In the course of the last year ten Czech women have been killed in their homes by violent husbands or partners. Hundreds of others suffer psychological and physical abuse on a daily basis - often before the eyes of their children who are powerless to help. Now a new exhibition entitled "Silent Witnesses" is aiming to jolt society and Parliament into awareness of a growing problem.

Silent Witnesses are red paper silhouettes of women who were killed by their husbands. They stand in a semi-circle and each bears a name, age and how they were killed. Red candles flicker in the wind and behind the silent witnesses stand members of the non-governmental association Rosa in a silent vigil.

First launched in Minnesota in 1990, the Silent Witnesses campaign is a way of letting the public know what goes on behind many closed doors - and that physical abuse sometimes ends in death. Brona Vargova of Rosa says that the Czech Republic badly needs a law that would give abused women space and time to consider their situation and get out of an abusive relationship.

"We still do not have the possibility to expel an abuser from his house for a certain period of time. During this time the victim should be offered assistance and advice as to how she can deal with the problem. And she would feel safe making her decision. The way things are now it is usually the victim who flees the house in the middle of the night with her children, while the perpetrator stays at home."

What ROSA would like to see is an amendment to the law that would give the police the right to order an abuser out of the family home for a certain period of time. Police in neighbouring states such as Austria and Slovakia make use of this possibility and experts in the field claim that ten days beyond the reach of her abuser is enough for a woman to consider her situation objectively, seek help and come to a decision that could save her life. Unfortunately, many Czech MPs are still wavering - fearful that a change of the law could be abused in messy divorce cases.

What keeps women in abusive relationships for years is not just the feeling that they have no place to go. It is a persistent belief that the violence is temporary and that their partner will change. On average it takes women an incredible ten to 15 years to recognize that they have a serious problem and need to get out of the relationship. By that time the abuse is so bad that many of them don't make it out alive. "It is not easy to press charges against someone who was your lover, who is the father of your children, with whom you spent some happy times. It is a very difficult situation, psychologically."

In addition to a telephone helpline Rosa operates three shelters for abused women in different parts of the Czech Republic. Brona Vargova says that many more are needed. She claims the difference between the Czech Republic and other European states is not in the extent of abuse women suffer but rather in the safety network provided for them. Also, there is a need to increase awareness of the fact that psychological abuse is also a serious problem and one that usually leads to physical abuse at a later stage.

"The media is usually only interested in murders, brutal beatings and violence. But there are other forms of abuse. For instance psychological abuse is very traumatic for the victim and sometimes these women come to us and say -we are probably not victims of abuse because we don't have broken legs and arms and bruises to show for it. I think we need to make people realize there are all kinds of abuse and they are fully entitled to seek help."

ROSA's helpline in the Czech Republic is: 602 246 102

Source: Czech Radio 7, Radio Prague
URL: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/73066
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Press Release

GENEVA, 25 November 2005

Today, 25 November, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is also the first day of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, dedicated this year to the call: “For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World: No More Violence”.

Violence against women is one of the most outrageous and pervasive human rights scandals of our times, and a global health crisis. Tragically, much of the violence directed towards women occurs in the home. Every day, in every country, women and girls are beaten and sexually assaulted by husbands, fathers, brothers, cousins – or by friends of the family. For women who experience violence, the consequences are numerous, and in some cases even fatal.

The majority remain silent about their experiences and do not seek help, fearing blame and further violence due to lack of protection and support. In many cases, even if women want to seek legal redress, they are unable to: 79 countries currently have no law against domestic violence, and many more lack adequate enforcement of the laws that do exist. Fewer still provide comprehensive psychosocial, medical, financial and legal support to survivors of violence.

Women are breaking the silence on domestic violence, however. As part of a multi-country study, World Health Organization researchers spoke to some 24,000 women about their own experiences with violence. The results of the study reveal the sheer magnitude of the problem: in most sites, between a quarter and half of women in relationships had suffered physical or sexual violence. In some settings, 46 per cent of women surveyed had been raped.

