GENDER EQUITY, HUMAN RIGHTS

BASED APPROACH ON PREVENTION

OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

BY
PROF DR J
RUKUMANI
PRINCIPAL, CON
MTPG&RIHS
 INTRODUCTION
Gender is the social construction of the
biological differences between men and
women
Gender is not Sex
Gender is not Women

Gender is learned, socially determined

behavior
Contd..
Gender is a focus on the unequal relations
between men and women
 MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY
(GENDER ROLES)

ROLES, STATUS,
NORMS,VALUES

THE DIVISION
OF LABOUR, RESPONSIBILIT
POWER AND IES, NEEDS,
RESPONSIBILITI GEND EXPECTATIONS
ES ER

DISTRIBUTION SEXUALITY AND

OF RESOURCES SEXUAL
AND REWARDS BEHAVIOR
 GENDER, INTERACTING WITH OTHER VARIABLES DEFINES:

ACCESS AND CONTROL OVER

ECONOMIC
AL AND INFORMAT
FAMILY POLITICAL
SOCIAL ION &
RESOURCE RESOURCE TIME
RESOURCE EDUCATIO
S S
S N

POWER AND DECISION MAKING

 WHAT IS GENDER EQUITY???

Gender Equity is the process of

allocating resources, programs, and
decision making fairly to both males and
females without any discrimination on the
basis of sexand addressing any
imbalances in the benefits available to
males and females
 Gender equality is the process of allocating
resources, programs and decision making
so that males and females have the same/
equal value.

But the principle of equal treatment tends

to ignore the fact that people differ in their
capacities, interests, resources and
experiences
 Equity has the goal of providing everyone
with the full range of opportunities and
benefits
BENEFITS OF GENDER EQUITY

Population base & tapping the

Girls in sports- resources of every person-
enhances Stronger organization
Revenue & market
segment
Skilled women-talent pool of
Administrators, coaches & officials
 Contd..

Women in sports attracts public

Interest & private investment

Promoting girls &women-

upport & prestige to organization
 To build equal
partnership
Opportunities for mothers
And daughters Sports and health fo
girls
treating everyone
fairly-reducing
Expenses on
unnecessary
lawsuits
 INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD)

To tackle gender issues

ISSD approach is to provide policy on Achieving

equitable access for both women and men to

food and water, economic opportunities,

osystem services, decision making, policies
 Equitable access to
Life resources

Gender
Gender impacts
Of policies
balance
In decision
making Sustainable
Development &
Rio convention
Gender issues
 WHAT IS HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH?

A human rights based approach is about

empowering people to know and claim
their rights and increasing the ability and
accountability of individuals and
institutions who are responsible for
respecting, protecting and fulfilling rights.

Know
your
rights..
Human rights based approach

Integratin
g both for
Policy
making &
day to day
running of
organizati
on
 THE PANEL PRINCIPLES

There are some underlying principles which

are of fundamental importance in applying a
human rights based approach in practice.
There are 5 PANEL principles

1. Participation 2.
Accountability
 3. No discrimination
& equality

4. Empowerment
of rights holders

5. Legality of rights
6 MAIN PRINCIPLES
Universal
ity and
Inalienab
Accountabi ility
lity and Indivisibil
Rule of ity
Law
PRINCIPL
Inter-
ES Dependen
Participat ce and
ion and Inter-
Inclusion Relatedne
Equality ss
and Non-
Discriminat
ion
 BACK GROUND-VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN(VAW)
Today violence against women is recognized
as a critical public health and fundamental
human rights issue

Activism from womens organizations over

the last decades broke the silence on
violence against women.
 WHAT IS VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN?
Violence against women is any act of gender-
based violence that results in, or is likely to
result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such
acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty,
whether occurring in the public or private life.
VIOLEN
CE
 TYPES OF VIOLENCE
Physical violence
Hitting, slapping, punching,
kicking, burning, cutting, or
otherwise harming the body

Sexual violence
Rape (in or out of marriage),
assault, attempted rape,
forced prostitution, incest, coercion,
female genital mutilation,
sexual harassment,
inappropriate/unwanted touching
Economic Violence
Overwork, denial of
ownership of property,
withholding or taking
earnings, denial of
inheritance, withholding
education, unequal pay, not
being allowed to work,
deprivation of access to
basic needs such as food
and shelter.

