To Tolerate or Not
Investing to end violence against women
By Weekend Desk
One in three women around the world experience violence in their lifetime, often in the hands of someone they know, love and trust.
That exact figure was quoted in our lead story on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women last year. Since then, nothing seems to have changed, as the number remains the same this year, according to the United Nations.
The price of no change is unacceptable, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women, said in a statement ahead of the day, which is observed worldwide on November 25.
Violence against women and girls is a gross human rights violation. It devastates lives, causes untold pain, suffering and illness. It also incurs high economic costs, the UN agency says. Beyond the direct medical and judicial costs, violence against women takes a toll on household and national budgets through lost income and productivity. A recent study shows the cost of violence accounts for 5.2 per cent of the global economy.
Deep-rooted inequality in the roles, rights and opportunities of men and women, and attitudes and social norms that condone or normalise such violence, have made the problem tenacious, but not inevitable. With laws to protect women and punish perpetrators, services to rebuild womens lives and comprehensive prevention that starts early, ending violence against women and girls can become a reality. Yet, robust funding for efforts to end this violence remains woefully insufficient.
To address the funding shortfall, this year, for the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, from November 25 _ the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10 _ Human Rights Day, the UN Secretary-Generals campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Womens call for action is themed Orange the World: Raise Money to End Violence against Women and Girls.
Allocating adequate resources to prevent and address violence against women is not only a legal obligation and a moral imperative, but a sound investment too.
All available evidence shows that even relatively small-scale investments that are timely and well targeted can bring enormous benefits to women and their communities.
We believe in and work for a world where women and girls can flourish and prosper peacefully alongside men and boys, sharing in and benefitting from societies that value their skills and accept their leadership. Violence against women and girls has a devastating impact on individuals and on the society, Mlambo-Ngcuka said in her statement.
Women and girls who experience violence lose their dignity, they live in fear and pain, and in the worst cases they pay with their lives. Violence cuts deeply into the liberties we should all have: the right to be safe at home, the right to walk safely on the streets, the right to go to school, to work, to the market or to watch a film. We should be able to expect that attackers will be punished, that justice will be done, and that we can get care and support for injuries, she added.
Yet, still in many countries, the laws are inadequate, the police force is uninterested, shelters, heath care and support are unavailable, and the criminal justice system is remote, expensive and biased against women and in favour of the male perpetrators. Change to these elements has a cost, yet the price of no change is unacceptable, Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
Experts believe that the benefit of ending violence against women and girls would far outweigh the investment necessary.
We can make inroads into the underlying issues of inequality and prejudice within our societies that enable and enflame violence against women and girls. We can scale up prevention and increase appropriate services. We can begin to bend the curve down and bring the scourge of violence against women and girls to an end. Doing so will take commitment, and investment, nationally and internationally, the head of UN Women said.
The extent to which violence is embedded in the society means that uprooting it is also a job for all of society. Changing the culture also means engaging allies, such as men and boys, religious groups and young people, using channels such as sports, arts, business, academia and faith to connect and convince.
This week, The Weekend Independent takes a look at the situation in Bangladesh, where sexual harassment is increasingly turning violent, and the existing laws meant to protect our women and girls.
Reference: unwomen.org
