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Violence against women is the most pressing concern
A survey commissioned by Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO) UK and Oxfam provides hard numbers to confirm what anecdotal evidence already suggests: violence against women is the most pressing concern of the global women’s rights community.
Presented in the 31-page report, “Blueprint for UN Women”, the survey of 100 international and national human rights and NGO respondents working on the ground in 75 countries with developing or transitional economies indicates that more than two-thirds (72 percent) believe ending violence against women should be the top priority of the newly created UN Women agency headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet.
Moreover, 99 percent of those surveyed said that “urgent action” is needed on this issue and, while violence against women was reported in all regions, 10 percent said it is increasing in the countries where they work.
After violence against women, respondents to the survey identified other top women’s issues as: access to decision-making (42 percent); access to reliable justice systems (41 percent) and economic empowerment (41 percent). Among respondents reaching outside the list of survey issues to identify major problems, the report said, “mentioned most frequently in this category was the lack of awareness of women’s rights among many women” not just among rural and uneducated women “but also in society at large.”
The survey found that the groups of the world’s women most urgently in need of help are: rural (84 percent); disabled (61 percent) and uneducated (61 percent).
Hands-down, across all regions surveyed, violence against women was marked as a “very important” issue by respondents: 97 percent in Africa (Sub-Saharan) and 100 percent in Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Caucasus, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East (including Afghanistan and Pakistan) and the Maghreb countries (Northern Africa).
The 10 percent of respondents reporting a rise in violence against women in their regions came primarily from Asia, the Middle East and Maghreb.
“It remains the most pressing challenge for those working towards realizing women’s rights and fighting poverty and it remains ingrained in many societies,” according to the report. “Women from all regions face multiple forms of violence, including domestic and sexual violence, such as harassment and rape; respondents also reported early marriage, forced genital mutilation (FGM), foeticide and trafficking.”
The report also found that those surveyed had solid ideas about how to end violence against women (VAW). “Asked for their ideas on how to reduce VAW in their countries, some cited legal mechanisms such as reform of constitutions and government institutions, as well as through reliable justice and policing systems that are accessible to women on equal terms. Others stressed the need for women to have better access to employment and economic resources, to give them greater independence. Interviewees mentioned raising awareness and ensuring that education was gender sensitive. Some said they hoped that if women are able to access positions of political leadership, they will be able to lead efforts to eradicate VAW.”
Women’s legal rights provide the foundation of TrustLaw Women. All of the issues mentioned by the respondents to the VSO-Oxfam survey, especially those concerning violence against women, are subjects we will be exploring in depth as we go forward.
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