Anti Violence Against Women Act (AVAWA)

PARALLEL SESSION

Anti Violence Against Women Act

A Collaborative Global Intelligence Initiative for the Advancement of Women and Girls Overview of Agenda: Event Details AVAWA (Anti Violence Against Women Act) 2015 CSW Parallel Session Friday, March 13, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Nigeria House 828 2nd Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Moderator: Bukola Shonuga, Editor in Chief, African Views Organization Presenter: Wale idris Ajibade, Executive Director African Views Organization

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Welcome remarks Introduction of AV international representatives official launch of AV Anti Violence Against Women Act Introduction of Anti Violence Against Women’s Association official introduction and commencement of PINK Africa Summit Discussion on key findings of existing laws on violence against women in African Countries Q&A Signing the petition on official proposal of AVAWA Closing remarks Refreshments

A Sustainable Strategy for Effective Localization of the Universal Agenda on Gender Equality in Africa

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Moderator

Presenter

Introducing and Welcoming Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia

Introducing and Welcoming AV Local and Foreign AV Delegates

Introducing and Recognizing Regina Askia Williams

Introducing and Welcoming Our Special Delegate

Beatrix Diaz Gil From Colombia

Welcoming and Thanking All Our Guests for Attending; Thanking the Nigerian Consul General’s Office for their Support

Today we are going to attempt to launch the

Anti Violence Against Women Act (AVAWA) We have invited you all here based on your competence and deep understanding of the need to abolish all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere in the world. If you find the presentation intelligible we ask for your endorsement by signing the petition to proceed. Please be objective.

What Do We Mean By Violence Against Women?

Intentional and Systemic Violence (Open Discussion)

In-depth Analysis of Violence Violence is any form of aggression from one entity -- causing, culminating, or contributing physical or psychological suffering or demise to the wellbeing of another. Clearly not all violence are abusive. In this context we are referring to abusive violence.

The roots of all forms of abusive violence are grounded in the many types of inequality which continue to exist and grow in society. A basic sense of abusive violence can be observed in bullying amongst children, which can involve various tactics of subtle manipulation, coercion, subdue and dismay.

Abusive violence is often used to establish and maintain power and control over another person, and reflect an imbalance of power between the victim and the abuser. However, it is conclusive that abusive violence is a choice, and it is preventable.

Distinct forms of Violence and Abuse The Nine Primary Types of Violence and Abuse Physical violence Sexual violence Physical violence occurs when someone Sexual violence occurs when a person uses a part of their body or an object to is forced to unwillingly take part in control a person’s actions. sexual activity.

Emotional violence Emotional violence occurs when someone says or does something to make a person feel stupid or worthless.

Spiritual violence Psychological violence Spiritual (or religious) violence occurs Psychological violence occurs when when someone uses an individual’s someone uses threats and causes fear spiritual beliefs to manipulate, in an individual to gain control. dominate or control that person.

Cultural violence Cultural violence occurs when an individual is harmed as a result of practices that are part of her or his culture, religion or tradition.

Verbal Abuse Verbal abuse occurs when someone uses language, whether spoken or written, to cause harm to an individual.

Financial Abuse Financial abuse occurs when someone controls an individual’s financial resources without the person’s consent or misuses those resources; extortion is a good example.

Neglect Neglect occurs when someone has the responsibility to provide care or assistance for an individual but does not.

The Role of the United Nations (UN) on Violence On June 25th 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter, which was signed on 26 June, and ratified on October 24 of the same year. Its main purpose is to control violence (assure security) and maintain peace between nations; with emphasis on promoting universal respect for justice, and observance of human rights and freedoms. Today, the United Nations includes 193 member countries. The UN has five branches: The General Assembly of the United Nations, UN Security Council, International Court of Justice, the Secretariat and the Economic and Social Council.

In 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a standard for its human rights operations. Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible and are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law, and general principles and other sources of international law.

International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action noted that “the human rights of Women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights.�

The International Bill of Human Rights The International Bill of Human Rights is an informal name used to describe three human rights instruments which consist of: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). All of the articles in these documents apply equally to women and men. The Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) offers the most comprehensive coverage of women’s rights. Other international documents important for women are: the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW).

