December 09 2005

By MS. JUNKO SAZAKI, Country Representative, UNFPA

November 25 th, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It also marks the beginning of sixteen days of activism against gender-based violence. By celebrating these events here in Nepal , we join the global community in collective effort to protect women and girls all over the world.

As our Executive Director Thoraya Obaid has said, “Every woman and girls has the right to education and health, including sexual and reproductive health.” In Nepal , let us add that we would strive to ensure that every woman has the right to equal property, equal citizenship rights, and equal access to migration and labor.

Worldwide, “every woman has the right to live in dignity: free of fear, coercion, violence, and discrimination.” Yet, in Nepal and for hundreds of millions of girls and women in other nations, as Obaid states, “these human rights are routinely denied.”

“Around the world, women and girls continue to be threatened by domestic violence and abuse in their own homes.” The secrecy that surrounds domestic violence means that incidents are very rarely reported, but we do know that globally one in three women in beaten, coerced into sex, or abused by a partner during her lifetime.

In Nepal in 2003-2004, almost two thousand cases of gender-based violence were reported to police, and almost half of these cases – over 900 instances – were domestic violence. Studies have shown that alcohol is involved in a vast majority – 75% -- of these cases.

These numbers are high, but in reality they very likely represent a small fraction of the total cases of domestic violence in Nepal , because gender-based violence is sustained by a culture of silence and denial. In one study, 100% of respondents said they knew of girls between the ages of 11 and 15 who had suffered sexual abuse.

In Nepal , women’s property rights, citizenship rights, labor rights, and migration rights are extremely limited. “Trafficking of women, a modern form of slavery, is on the rise,” in Nepal and around the world.

The toll on women and children in civil conflict, which Nepal is experiencing, is invariably heavy. As men are recruited into armed service, or migrate out of the country looking for work, women are left to care for children, the elderly, land, and the sustenance of their communities.

Women also make up a higher percentage of displaced populations, as many men have migrated out of Nepal for work and for safety. In conflict situations, the rape of women in sometimes used as a strategy of war. In addition, in emergency and relief efforts women’s needs for pregnancy care, sanitary supplies, clothing, and food are rarely considered.

In all these contexts, “violence and exploitation put women and girls at increased risk of HIV infection and further the spread of the AIDS pandemic.” Violence decreases women’s access to health services. Conflict and natural disasters seriously disrupt women’s access to pre-natal, delivery, and post-natal care. In Nepal , some 6000 women dies each year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth and in the context of conflict, this number surely increases.

This is a grave situation for the women of Nepal , but we are not without hope. His Majesty’s Government in Nepal recently established a zero tolerance policy for violence against women. Legislation to protect women from domestic violence is awaiting approval.

“Together we must prevent and punish violence against women. It is neither inevitable nor acceptable and it can be stopped. Social norms and attitudes that condone discrimination and violence against women and girls can be changed. This is the first step, which requires awareness raising, behavior change and social mobilization.

A second step is legal protection. We need to strengthen legal systems and the rule of law. The rights of women – including their rights to income, property, security and inheritance – need to be protected and those who violate the laws must be brought to justice.

A third step is the provision of health information and services. We need to do more to guarantee the right to sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, safe motherhood and HIV prevention.

Violence against women is a threat to health, but it is also a violation of human rights.” Violence poses physical and psychological threats for women, but it also carries heavy social and economic costs for women, as well as their families and communities. Violence against women undermines the well-being of entire countries.

To counter the effects of gender-based violence, UNFPA is committed to allowing the voices of women who have experienced violence to be heard, to sensitizing health service providers, and to advocating for policy and legal reform. UNFPA prioritizes partnering with men, boys and young people in order to increase their accountability in efforts to eliminate violence.

UNFPA is working with a wide range of partners to eliminate violence against women and to promote women’s empowerment. In Nepal , we are working with His Majesty’s Government to strengthen the national response to the sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights of women and girls.

With partner NGOs, we are working to include screening for gender-based violence into reproductive health services at district and local levels. We know that our local NGO partners are connected to social and cultural realities in the areas in which they work. Nepal ’s diversity means that perhaps more than elsewhere, we need to understand the specific contexts of our programs, and ensure that are culturally respectful. “We also emphasize male responsibility in our efforts to increase gender equality.”

As the baseline for all our work, UNFPA works to ensure women’s reproductive health and rights. At UNFPA headquarters, “We are convinced that this comprehensive approach – working with local partners, adopting culturally sensitive models, working with and alongside men in the workplace and in the home, and emphasizing health and reproductive rights – will move us closer to a world where women and girls can live free from fear and violence and reach their full potential, and where women and men can enjoy mutual respect and confidence.

Today, to continue our advocacy efforts, we are releasing three pamphlets on the issues of gender-based violence in Nepal . Please take these and help us make more people, agencies, and institutions aware of these issues and what can be done to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Today and every day we must speak out forcefully for zero tolerance of all forms of violence against women and girls. Together we have to do more to back up our rhetoric with action. And we must recognize that this is not a woman’s issue—this is an issue that concerns us all.”

(Excerpts of the statement delivered on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women)