Violence Against Women
Objectives
In 2011-2012, the VAW Working Group will:
(1) Continue to advocate for the UK Government to make ending VAW internationally a priority with a robust, coordinated and adequately resourced approach to tackling VAWG across FCO, MOD, DFID and the Home Office. We will achieve this by:
- Influencing the HMG VAW Action Plan in the lead up to the six month review
- Increasing the ability of the Champion for IVAW to be a spokesperson on IVAW in parliament and to the public
- Inputting into the development of DFID’s VAW work
- Ensuring IVAW is referenced in relevant cross-government strategies and policies (e.g. NAP, BSOS and CEDAW report)
- Starting a dialogue with MOD
- Increasing awareness of IVAW issues with parliamentarians
(2) Strengthen civil society’s voice on VAW by:
- Continuing engagement with GAPS
- Building and strengthening partnerships with other networks working on development and conflict such as the BOND Conflict Group
- Building new partnerships with domestic VAW networks such as the EVAW Coalition
(3) Increase the capacity of GAD network members to advocate on VAW issues by:
- Disseminating resources, policy briefings and recommendations – including through the website
- Sharing information and intelligence on HMG’s position and work on VAW through the working group
- Holding member’s meetings on VAW
Co-chairs:
Emily Esplen (Womankind) - Emily@womankind.org.uk
zohra moosa (ActionAid) - zohra.moosa@actionaid.org
November 2011
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe: Lessons on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls
On Thursday 24 November, GADN held an event in Parliament to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (on 25 November) and discuss tackling violence against women and girls. The panel speakers included Lynne Featherstone MP (Champion on International Violence Against Women), Rt. Hon Alan Duncan MP (Minister of State for International Development), Netsai Mushonga (Director of the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe) and Selay Ghaffar (Executive Director, Humanitarian Assistance for Women and Children in Afghanistan).
We heard about some of DFID’s work on VAWG and participants were given the opportunity to ask the Minister questions. Selay Ghaffar and Netsai Mushonga spoke about the challenges women face in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe and some of the work their organisations are doing to eliminate VAWG. Selay noted that over 75% of women in Afghanistan had experienced domestic violence in a country that has faced three decades of conflict. Netsai noted that the mainstream media often portrayed women only as victims, but when women are actors in peacebuilding instead of just seen as victims of violence, this is a strong step in the struggle to end violence against women. Netsai spoke about the need for security sector reform in Zimbabwe, with the sector (including police stations and the judiciary) needing to be much more gender sensitive, whilst Selay similarly spoke about the need for a strengthening of the judiciary sector in Afghanistan in order to eliminate the high levels of VAWG, including domestic violence. The discussion highlighted the need for women to be part of peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in conflict areas in order to prevent and address the high levels of violence against women associated with conflict. The need for education and empowerment of women, security and justice reform, and women's political participation were some of the key instruments identified in tackling violence against women and girls. Netsai Mushonga touched on the 50:50 campaign in Zimbabwe, re-launched in August 2011 which aims to bring to the attention of the public and political parties, the need to increase women in public office. It advocates for the use of legal quotas to legislate ‘at least' 50% participation of women in decision making structures and other strategies to achieve this goal. Learn more about the 50:50 campaign here.
In her first year as Champion on International Violence Against Women, Lynne Featherstone MP has been working on building consensus across the government and increasing awareness of the importance of tackling VAWG. She has been trying to influence all Ministers that are travelling to raise the issue wherever they go. On her visits to India and Nepal, she has been asking questions and has been reminding people at the highest level about the commitments they have made and instruments they have ratified. Her focus in the coming months will be on domestic violence and women's political participation.
Ocotber 2011
The working group has new co-chairs. Emily Esplen (Policy and Advocacy Manager, Womankind) will now be co-chairing the VAWG working group with zohra moosa (Women’s Rights Advisor, ActionAid). GADN would like to express a huge thank you to Mairi MacRae (Womankind) and Kate Bishop (currently on secondment at DFID from ActionAid) for all their work and effort put into coordinating this group since March. The group has worked extremely hard over the past eight months, including providing DFID with vital expertise on violence against women and girls.