In 1993, at the Vienna Conference, the international community officially recognized VAW as a human rights violation, and the same year the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW). These developments set the stage for the creation of a special mechanism to monitor VAW worldwide. On 4 March 1994, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) adopted a resolution for “integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women”, appointing a Special Rapporteur on VAW, including its causes and consequences. The creation of this mechanism and the scope of its mandate was a victory for women’s rights movements globally.

DEVAW does not have the binding legal authority of a convention or treaty. However, it does set forth a clear international standard for addressing violence against women. DEVAW establishes the most comprehensive set of standards in international law for the protection of women against sexual and gender-based violence. “DEVAW is seen as complementary to, and a strengthening of, the work of CEDAW.” Source: Women’s Right Fact Sheet

Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) The United Nations (UN) and the broader international community recognized that due to some social structures, traditions, stereotypes and attitudes about women and their role in society that women continue to experience disproportionate levels of discrimination and violence and do not always have the opportunity and ability to access and enforce their rights on the same basis as men. As a result of strong lobbying from within the women’s movement, as well as recognition from within the UN of the failure to achieve equal rights for both women and men, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was introduced on 18 December 1979 to advance the status of women.

Although women did gain a comprehensive bill of rights through CEDAW, the treaty did not explicitly name violence against women (VAW) until 1992 in its General Recommendation 19 on VAW, thereby reading genderbased violence into several of the treaty’s substantive provisions. This was largely motivated by the sustained global campaign of the 1980s led by the women’s movements on VAW, and was followed by the recognition of women’s rights as human rights at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, in Vienna. The gains for women at the Vienna conference also included a blueprint for strengthening and integrating women’s human rights within the United Nations, spurring developments towards the creation of the mandate.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (the Committee) was established in 1982, under Article 17 of CEDAW, as a mechanism to monitor the progress of the Convention’s implementation. It is composed of 23 independent experts who are elected at a meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women by secret ballot, with consideration given to the principle of equitable geographic distribution. Each State Party may nominate one expert, and if elected, the expert serves a four-year term.

The majority of the Committee members are women who, according to the Convention, should have “high moral standing and competence” and “represent different forms of civilization as well as principal legal systems.” The Committee is led by a Chairperson, three Vice Chairpersons, and a rapporteur, which are elected by Committee members. The Chairperson directs the discussion and decision-making process of the Committee and represents the Convention at international conferences and events. The Committee reports annually on its activities to the U.N. General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council and meets twice a year at the U.N. office in Geneva. As one of seven U.N. human rights treaty bodies, the Committee is financed from the U.N. regular budget. It was previously supported by the U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women, but as of January 1, 2008, it has been serviced by the U.N. office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Implementation of CEDAW States (a country’s national government) are obligated to protect and fulfill l the rights in CEDAW in three different domains: public, private and cultural.

1.

In the public domain States must embody the principle of equality into national constitutions and domestic legislation ensuring legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men (article 2 a, c).

2.

In the private domain States must eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise (article 2, e).

3.

In the cultural domain States must work to modify the social and cultural patterns ‌ to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices, which are based on ‌ stereotyped roles for men and women (article 5, a)

Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism and Reporting Procedure : Optional Protocol to CEDAW The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (OPCEDAW) is an additional international treaty which establishes complaint and inquiry mechanisms for the CEDAW. Parties to the Protocol allow the Committee to hear complaints from individuals or inquire into "grave or systematic violations" of the Convention. The Protocol has led to a number of decisions against member states on issues such as domestic violence, parental leave and forced sterilization, as well as an investigation into the systematic killing of women in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juรกrez, Chihuahua. The Protocol was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 6 October 1999, and in force from 22 December 2000. As of 2014, the Protocol has 80 signatories and 105 parties. By ratifying the Optional Protocol, a State recognizes the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women -- the body that monitors States parties' compliance with the Convention -- to receive and consider complaints from individuals or groups within its jurisdiction.

The States parties have to submit a national report to the Committee within one year of accession or ratification of CEDAW and thereafter every 4 years or when the Committee requests. In the reports, States must indicate the measures they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the CEDAW. The Committee discusses these reports with Government representatives and explores areas for further action by the specific country.

Objectives of CEDAW CEDAW calls on States Parties to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all areas of life. This includes equality in legal status, political participation, employment, education, healthcare, and the family structure. Article 2 of the Convention specifies that States Parties should undertake to “embody the principle of equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation ... to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle.�

The Convention defines discrimination against women as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field. It specifically calls for equal pay with men, more attention to the equality of rural women, the freedom to choose a marriage partner, and the suppression of trafficking in women and girls.

