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,
POWER AND
RESPONSIBILITI
ES

DISTRIBUTION
OF RESOURCES
AND REWARDS

GEND
ER

RESPONSIBILIT
IES, NEEDS,
EXPECTATIONS

SEXUALITY AND
SEXUAL
BEHAVIOR

GENDER, INTERACTING WITH OTHER VARIABLES DEFINES:

ACCESS AND CONTROL OVER

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

POWER AND DECISION MAKING

TIME

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 personenhances
Stronger organization
Revenue & market
segment

Skilled women-talent pool of

Administrators, coaches & officials

Contd..

Women in sports attracts public

Interest & private investment

Promoting girls &womenupport & 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
balance
In decision
making

Gender
impacts
Of policies
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

Accountabi
lity and
Rule of
Law

Universal
ity and
Inalienab
ility
Indivisibil
ity

PRINCIPL
ES

Participat
ion and
Inclusion

Equality
and NonDiscriminat
ion

InterDependen
ce and
InterRelatedne
ss

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 genderbased 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 nonpartner 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
healthchronic
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
liberty and
security of
person

right to
equality

right
to life

right to
equal
protection
under the
right to be
law free from
all forms of
discriminat
ion
right not to

Women
s
rights

be subjected
to torture,
or other
cruel,
inhuman or
degrading
treatment or
punishment.

Health reasons
To
Reduce serious consequences
womens physical and mental health

to

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

existing laws and their
implementation
raise the awareness of

personnel working in public

service departments

implementation

 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
political participation

and

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
en
g
i
l
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
program

Social
support
groups

Parenting &
child
programs

Media
interventio
n

NURSE FAMILY PARTNERSHIPUSA

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
skill
s

relationshi
ps

Social
awareness

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,

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,

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
(VIC), spatial
analysis
Increasing
accelerating
effect for density
of pub licences
on violence
Dramatic
increase in liquor
licenses
Currently
capped

England,
economic
modelling
minimum price
of 50p/alcohol
unit
estimated
would save:
2.1% of all
violence

10,300
incidents a year

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
situations each year

homicides

in

non-conflict

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

Gun law reforms in
Austria, 1997
minimum firearm
purchase age of 21
valid reason to
purchase a firearm
background
checks/psychological
testing
three day waiting
period between
firearm
licensing
and purchasing;
safe firearm storage
regulations

New Zealand
Reductions in
firearm suicides
following
legislative
changes
particularly seen
in under 25s

Preventing and reducing armed violence

Direct approaches
Measures to
reduce access to
firearms
Firearm injury
prevention
programmes
Criminal justice
interventions
Community based
programmes

Indirect
approaches
Parenting
programmes
Life skills
programmes
Alcohol-targeted
measures
Environmental and
urban design
Disrupting illegal
drug markets
Programmes to
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 schoolbased
programmes.
Some evidence
for communitybased
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

influence individual behaviour

strongly

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

Preach in churches
violence
& mosque

policies

As
a
man,
what
can
you
do?
Commit to nonviolence

Talk others on healthy

relationships

Respect girl and woman

As a young person, what can

you do? Talk to your
Stop

Friends about
Healthy relationships
respect

Solve problem by talking

Not fighting

Create youth groups