September 2011
In September, GADN and GAPS wrote to the Government’s Building Stability Overseas Strategy (BSOS) team. In the letter, GADN and GAPS welcomed the publication of the BSOS and the UK’s commitment to a whole-government approach to conflict prevention and response. We particularly welcomed:
- The explicit recognition that ‘conflict and violence have a particularly negative impact on women, children and young people,’ and that violent conflict also has particularly catastrophic consequences for women who survive sexual violence.
- Paragraph 9.9 which highlights the importance of ‘supporting the role of women,’ emphasises the centrality of the role of women in building stability and explicitly references the UK’s commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and related resolutions (1820,1888,1889 and 1960) on women, peace and security.
- The £20million dedicated to the early action facility. We believe that if gender analysis is properly integrated, it will be a flexible and fast-moving response to threats of instability that has a real impact for women and girls.
However, despite the explicit references to the importance of women, peace and security, there are few tangible commitments to supporting women’s participation and tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). There is a limited gender perspective mainstreamed throughout the BSOS, for example:
- The National Action Plan on 1325 (NAP) is not mentioned as one of the strategies with which the BSOS will be aligned.
- There is no explicit reference of the need for specific gendered analysis of conflict situations, gender sensitive planning of interventions, or dedicated resources for this work.
- The BSOS does not explicitly recognise VAWG as a core security issue (i.e. both a cause and consequence of conflict).
The group provided recommendations around early warning systems and conflict assessment, partnership and accountability, security and access to justice, government coordination, building an evidence base and developing M&E, resources and skills, and working with multilaterals and regional organisations.
The group have now been asked by the FCO to organise a workshop on gender mainstreaming in BSOS implementation and ensuring coherence between the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and the BSOS.
June 2011
GADN’s VAW working group met with DFID leads on VAWG in mid-June to discussion country operation plans and ideas and examples of concrete interventions to reduce and eliminate VAWG in different contexts. The group also discussed the political environment, helping DFID to identify drivers of change and the most effective incentives for decision makers to address VAWG at national, local and community level. DFID are keen to identify joint areas for future work with the working group.
May 2011
Following involvement in the development of HMG’s Action Plan on ending VAWG, which was launched in March 2011, GADN’s VAW working group wrote to HMG to welcome the way in which the action plan sets out concrete actions on tackling international VAW, and also for the opportunity to input to the action plan as a working document.
The group felt that locating the international section within the partnership section of the Action Plan is problematic as the issues are cross-cutting across the sections (prevention, provision, partnership and justice and risk reduction), and felt that the ambitions of the plan are limited by the timeframe, which only maps existing short-term deadlines. The group also called for the language used in the introduction (‘curtails women and girl’s human rights’) to be strengthened to recognise VAW as a violation of human rights.
At the end of May, the group met with cross government officials working on VAWG to discuss their response to the action plan and a process of consultation going forward.
April 2011
In February, the VAWG working group provided Lynne Featherstone, Ministerial Champion on International Violence against Women, with a briefing on recommended priority areas of focus for the Minister, namely Sexual Violence in Conflict as a Security Issue, and Violence against Women and Political Participation. In April, the working group followed up this briefing with recommended country visits for Lynne Featherstone in line with these priority issues. On Sexual Violence in Conflict as a Security Issue, GADN recommended visiting the DRC, Ivory Coast or Liberia, and on Violence against Women and Political Participation, visits to Afghanistan, Egypt, Liberia or Zimbabwe were recommended. The group outlined the importance of the Minister meeting with women’s organisations and women’s rights activists in the places she visits. The group assured the Minister that whichever countries she decides to visit, members of the network will be happy to facilitate meetings with relevant partners in those countries.
March 2011
GADN would like to say goodbye and a huge thank you to Sharon Smee for chairing the VAW working group for 2010-2011. Sharon has now left ActionAid and has stepped down as chair of the group. Under Sharon, the group has had a highly successful year; coordinating campaign and advocacy work on a Minister for International VAWG which resulted in the appointment of a Champion in November 2010; providing briefings for Lynne Featherstone, the new Champion, on VAW and political participation as priority issues; influencing HMG’s Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan; producing a widely disseminated resource on VAWG; as well as holding a well attended joint meeting with GAPS in September on Peace, Security and Violence Against Women, at which representatives from the FCO updated GADN members on the revised National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325.
GADN wishes Sharon all the best for her future. We welcome Kate Bishop (ActionAid) and Mairi MacRae (WOMANKIND Worldwide) as new co-chairs of the working group.