Violence is the one of the leading causes of death or injury to women. In a 1994 WHO study of causes and risk factors for disability and death among women aged 15 to 44, rape and domestic violence rated higher than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria. Increasingly, research is illustrating how violence is associated with HIV transmission.

Violence against women and the threat of such violence dramatically increase women’s and girls’ risk of contracting to HIV by making it difficult – sometimes impossible – for women to abstain from sex, or to use a condom, in particular when they know or suspect that their partner is not faithful. Violence against women is also a barrier for women in accessing essential HIV prevention, treatment, and care services.

The need for global action on domestic violence has never been clearer. This is why the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS (a UNAIDS initiative) is urging international funding organizations to expand programmes that support governments and NGOs in their efforts to address the linkages between the twin epidemics of violence against women and AIDS. Measures to reduce violence against women need to become part of national AIDS plans, just as HIV prevention, treatment, and care services have to be made part of programmes addressing violence against women. We urge states to strengthen legal and policy environments so that laws prohibiting violence against women are enacted and enforced. We call on governments, together with civil society, to strengthen initiatives that empower women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from violence and the risk of HIV infection.

It is twelve years since UN Member States agreed on an international Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and four since they put their names to the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS adopted at the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. Promises have been made. They must be honoured.

Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS

Yakin Ertürk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and member of the Leadership Council of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS

Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International and member of the Leadership Council of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS

Violeta Ross, International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS and member of the Leadership Council of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS

For more information, please contact Sarah Russell, Advocacy Adviser at russells@unaids.org.

Press Release

HIGH COMMISSIONER AND INDEPENDENT EXPERT URGE STRONGER EFFORTS TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PRIVATE SPHERE

24 November 2005

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence on 25 November, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk, call on Governments, the wider United Nations system and civil society to strengthen efforts to address violence against women in the private sphere.

Most violence against women is committed in realms which are less visible and open to State intervention. In every country of the world, men beat, mutilate, rape and murder their wives, daughters and other female relatives. In some countries, legislation explicitly legitimizes this violence. In many countries, there is no legislation specifically criminalizing violence against women perpetrated in the private sphere. Where there is legislation and policies to eradicate domestic violence, these are often not implemented, access to services (including social, medical, and legal services) is limited and the perpetrators are not held accountable and enjoy impunity. We urge States to challenge societal values that support discrimination against women and legitimize violence against them; adopt specific legislation addressing domestic violence and end impunity for crimes committed against women.

International law obliges States to prevent, investigate and punish all acts of violence against women, whether they are committed by private or State actors. Failure to meet this obligation is a violation of women's human rights. Police, members of the judiciary and the broader criminal justice system must ensure that gender justice becomes a reality. Women must have the broadest access to affordable social, health and legal services. In addressing the root causes of violence against women all forms of discrimination and unequal power hierarchies must be eliminated. Women's economic and political empowerment must be supported and gender roles which relegate women to an inferior status and make them vulnerable to violence must be continually challenged.

We recognize the efforts of Governments to take a strong stand in this context. We welcome the decisions of courts and tribunals that reflect progressive interpretations of international law. For example, gender-based persecution is increasing being recognized as grounds for asylum and more and more courts are recognizing marital rape as a crime. But this is not enough. There is a clear need for greater political will to prioritize violence against women as a fundamental human rights violation, which can be eliminated with appropriate dedication and resources.

We can celebrate the fact that the efforts of the past decade have brought awareness that violence is not a fate and have given hope to women in all corners of the world that it can be stopped. We must respond to that hope.

OSCE Centre to hold conference on domestic violence in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, 24 November 2005

Ways of combating domestic violence will be the focus of a conference that opens tomorrow in the Tajik capital.

Organized by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, the two-day event will bring together over 150 participants representing governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), independent experts and the media.

Participants are expected to lobby for the adoption of the draft law on social and legal protection of victims of domestic violence, drafted in 2003 by NGOs and independent experts, as well discuss ways to provide psychological help to victims of domestic violence, including through special educational and training programmes for psychologists and lawyers.

The conference is also expected to support legislative amendments to the Tajik Family, Civil, and Land Codes, which would help improve and guarantee women's property rights.

