The Series urges policy makers, health practitioners and donors worldwide to accelerate efforts to address violence against women and girls by taking 5 key actions. First, governments must allocate necessary resources to address violence against women as a priority, recognising it as a barrier to health and development.

Second, they must change discriminatory structures (laws, policies, institutions) that perpetuate inequality between women and men and foster violence.

Third, they must invest in promoting equality, non-violent behaviours and non-stigmatising support for survivors.

Fourth, they must strengthen the role of health, security, education, justice, and other relevant sectors by creating and implementing policies for prevention and response across these sectors, and integrating violence prevention and response into training efforts.

Finally, they must support research and programming to learn what interventions are effective and how to turn evidence into action.



Awareness

In Tamilnadu India

Tamil Nadu is the first Indian state to set up "all women police stations" to deal with crimes against women. After the 2012 Delhi gang rape case in 2013, in which a girl was gang-raped in a moving bus, leading to her death, the Tamil Nadu government unveiled a 13-point action plan including installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in all public buildings and booking offenders in Goondas Act of 1982, that gives non-bailable retention up to 1 year.


Female infanticide



Female infanticide was more common during the 1980s in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. In Usilampatti taluk, a taluk in Madurai District, around 6,000 female children were killed in a span of 2 years during 1987-88. The crime was detected in one of the maternity homes that reported loss of 95% female children born during the period. The female infants were fed with the poisonous juice of oleander plant almost on the day of the birth of the child. The practice was reported even during 1993. The other districts which had prevalence were Salem, Dharmapuri, Vellore (formerly North Arcot), Erode, Dindigul and Madurai, with North Salem, South Dharmapuri, South Dindigul and West Madurai accounting for 70 per cent of all cases. The people considered marrying the girl in the future a menace on account of their financial constraints. The then government headed by Jayalalitha launched a cradle baby scheme in 1992 in Salem district that urged the parents to drop the child in the cradles instead of killing them. There were educational programmes launched by the child health and welfare department of the state to create awareness. Dharmapuri district recorded as many as 1,002 registered cases of infanticide, the highest in the state during the year and it reduced to one during 2012. During the simultaneous period, the cradles baby scheme had 1,338 children having 1,272 girls.


The government also launched another campaign in which the parents of girls undergoing sterilisation were compensated and a gold ring was presented to the girl on her 20th birthday to ease her marriage expenses.

Trafficking



The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) imposes prevention of trafficking women and children. While it was initially targeted at sex workers with a female majority, it was gradually extended to trafficking of human beings. The Tamil Nadu police created an Anti-Trafficking Cell in the Crime Branch CID, that has inter-state connectivity to deal with trafficking.


All women Police station


Tamil Nadu is the first state in India to set up "all women police stations" (AWPSs) to deal with crimes against women.

The scheme was initiated by the then-chief minister of the state, J Jayalalithaa, during her first tenure in 1991-95. The AWPSs were set to handle cases related to women like sexual harassment, marital discord, child abuse, eve teasing, trafficking, suicides and dowry harassment. Activists believed that after the establishment of AWPSs, women were able to come out and report dowry-related crimes freely to the police women. The police women also reported that they received complaints related to sex tortures, which otherwise went unreported to their male counterparts.

Crime against women

"We will strictly implement the requirement of installing CCTV in key public places and buildings as it enables surveillance of sexual harassment against women and catching the culprits."

~ J Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,More crime against women in Tamil Nadu, 23 February 2013

There is a wide consensus across the world that crime against women is often under-reported. It is also reported that every twenty minutes, a woman is sexually assaulted. Some sections believe that there is a skew in the reported crime data against women. The Tamil Nadu police have reported that the awareness among women has improved and they were less afraid to file complaints. The 2012 Delhi gang rape case in 2013, where a girl was gang-raped in a moving bus leading to her fatal death, was reported to have increased the awareness. Activists in that state have reported that the police who were earlier not registering such cases, have started registering them. The Chief Minister of the State, J Jayalalithaa, announced in the assembly that a 13 point action plan was unveiled by the government post the Delhi Gang Rape like installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in all public buildings and booking offenders in Goondas Act of 1982, that provides for non-bailable retention up to one year. The government ruled that educational institutions, hospitals, cinema theatres, banks, ATM counters, shopping malls, petrol bunks and jewellery shops would be covered under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies (Installation of Closed Circuit TV Units in Public Buildings) Rules, 2012. It also ruled that state and central government offices with 100 employees or more and having an area of 500 square metres (0.12 acre) or more would be covered under the rule. The rule also stipulated a time period of six months for the installation in existing buildings, failing which, the licenses would remain cancelled or suspended. During 2013, the state government also launched a women's helpline monitored by senior police officials. The government also ordered speedy investigation in all the pending cases related to crime against women and setting up of fast track district courts to speed justice. The state also proposed to the centre to modify existing rules to render heavy punishments to the offenders to the tune of death and chemical castration.

Child Marriage

Tamilnadu Government is strictly implementing acts to prevent child marriage