Emotional violence
Verbal abuse, threats,
insults, control, constant
criticism, intimidation,
humiliation.
CAUSES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The cause of violence against women is womens

low status in the home and community.
Using power and control over women is violence
Women are considered less valuable than and
subordinate to men. Men are seen as having power
and legitimacy to control women
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT WOMENS LIFE CYCLE

Infancy:
When they are born, girl babies
in some parts of Africa are
vulnerable to general neglect
such as less healthcare and
nutrition than male children of
the same age

Childhood:
Young girls are faced with
sexual abuse, malnutrition,
FGM, overwork
Contd..

Adolescence:
Forced prostitution,
coercion, transactional sex,
trafficking, forced early
marriage, rape and other
forms of sexual abuse

Reproductive age:
Intimate partner violence,
sexual assault by non-
partner or intimate partner,
sexual harassment, sex
trafficking
Contd..
Elderly:
Elder/widow abuse, loss of land and
inheritance, rape
CONSEQUENCES OF VAW FOR WOMEN
Physical Consequences
Physical injuries - fractures, concussions,
cuts, broken bones, gunshot wounds,
Poor health- chronic pain,
gastrointestinal disorders, Permanent
disability, Death due to homicide or
suicide

Sexual consequences
Unwanted pregnancies, Sexually
transmitted infections including HIV,

Miscarriages, low birth weight babies

Emotional Consequences
Depression, Stress, Panic
disorders, Low self esteem,
Drug and/or alcohol abuse

Economic Consequences
Loss of economic
productivity, Less hours
worked due to injury and
illness, Costs of treatment
reduces family and
community incomes
 CONSEQUENCES OF VAW FOR
MEN
Unhappy relationship with partner

Emotional distance and

mistrust from the children

Health problems such as

sexually transmitted
infections including HIV/AIDS
Contd..
Emotional problems,
such as depression,
hopelessness, lack of satisfaction

Strain on the finances of the family due to

expenditure on treatment, loss of productive
hours

Imprisonment

Community resources used

solving violence cases with
authorities i.e. police, family or clan leaders
CONSEQUENCES OF VAW FOR CHILDREN

Children live in fear all the time

Low self esteem
Problems in school e.g. poor performance
Violent behavior
Sensitive
Withdrawal from activities
Sleeping problems
 CONSEQUENCES OF VAW FOR
COMMUNITIES

Loss of productive labor force due to poor

health, disability, death

Increased crime

Lack of harmony within

the community
Contd..
Women excluded from
leadership and political processes

Alcohol and drug abuse

Stress on health and social services

Underdevelopment of community
 WHY SHOULD WE PREVENT VAW??
Womens human rights
right to
right to
equal
liberty and
protection
security of
under the
right to be
person
law free from
right to all forms of
equality discriminat
ion
right not to
be subjected
to torture,
Women
right or other
s cruel,
to life rights inhuman or
degrading
treatment or
punishment.
Health reasons
To Reduce serious consequences to
womens physical and mental health

To Reduces the transmission of STDs

including HIV/AIDS
Economic reasons
To Reduce the burden on healthcare systems
To Reduce the strain on family resources and
national resources as well
To Foster economic growth by having more
productive hours, victims of violence have
less hours spent in production
What can you
do to
Prevent
VAW???
 Implement international
conventions eliminate gender-based
violence

Reviewing existing laws and establishing

accountability mechanisms
Draw up comprehensive, feasible and effective
laws and policies
 Expand definitions of domestic violence in
existing laws

bridge the gap between

implementation
existing laws and their
implementation

raise the awareness of

personnel working in public
service departments
 Strengthen education by bringing
prevention work to campuses and
communities and raising public awareness
through media

Enable social workers, and psychological

and medical institutions
 Police should enforce the law strictly,
and reprimand and
punish all perpetrators of
domestic violence

Judges should issue domestic violence

protection orders
 Courts and prisons should consider leniency
to women who commit the self-defense
murder of their perpetrators by reducing jail
sentences or releasing women on parole.

