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 “In-depth 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 2002-2007 and its Gender Mainstreaming Implementation Framework for 2002-2007 (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 non-violent 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 Non-Violence. 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 EducationSite:

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_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.php-URL_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.php-URL_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 CenterSite: 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 : sg.corat@unesco.org