Violence against women, peace and security
On 25th November the Stabilisation Unit, DFID and FCO held an event to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Attendees from NGOs, Government and the SU’s Civilian Stabilisation Group focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Nepal where the UK Government has set out its first bilateral action plans under UNSCR 1325. These plans are intended to drive an approach that will maximise the effectiveness of HMG’s work on the ground.
The DRC has been branded “the worst place in the world to be a woman” and many other depressive descriptions. In 2010/11 women in DRC continued to face insecurity, limited representation in governance, and poor access to employment and services. With conflict ongoing in the east, a lack of state authority in many areas, and high levels of poverty throughout the country, women need to play a vital role in bringing peace and stability to DRC.
Jose Musau Kalanda and Victoria Dove Dimandja from the ‘It Must Stop Campaign’ believe that education is key, stating that
"Both Congolese men and women need to be educated on their roles in the society, Congolese men have to change their perception and attitude towards women, perception which is that women are inferior and are good for nothing. The assumption that a husband has the right to beat his wife, the sexual grade at schools, colleges and universities or sexual promotion in the workplace have to be strongly denounced and condemned."
Leila Blacking, from the SU’s Civilian Stabilisation Group and recently returned from a deployment as a Gender and Justice Advisor in Helmand, Afghanistan detailed the security issues faced by Helmandi women including domestic violence, forced marriages, high illiteracy rates, poor access to healthcare and lack of livelihoods. The isolation of many rural communities makes it difficult to raise awareness of women’s rights. Leila highlighted the importance of improving the capacity of the Afghan rule of law sector, and supporting local initiatives, both to safeguard human rights and to build long term stability of Afghanistan. She used the example of an Afghan government prosecutor who said that a “good Pashtun woman - if she is smart - should rather die or kill herself before coming to the government for help”, to which Leila commented:
“He should be upholding the laws protecting women, yet his attitude is unfortunately far from atypical, and illustrates the task we face in increasing women's confidence in the justice system”
DFID Regional Social Development Adviser for Asia, Cindy Berman, spoke about violence against women in Nepal. It is estimated that 60-70% of women in Nepal will experience violence in their lifetime and one in five men and women consider it acceptable. Only 10% of victims come into contact with the state as a consequence of their experiences, and most don't discuss it with anyone. Whilst maternal mortality has decreased significantly, shockingly, suicide has taken over as the number one cause of death for women of reproductive age in Nepal and much of this is to do with violence against women and girls. However, Cindy pointed out that there has been a dramatic increase in support for tackling violence against women from many areas of Nepalese society:
"We've seen a real shift in political leadership and commitment in the past few years. Tackling violence against women and girls, and involving women in peace and security issues is critical for progress in development, and achieving lasting and durable peace. But there's a long way to go - we need to get better at knowing what works and why, where we need to do more, and how to do better.”
Those who attended this thought provoking seminar were left with no doubt of the importance of tackling violence against women and girls. Fiona Power from DFID’s Security and Justice team commented:
“The scale of this issue is shocking, but it is inspirational to hear about the excellent work we and others do to address it'