"Women's economic dependence is the root of domestic violence," said Ambassador Alain Couanon, Head of the OSCE Centre.

"In July, the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe opened the first-ever shelter for women-victims of domestic violence in Tajikistan. In addition, between 2004 and 2005, it opened 10 resource centres for women, which offer legal and psychological help, and training on gender equality and the prevention of domestic violence."

The conference was funded by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Act Central Asia.

It has been co-organized by the Tajik Government's Committee on Women and Family Issues, the Tajik Association of Psychologists, the Tajik Association of Young Lawyers, the NGO Gender Equality and the Prevention of Violence against Women, and other associations.

Source link: OSCE Centre in Dushanbe
Contacts
Eugenia Benigni
Political and Media Officer

12, Zikrullo Khojaev Str.
734017 Dushanbe
Tajikistan
Tel: +992 918 677413 (mobile)
+992 372 24 58 79
+992 372 21 40 63
+992 372 24 33 38
Fax: +992 372 24 91 59
cid-tj@osce.org
eugenia.benigni@osce.org

A Czech regional court in Ostava held Vitkovice Hospital, an Ostavian hospital, liable for the coercive sterilization of Helena Ferencikova, a Roma woman.  This case is significant because it is the first recognition by a court that the practice of coercive sterilization of a Roma woman took place.  The case is also important because it recognizes that a signature on a consent form for sterilization may not reflect a woman’s informed approval for the procedure.

Ferencikova was nineteen years old when she was sterilized.  She was in labor with her second son when the hospital staff gave her a form to sign.  She says that she did not understand what she was signing and was kept from seeking the advice of her husband.  The form gave written consent to sterilization.  The hospital claimed that it had Ferencikova’s health in mind when recommending the procedure.  They reasoned that Ferencikova had undergone two caesarean sections and another posed a risk to her health.  The Court found that the agreement on which the hospital relied was unqualified. 

Ferencikova’s case is not unique.  The Czech Public Defender of Rights is currently representing nearly seventy women, who like Ferencikova, insist that they did not provide informed consent to sterilization.  Many similar suits are anticipated to follow this one.

The Court did not award damages.  Instead, it ordered the hospital to address the complaint and apologize to Ferencikova.  The hospital intends to appeal the decision.

Compiled from:

Brian Kennety, Check Court Rules in First-ever Case Heard on “Coercive Sterilization”, Radio Praha, November 11, 2005.

Sorry for Sterilization!, Dzeno Association, November 14, 2005.

In an effort to remove gender inequalities and reduce poverty, the conference identified 5 necessary steps towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These five steps included: political forum, greater political leverage of gender equality groups, a secure knowledge base, accountability at the national and regional levels, and the simplification of key issues in promoting gender equality in human development.

At the conference, entitled “Owning Development: Promoting Gender Equality in New Modalities and Partnerships,” UNIFEM Executive Director Noleen Heyzer told delegates, “The new development architecture now taking shape represents a historic opportunity to invest in strategies that actually work. We need to recognize this and commit the resources needed to apply them broadly, especially in the world’s poorest countries.”

Lieve Fransen, head of the human and social development unit in the European Commission agreed with general consensus that action needs to be taken at the ground level, saying “there are things that we can do now. We don't need more research, we have money to do it now.”

Compiled from: Bianchi, Stefania, “Women Agree New Areas for Action,” Inter Press Service News Agency , (2005).

Compiled from: “Housing Buys Time for Women Fleeing Violence,” Women’s eNews (16 October 2005);
“Violence Against Women Act 2005 Title VI – Housing,” National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women;
“New Violence Bill to Give Programs More Funds,” Women’s eNews (29 July 2005).

For more information, please visit WUNRN’s website here.

Compiled from: “WUNRN Calls for Information, Issues, on Women and Girls of All Countries,” The Women’s UN Network (2005).

Compiled from: “Resources Related to Women’s Land Rights,” ESCR-Net. (2005).