Employers and enterprises should establish

mechanisms and policies to intervene in
sexual harassment
Urgent actions should be taken
to formulate a state action plan
to raise legislators and decision makers attention
to expedite the launching of new law and policies
to conduct monitoring and evaluation of this
enforcement
 to improve the availability of sex-disaggregated
data statistics
good practices and the multi-sectoral intervention
model
transform the attitude and behaviors of
perpetrators through education and community
services
 To refine policies for providing
quality public services

to train various service provision

personnel, law enforcement officers
and judiciaries

to build a support and

service system to ensure social
insurance

To encourage and support civil

society organizations
to fund more pilot projects
Contd..
Womens economic empowerment and
political participation

to enable the pursuit of gender equality,

to reinforce economic equity

participate in decision-making on public
issues
Provide quality services that consider womens needs
and interests
 PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE

1.6 million people die each year through

violence
Estimated economic cost of $151
billion
Millions more affected as victims and
witnesses
Physical and mental health
Education and employment
Relationships and social functioning
Cycles of violence
Contd..
Public health approach

ligen
l
Inte -led
ce

Multi
agency

Evidence
based
 Developing safe, stable & nurturing
relationships between children & their
parents & caregiver
Contd..
Children at greater risk of being abused
when,
Parents having little
understanding of child
development

less affectionate and

responsive

use harsh or
inconsistent
punishment
Contd..
Early relationships are central to a childs
development
Affect brain development
Affect social, emotional and intellectual development

Lack of safe, stable and nurturing relationships in

childhood can have long-lasting effects:
Anxiety, low self-esteem, difficulty forming
relationships
Increased risks of violence
 Early, primary prevention to teach parenting skills and support healthy child development

Parenting &
Parenting
child
program programs

Social Media
support interventio
groups n
NURSE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP-
USA

Targets low-income first time mothers

Pre and post natal nurse home visits (early in

pregnancy to age 2)

Long term evaluation 15 years

Lower levels of child abuse/neglect by mothers

Most effective for deprived women

 Developing life skills in children & adolescents

Abilities for adaptive and positive

behaviour that enable individuals to deal
effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life
Self
awarene
ss

Decision
making
Life Social
awareness

skill
relationshi
ps
s Self
managem
ent
 Interventions to develop life skills can:
Improve social and emotional competence
Improve school participation & performance

Increase prospects for employment

Addressing risk factors for violence:
Poor social competence
Low academic achievement and truancy
Contd..
Provide cognitive, emotional, interpersonal
& social skills to enable youth to deal with
the challenges of life
 Preschool Enrichment
Preparing children for school, Social,
emotional and educational skills

Some strong
evidence that
preschool
enrichment and
social development
programmes can
reduce aggression
and improve social
skills, particularly in
at-risk youth
 Social Development Programmes

Emotional & social skills

Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies

(PATHS)
Successful school programmes
 Reducing availability & harmful use of alcohol

Strong links between alcohol and violence

30%
violent
deaths
related
to
alcohol

Reduce violence and other alcohol

related harm
Regulating alcohol availability

Australia
England,
(VIC), spatial
economic
analysis
modelling
Increasing minimum price
accelerating of 50p/alcohol
effect for density unit
of pub licences
estimated
on violence
would save:
Dramatic
2.1% of all
increase in liquor
violence
licenses
10,300
Currently
incidents a year
capped
Contd..
Evidence promising,
suggesting that
alcohol-focused
measures can
reduce violence.
However, many
barriers and few
available studies
Reducing access to lethal means

Guns
360,000 firearm homicides in non-conflict
situations each year
A further 52,000 deaths directly through armed
conflict
Knives
Around 40% of
homicides in
the European
Region are due
to knives and
sharp
implements