The scope of this definition reveals the complexity of the issue. The multiple ways in which violence can be experienced by women, and the many contexts in which it occurs, means that its costs and consequences are pervasive.

Some Controversial Laws, Customs, and Perceived Values Can Be Roadblocks to Full Inclusion According to global research by experts, reports by WHO, Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (UNCEDAW), Human Rights and UN Women, women from various cultures or nations today have agreed that VAW are embedded into the norms and values of culture and traditions. Violence against Women in diverse culture may take many forms and has enormous social, economic costs, and undercuts the contribution of women to development, human rights, peace, and security.

Some of these culturally sanctioned crimes are financially motivated, eliminating the wife as the inheritress of her husband’s estate and having it being transferred instead to the couple’s sons or the father’s family. Different ways of abusing women’s Human Rights takes place in many African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda, where women actually become part of their husband’s estate – supposedly in the widow’s interest to offer her security and protection. An act of humiliation itself, the inheritance of women also culturally approves acts of “widow cleansing”. Religious also can be misused to excuse or condone abusive behavior.

There are also bad laws such as the "Rape-Marriage Legislation" clause in Morocco and Mozambique, which naively suggests that convicted rapists be given a five-year suspended sentence if they marry their victims and stipulates that the perpetrator should stay married to the victim for at least five years. These laws were repealed successfully by the people who rose up against such bad laws.

The Capacity and Scope of CEDAW 188 countries have ratified the treaty. 7 countries have NOT ratified CEDAW, including the United States, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and two small Pacific Island nations (Palau and Tonga).

Countries that ratify CEDAW agree to take all appropriate measures to implement the treaty's provisions. Ratifying countries submit a report on how they are implementing the treaty one year after ratification, then every four years thereafter.

The CEDAW Committee reviews each report and comments on each country's progress.

Each country decides how best to achieve implementation. The CEDAW Committee has no enforcement authority; it can only make recommendations highlighting areas where more progress is needed in a particular country.

AV’s Perception of VAW Violence against women is therefore a set of diverse intentionally or systemically cultivated dependencies on structural foundations of direct and indirect intimidation, suppressive, repressive abusive violence perpetrated to maintain the well-established gender privilege between the masculine and the feminine member of any community everywhere in the world.

Violence Can Be Intentional or Systemic  Violence against women may take many forms and is not limited to any culture, region or country, or to any specific group of women.  It has enormous social and economic costs, and undercuts the contribution of women to development, human rights, peace, and security.  Violence against women prevent mothers from raising healthy children  It also hampers the economic development and stability within the country in which they live.

 It also poses a serious threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite its high costs, almost every society in the world has social institutions that legitimize, obscure and deny abuse.  The same acts that would be punished if directed at an employer, a neighbor, or an acquaintance often go unchallenged when men direct them at women, especially within the family.

Bifurcation Or Convergence of Types of Violence Against Women and Girls

INTENTIONAL VIOLENCE

SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE

Acid throwing

Marital rape

Breast ironing

Domestic violence and pregnancy

Bride burning

Dowry death

Dating abuse

Honor killing

Date rape

Female genital mutilation Gishiri cutting Infibulation

Domestic violence

Female infanticide

forced abortion

Femicide

forced pregnancy

Foot binding forced marriage

forced prostitution

Rape In campus, Corrective Prison Rape

Genocidal rape Murder of pregnant women Pregnancy from rape

Sexual violence Violence against prostitutes Sexual slavery

Human trafficking

Sati

Verbal, Psychological abuse

Sexual Harassment

Religious, Cultural and corporate abuses

Development / advancement deprivation

Effects of VAW Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights and has far-reaching consequences, harming families and communities. Six out of every ten women experience Gender-based violence, and not only does this violates human rights, but it also hampers productivity, reduces human capital and undermines economic growth.

Exposure to VAW at the work place hinders the productivity of the worker, while also resulting in the discontinuation of the job and eventual withdrawal from the labour force. This in turn means lower income levels on a household level and lower female labour force participation on a national level. There is no doubt that economic development will be hindered for as long as VAW persists in society.