The answers addressed several areas in which work is needed in order to accomplish change.  One of the panelists emphasized the analysis of the effect of economic policies on women.  A second mentioned the need to view HIV/AIDS as a global problem, rather than an African problem.  Others stressed areas such as sex and sexuality, the environment and food security, using the U.N. effectively, and demanding fair trade practices and economic policies.

The conference ended with optimism.  The closing report on the conference states, “[C]hange happens by unleashing the possibility and power that we all have to create a collective and embodied justice.”

Compiled from: "Final Plenary: How Does Change Happen? A Wrap-Up," Kathambi Kinoti, AWID , 30 October 2005.

At the recent World Summit held in September 2005, world leaders reiterated the importance of women's role in peacebuilding and the prevention and resolution of conflict, reaffirming their commitments to full implementation of resolution 1325. They also explicitly condemned "all violations of the human rights of women and girls in situations of armed conflict and the use of sexual exploitation, violence and abuse," and committed to "elaborating and implementing strategies to report on, prevent and punish gender-based violence."

While previous reviews of the level of implementation have revealed progress achieved in a number of areas, these reviews have also clearly shown that much stronger and coordinated efforts are needed to reach full implementation.  The United Nations Security Council recently condemned the continuing sexual abuse and violence against women during war. The Security Council also urged that more women should get the opportunity to participate in peace negotiations and peace-building activities (News24.com). 

With the aim of strengthening the commitment and accountability of the United Nations to gender equality, the UN issued a comprehensive plan October 18, 2005, for reinforcing and integrating women's issues into the world body's peacekeeping and post-conflict operations.  The new report, prepared by the Inter-Agency Task Force, tackles the broad application of gender equality as well as the protection of women through all phases of peacekeeping, humanitarian and post-conflict operations. The plan drew on contributions from 37 different UN agencies and provides a blueprint for action to deliver concrete changes in how they conduct their activities in coming years. 

Over the last five years, October has become a month of celebration and commemoration of women's efforts to build peace and resolve conflict, with hundreds of organizations (UNIFEM activities) around the world holding events and activities.

Also during October, a conference, chaired by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNIFEM, was held in New York, which brought together more than 40 experts in sexual violence prevention and treatment.  The meeting served as the launch for an agreed set of guidelines  for a coordinated approach to sexual violence prevention and care in emergency settings.

Compiled from:

Security Council Resolution 1325 Turns 5, Unifem Currents, UNIFEM, October 2005;
UN: Women victims of sex abuse, News24.com, October 28, 2005;
Facts and Figures: On Women, Peace and Security, UN Women Watch, October 2005.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund’s National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence has released A Domestic Violence Campus Organizing Guide for Health Professional Students and Faculty.  The guide is a new resource to help students and faculty organize various aspects of domestic violence issues.  A goal of the guide is to help the health care community combat violence and assist victims.  The guide includes examples of successful student efforts to improve the health care system's response to domestic violence issues, as well as a Domestic Violence Assessment Guide and an extensive list of resources and referrals.

The guide is available here. 

Compiled from:

Helping the Next Generation of Health Professionals Address Domestic Violence, News Flash, October 27, 2005.

These guidelines "will be field-tested in 2005-2006," and then a final version will be released in 2006.

Compiled from:
"Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings - Focusing on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence in Emergencies," Inter-Agency Standing Committee, September 2005.

BMRF operates a toll free hotline 1-866-592-7870.  The hotline is staffed by volunteers, who provide referrals to domestic violence shelters and other community services available for women and their children in all 50 states of the U.S.  An extensive resource database is maintained and utilized by hotline.

The website also supports a “Grants to Shelters” program.  This program provides pre-approved shelters with cash and/or store vouchers to assist women and children with obtaining food, housing, clothes, shoes, school supplies, etc.

Battered Mothers Resource Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 7166, Columbia, MO 65205
Call Toll-Free: 866-592-7870

helpinfo@batteredmothers

Compiled from:  Battered Mothers Resource Fund, accessed on November 2, 2005.

For the first time in a UN agreement at the level of Heads of State, the 2005 World Summit Outcome document included particularly detailed language on gender equality.  The specific language "we reaffirm that gender equality and the promotion and protection of the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all are essential to advance development and peace and security" is of special significance for women's rights advocates.