Pesticides
Pesticide
ingestion
accounts for
370,000
suicides each
year - over a
third of all
suicides
Removing the means to lethal violence
Legislative measures
E.g. bans and licensing schemes
Increased enforcement
E.g. test purchasing, stop and search

Weapons amnesties
Safer storage
Some evidence of success,
mainly for firearms legislation.
Elsewhere evidence base poorly
developed. More research
needed, particularly in
developing countries
Preventing Access to Lethal Means
New Zealand
Reductions in
Gun law reforms in firearm suicides
Austria, 1997
following
minimum firearm
purchase age of 21 legislative
valid reason to changes
purchase a firearm
particularly seen
background
checks/psychological in under 25s
testing
three day waiting
period between
firearm licensing
and purchasing;
safe firearm storage
regulations
 Preventing and reducing armed violence

Indirect
Direct approaches approaches
Measures to Parenting
reduce access to programmes
firearms Life skills
programmes
Firearm injury
Alcohol-targeted
prevention measures
programmes Environmental and
Criminal justice urban design
interventions Disrupting illegal
Community based drug markets
Programmes to
programmes
reduce inequalities
Promoting gender equality to prevent violence against women
Contd..
School-based interventions
Addressing gender norms and attitudes, e.g. safer dating

Community interventions
Microfinance programmes, combined with gender equity
training

Life skills programmes

educate about gender-based violence

and develop relationship skills

Contd..
Good evidence
for school-
based
programmes.
Some evidence
for community-
based
interventions,
although
further
research is
needed
 IMAGE: Microfinance in South Africa

Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and

Gender Equity
improve womens employment opportunities
increase influence in household decision
making
increase ability to resolve marital conflicts
strengthen social networks
reduce HIV transmission
 Changing cultural and social norms that support violence

Cultural and social norms strongly

influence individual behaviour
Cultural acceptance of violence is a risk
factor for many violence types
Social tolerance of violence likely learned
in childhood
Contd..
Mass media campaigns
Social norms / marketing
Laws and policies

Limited evidence for

most types of
interventions in this
area. Further rigorous
evaluations are needed.
 Changing social norms in South Africa
Soul City
Social and behavioural change
Edutainment:
Soap opera, radio, information booklets
Address social issues
o Violence against women
o Alcohol and violence
Intimate partner violence (IPV)
After 8 months:
Less acceptance of IPV
Increase in belief that communities can help prevent IPV
No measurement of violent behaviour
 Victim identification, care and support programmes

Screening and referral

Advocacy support

Psychosocial interventions

Protection ordersGood evidence for the use of

advocacy support
programmes. Promising
evidence for screening and
referral, psychosocial
interventions and protection
orders
 Supporting abused pregnant women in China

Based on US programme (Parker et

al, 1999)
Empowerment training enhance
womens independence and control
Reduced violence in pregnant abused
women
Hong Kong
Pregnant women attending first
antenatal appointment
Screened for physical, sexual and
emotional intimate partner abuse
Assigned to intervention or control
(standard care)
Contd..
Intervention
One-to-one session (30 mins)
Advise on safety, decision making and
problem solving
Additional component on empathic
understanding
Cultural modifications (e.g. shame of
disclosure outside family)
After intervention:
Less psychological and minor physical
violence (but not less sexual or severe
physical violence)
Also lower post natal depression
STATE OF EVIDENCE

Wide range of
interventions can prevent
violence
Quality of the evidence
varies widely
Strongest evidence for
early life, primary
prevention
Promising evidence
elsewhere, need greater
research
Geographical spread of
evidence is poor
 As a woman, what can you do?

the words of victims To

violenc
Healthy relationship e

In family
policies

Preach in churches
& mosque violence
As a man,
Commit to non-
what can you do?
Talk others on healthy
violence relationships

Respect girl and woman

 As a young person, what can
you do? Talk to your
Friends about
Healthy relationships
Stop
respect

Solve problem by talking

Not fighting

Create youth groups