Day against Violence Against Women – UNIFEM Director

Statement for International Day against Violence Against Women

Dear Friends,
We would like to share with you UNIFEM Executive Director, Noeleen Heyzer's statement to mark the second anniversary of November 25-the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Two years ago a United Nations General Assembly resolution, designated 25 November as the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women in memory of the killing of the three Mirabel sisters in the Dominican Republic on the same date in 1961.

Violence against women is a universally devastating and often unpunished crime with far-reaching implications. As Dr. Heyzer says in her statement: "What happened in Afghanistan demonstrates that the way in which a country or community treats women and protects and promotes their human rights, is one of the best early warning indicators of its respect for international norms and standards ".

Please feel free to use the speech for any activities, events or media work that you are planning for the 16 days of activism beginning on November 25. We would appreciate feedback on how you have used this statement.

Regards,
Rema Nanda,
Acting Chief, Organizational Learning and Resource Development, UNIFEM.
23 November,2001

STATEMENT BY NOELEEN HEYZER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNIFEM
For the International Day against Violence Against Women
25 November 2001

It has been only two years since the UN General Assembly adopted 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The international community has recognized that efforts to confront gender-based violence are central to human security and development remain strong.

Women’s groups have been commemorating 25 November as a day to end violence against women for many years. Women and men in over 100 countries now hold public events and campaigns that begin on 25 November and culminate on Human Rights Day, 10 December. It is notable how the actions and networks to end violence against women have joined forces across nations, ethnicities, race, class, caste and other diversities. Violence against women is universal and the struggle to put an end to it involves each and every one of us.

We have seen, over the past few months, the threat to human and global security that intensifies to the breaking point when we ignore abuses to women’s human rights. We failed to act meaningfully when Afghan girls were prohibited from going to school, when Afghan women doctors and teachers were prohibited from going to work, when women were beaten for what they wore. What happened to women in Afghanistan was not just a women’s issue, an issue of tradition or culture, or a problem that needed to be dealt with in the private sphere. On the contrary, what happened in Afghanistan demonstrated that the way in which a country or community treats women and protects and promotes their human rights, is one of the best early warning indicators of its respect for international norms and standards.

We have achieved a great deal internationally and nationally in our advocacy and activism to end gender-based violence. And 25 November is the appropriate time to celebrate those achievements. We have a UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, agreed to in 1993. We have a UN Special Rapporteur on the Issue of Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences appointed in 1994. We have a Trust Fund to End Violence against Women established by the General Assembly in UNIFEM in 1996. We have achieved the recognition of rape as a war crime against humanity in 1998. And in 2000, we had a historic session on Women and Peace and Security in the Security Council which produced the landmark SC Resolution 1325 and heightened interest in understanding the impact of war and armed conflict on women and the roles of women in peace-building. Most importantly, at the national level, laws that recognize domestic violence and rape as crimes against women are being passed and implemented in an increasing number of countries. We have accomplished so much, and yet the scourge of violence in general, and violence against women in particular, seems to be increasing.

We need to learn from the small victories and achievements in addressing gender-based violence that can be scaled up to become norms, standards and public policies. I would like to highlight three lessons that UNIFEM has learned from the ways in which women are organizing to address violence and build long-lasting peace:

· Women are developing innovative ways to challenge the use of tradition as a rationale for continued violence. Projects from UNIFEM's Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women, for instance, demonstrate how women's groups work with religious leaders, families and communities to change attitudes and practices towards female genital mutilation and so-called honour killings. Family by family, community by community, these projects are building respect for the lives of women and girls and an understanding that gender-based violations are not integral to any tradition or culture.

· Women are investing in long-term public education and awareness campaigns to reach people's minds and hearts. The UN Inter-Agency regional campaigns to end gender-based violence that UNIFEM coordinated in 1998 and 1999 developed powerful messages that resonated with policy makers and the public. The slogan " A Life Free of Violence: It's Our Right" was used for many of these campaigns. This slogan is equally relevant in the aftermath of September 11th to stimulate broader coalitions for peace and social justice. Over the past year, UNIFEM has convened groups in every region to learn techniques for strengthening advocacy strategies to end gender-based violence. These groups have affirmed that without changing people's attitudes and behaviour in the most profound ways, progress on eliminating violence will be limited.

· Women are linking the need for social and economic rights to notions of human security. Conflicts arising from the growing gaps between rich and poor must be addressed. The terror of poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS, and inequality are the seeds that spawn social fragmentation and violence. UNIFEM is supporting women to build economic literacy, to understand economic policy-making, to analyze national budget processes from a gender perspective. These are the kinds of long-term efforts that will result in broad-based policy dialogue and the creation of sustainable solutions to social fragmentation and problems without borders.

The events of the past several months have demonstrated, as powerfully as ever before, the importance of coalitions to end violence, to value human rights, and to speak out forcefully against injustice. No single country, agency or sector of society – no matter how powerful – can ensure human security and confront massive abuses to human rights on their own. In an era of globalization, people, money and ideas move across national borders in the blink of an eye. In an era of globalization, the common values and ethics that we develop to guide our interactions with each other -- whether as states, organizations, or individuals -- are the best foundations to build a global dialogue on peace and craft a vision for a more secure human future.