World leaders reiterated the importance of women's role in peacebuilding and the prevention and resolution of conflict, reaffirming their commitments to full implementation of resolution 1325. They also explicitly condemned "all violations of the human rights of women and girls in situations of armed conflict and the use of sexual exploitation, violence and abuse," and committed to "elaborating and implementing strategies to report on, prevent and punish gender-based violence."

Compiled from: Beijing and Beyond, Women's Alert: a Gender Monitoring Group of the 2005 World Summit, October 12, 2005; Security Council Resolution 1325 Turns 5, UNIFEM, October 2005.

Ending trafficking in persons is a U.S. priority. In addition to issuing the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which has helped generate tremendous government action globally, the U.S. has given nearly $300 million to anti-trafficking programs abroad in the past four years. It has also spent millions more on anti-trafficking efforts domestically, including stepping up prosecutions of traffickers and increasing assistance to victims of this crime. And it has strongly supported actions to increase attention to TIP in international organizations. The goal is abolition so that all people may enjoy freedom, health, and safety.

Compiled from: Ambassador John R. Miller letter, U.S. State Department, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, October 7, 2005.

On Tuesday October 17, 2005, Refugees International released a report titled “Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation & Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions.”  The report details that a “boys will be boys” attitude among UN Peacekeepers permits and tolerates the sexual exploitation and abuse of local women.  The report assessed, “This attitude is slowly changing, but the UN must go beyond rhetoric and ensure that the resources needed to change this culture are available.”

Knowledge of an existing problem of UN peacekeeper abuse of power is not new.  There has been significant attention on the matter particularly since the 2004 exposure of sexual exploitation of women in the Congo.  In the Congo, allegations of sexual exploitation extended to females as young as 12 years old.  Sex has been exchanged for food, money, and jobs.  Allegations of sexual abuse have been made in each of the UN’s peacekeeping missions over the past 15 years.

The UN has acknowledged the problem in its own report published in March 2005.  The report included recommendations on change to better the situation.  Since August, the UN has implemented specific units within peacekeeping missions that oversee the training of peacekeeping personal in the understanding of what constitutes sexual abuse and exploitation.  These units are also set up to receive, review, and forward complaints of abuse.

Sarah Martin, the author of the Refugees International report, attributes the problem of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers to gender inequality.  She states, “These problems will persist until the root causes are addressed: the inequity between men and women.”  Recommendations put forward by Martin include the establishment of micro-finance and income-generating projects focused on women.  Such efforts at empowering women would help chip away at inequality.

The full report can be accessed here.

Compiled from:

Bojana Stoparic, Report Says Abuse by U.N.'s Blue-Helmets Persists, Women's eNews, October 18, 2005.

Report Charges that UN Soldiers Covering Up Sexual Exploitation, Rape and Abuse, LifeSite, October 20, 2005.

An investigation has been conducted regarding the forced sterilization of Roma women in Slovakia in response to allegations that Slovakian Roma women were sterilized against their will.  Body and Soul, a 2003 report, enumerated more than one hundred and ten stories of sterilized Roma women. 

Jozef Centes, deputy director of the criminal department of the General Prosecutor’s office, stated that in August the Office received a report from the United Nations stating that the claim of forced sterilization will not be investigated.  Based on this United Nations decision, Centes concluded that illegal sterilization of Roma women has not been taking place.

Human rights activists, however, have drawn attention to the loopholes of the argument that forced sterilizations did not take place.  While Centes states that each sterilized woman did sign a consent form permitting the procedure, human rights activist have noted that these signatures may have been attained under extreme circumstances without the patients understanding what they were signing.

The issue has been taken to the European Union human rights court.  There are also many civil court cases regarding this matter that have not yet been resolved.  However, the United Nations decision not to investigate the case seems to have provided relief to Slovakia.

Compiled from:

"Slovakia Investigates Allegations that Romany Women Were Sterilized Without Consent," Insight Central Europe, 21 October 2005.