International Law and the Issue of Violence against Women

Vidya SriCarr Center for Human Rights Policy Fellow

Initiative on Violence against Women

VAW – the term

• A violation of human rights as established in international law. (The Political Economy of VAW, True)

• The term allowed activists to attract allies and bridge cultural differences. (Activists Beyond Borders, Keck & Sikkink).

• A Political/Legal Framework.• A form of systemic discrimination.• Affects women disproportionately. (Cedaw Committee)

VAW - Context

• Armed conflicts/post conflict• Post humanitarian crises/Natural disasters• Women’s political participation levels• Social/economic equality levels• Economic policies/Trade liberalization• Financial crises

VAW – Economic Costs

• Direct costs to criminal justice, health, employment, social welfare systems.

• Australia, 2009, VAW cost was $13.6 billion per annum.

• The UK, 2004, more than 550 Euros per resident per annum.

• Fiji, 2004, cost of DV calculated at $300 million per annum or 7% of gross national product.

• Opportunity cost of not accessing economic opportunities and livelihoods.

VAW – Economic Costs

• Managua, Nicaragua study: DV survivors earned 57% of income of unaffected colleagues.

• Bolivian rural org: had to address DV as part of the development work.

VAW Prevalence

• GBV is the leading cause of death of women between ages 19 and 44.(Johnson et al.2008)

• Worldwide, up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16.

• Number of U.S. states where rapists who impregnate their victim maintain parental rights: 31.

VAW Prevalence

• In Europe, North America and Australia, over half of women with disabilities have experienced physical abuse, compared to one-third of non-disabled women.

• Number of women living in nations where domestic violence is not a crime: 603 million.

International Landscape

• UDHR: Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• CEDAW: The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

• CEDAW Recommendation 12 and 19.

• The Rome Statute.• UN Security Council

Resolutions: 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889.

• 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

• 1995 Beijing Platform for Action.

Cedaw Framework

• The starting point for delivery of justice for women.

• Positive impact on ratio of girls to boys in school.

• Access to modern contraception.• EEOL in Japan – enabled mobilization.• Need conditions of mobilization/litigation.

Regional Landscape

• 1994 Belem• 2003 Maputo• 2011 Istanbul

• Due Diligence and access to justice through a gender lens

• A State can be found liable for an illegal act, even when it is not an act perpetrated by the State, because of a failure to prevent or respond.

Belem do Para: Inter-American Convention

Organization of American States (Latin America, Caribbean ,U.S., Canada):1. 34 Member States.2. 32 States Ratified.3. 2012, @40%

implemented.

• Consistent NGO advocacy.

• OAS Reporting.• Data Collection.

Maputo Protocol - Africa

African Union:1. 53 member countries2. 46 countries signed3. 31 countries ratified4. 1 country has

implemented.5. 0 VAW cases decided

by the African Court.

• Religious/cultural opposition

• Impunity• Conflict

Istanbul Convention– Europe

Council of Europe:1. 10th state ratified last

week.2. Enters into force

August 1, 2014.

• Definition of gender as a social construct.

• Consultative process.• Requires criminalization

of forced marriage.

Due Diligence Framework

• A tool for rights holders to hold states accountable.• An individual-level responsibility, i.e., the

responsibility of States to provide each victim with effective measures of prevention, protection, punishment and reparation.

• A systemic-level responsibility, i.e. the responsibility of States to create effective systems that address the root causes and consequences of violence against women.

Due Diligence Outcomes

• Cedaw contains no specific provision pertaining to a State's responsibility to act with due diligence to eliminate VAW – GR 12,19, 28.

• 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women incorporates state responsibility to act within a due diligence standard in public & private.

• The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action has a list of due diligence steps to be taken by States.

Due Diligence Outcomes

• General acceptance of a State obligation, though exact content of the obligation remains unclear.

• Special Rapporteur call for information on the extent to which States are fulfilling their responsibility to act with due diligence to eliminate violence against women.

UN Special Rapporteur on VAW

• Most Member States have acknowledged that violence against women is the most prevalent human rights violation facing countries.

• This acknowledgement has not led to the adoption of necessary solutions that are coherent and sustainable, and which would lead to elimination of all forms of violence against all women.

Active Learning Exercise

• Your region/country perspective on a new mechanism to address VAW.

• Identify a “rapporteur” to report back on the regional issues uncovered in your discussion.