A life without violence is a right for women
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls was instituted by the United Nations (UN) in 1999, and is celebrated annually on November 25.
The intent of the date is to raise awareness of a problem that significantly affects the lives of women around the world, and to honor the Mirabal sisters (Pátria, Minerva and María Teresa), murdered because they opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, in the Dominican Republic.
According to the data from UN Women, 1 in 3 women all over the world experience sexual or physical violence throughout their lives. In Brazil, every 7.2 seconds, a woman is a victim of physical violence. (Source: Violence Watches, of the Maria da Penha Institute). Close to 30% of women victims of femicide were killed by a partner or an ex-partner. (Source: Map of Violence).
One of the goals of the Objective of Sustainable Development (OSD) 5 – Equality of Gender is to eliminate forms of violence against women and girls in public and private spheres.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence against women as all acts of violence based on gender that results in physical, sexual and psychological damage, including threats, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of freedom, be it in public life or private life.
Gender violence in the context of immigration and refuge
During the training done by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for journalists, in February of 2020, in the auditorium of the Public Defender of the Union, in São Paulo, Flávia Muniz, of the UN-Women Brazil, highlighted that it’s necessary to consider the specific needs of women in situations of migration and refuge.
According to Flávia Muniz, it’s necessary to understand that women experience situations of great vulnerability in those contexts: “there is an increase in domestic violence in forced displacement and shelter situations. Women are the majority among the people who are victims of human trafficking. When they aren’t with some man who is seen to be their “protector”, many women are more susceptible to violence from other men in the environment. In situations where there are “intermediaries”, women are the biggest victims of sexual violence.”
Principles of Protection in the Humanitarian Response
In order for the humanitarian response to be efficient, the Sphere Handbook lists four principles that are applied to all humanitarian actions, and are the cornerstone in the coordination of the shelters under the management of the Fraternity –International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF) in the Roraima HumanitarianMission:
- Strengthen the safety, dignity and the right of people, and avoid exposing them to harm.
- Ensure that people have access to assistance according to their needs and without discrimination.
- Help people to recover from the physical and psychological effects of real violence or the threat of violence, coercion or deliberate loss of freedom.
- Help people to claim their rights.
The Sphere Handbook also looks at specific cases of gender violence and bases itself on the Guidelines of the Interagency Permanent Commission on Gender Violence to guide humanitarian agents in the adoption of means for reducing risks and vulnerability in each situation that may occur.
The commitment
Violence against women is a multidimensional phenomenon that affects citizens of all social classes, races, ethnicities and sexual orientations, constituting one of the main forms of violation of human rights, targeting women and girls in their right to life, health and physical integrity. One of the great challenges for facing this violence is the articulation and integration of services and care in such a way as to avoid the re-victimization of these people, and above all else, to offer humane and integral care.
To end violence against women and girls demands a firm commitment and involvement of governments, international organizations, NGOs and civil society in general. Above all else, it demands the involvement of the men.
The cause for November 25 is not only a cause for women and girls; it is a humanitarian cause.