Why Measure the Economic Costs of VAW? Since violence against women is widely recognized as a serious human rights violation for women, many international bodies, including the UN are calling for further research on this issue. There are many different ways to approach and understand social problems. Measuring the economic costs of violence against women is an important technique necessary to understand this issue better. Measuring the costs of violence against women demonstrates how violence drains resources from many sectors including private businesses and agencies, the government, community groups and individuals. This is particularly true in the developing world where it is especially important not to remove scarce resources from the promotion of healthy and viable communities. Violence against women impedes economic and social development. To make development funding go farther, reducing rates of violence is an important component of social policy. Demonstrating the waste of resources resulting from violence against women through estimating the economic costs of violence is therefore a useful exercise.

Gross National Consequences and Costs of VAW In terms of economic costs, more than 30 studies, mostly from developed countries, have attempted to quantify the costs of various forms of violence against women. These studies focus largely on the costs of service utilization as well as the value of economic losses due to lost output, decreased productivity and lower earnings resulting from violence. Costs due to violence against women and girls—beyond the intangible suffering and impacts on quality of life and well-being--include costs to the survivor and her family in terms of health (mental and physical), employment and finances, and the effects it has on children.

Globally, conservative estimates of lost productivity resulting from violence against women range from 1.2 of GDP in Brazil and Tanzania to 2 percent of GDP in Chile. and those figures don’t include costs associated with long-term emotional impact and second-generation consequences. One study estimates total costs linked to domestic violence for the United Kingdom, including reduced well-being, at 10 percent of GDP: The World Bank Government expenditure ratio of consequences and impact of violence against women on the issue of health, economic, political, and educational deficit makes the opportunity cost of less than equal and fair empowerment of women too high for any nation willing to prosper.

Categories and Examples of Costs Resulting from Violence Against Women • • • • •

Justice Health Social Services Education Business and Employment Costs

Measuring the costs of violence against women demonstrates how violence drains resources from many sectors including private businesses and agencies, the government, community groups and individuals. This is particularly true in the developing world where it is especially important not to remove scarce resources from the promotion of healthy and viable communities.

Violence against women impedes economic and social development. To make development funding go farther, reducing rates of violence is an important component of social policy. Demonstrating the waste of resources resulting from violence against women through estimating the economic costs of violence is therefore a useful exercise.

Net National Impact of Ending Violence Against Women Many countries are seeing that the progress in their own gross domestic products and gross national income have direct correlation with the advancement of women in their societies. This is because women empowerment and economic development are closely related. Economic well-being of women is often used as an indicator of the overall advancement of a society. The better women fare relative to men, the argument goes, the better the overall society is at creating equal opportunities and benefits for its entire people.

The consequences and costs of violence have impacts at the individual level (for survivors, perpetrators and others affected by violence), as well as within the family, community and wider society, which translate into costs at the national level.

Therefore, there is an evidence-based case built on a growing body of research and data showing that women are game-changers in the economic sphere; their full economic participation drives prosperity for all. Data and analysis have shown that women’s economic participation is good for families, communities, societies, and countries, and it is good for business too.

Economic Costs of VAW The Economic costs related to VAW can be broadly classified as ‘Direct Tangible Costs’ (e.g. health care costs), ‘Indirect Tangible Costs’ (e.g. lower earnings due to lower productivity), ‘Direct Intangible Costs’ (e.g. pain and suffering, and the emotional impairment due to violence) and ‘Indirect Intangible Costs’ (e.g. negative psychological effects on children who witness violence which cannot be estimated numerically). Therefore, VAW has a significant impact on an economy. KPMG’s Report For instance, in the United States of America, the annual cost estimation of intimate partner violence amount to US$ 5.8 billion. The economic burden of VAW and their children to the Australian economy was estimated to be US$ 13.6 billion in 2012. As most cases related to VAW are hidden and untold, the real economic impact is likely to be much larger. The economic costs of VAW occur in different forms (see Table 2).

The Price of Violence Against Women and Girls

Gender-Motivated Violence: Developing a Meaningful Paradigm for Civil Rights Enforcement • How do we recognize as well as confront the various social, cultural, and religious interpretations that are producing and reinforcing gender inequalities?

• How can we identify the connection between stereotypical gender roles and gender-based abuses and violations?

• As we speak some women are still quietly enduring gender-based oppression, these setbacks continue to hamper the progress of societies. Many people in this situation are most not quite clear about the category of the conflict they are facing based on well-established norms.

• How can we differentiate spousal conflict from gender-based oppression?

• How can oppressed individuals know that they are not alone and can effectively advocate for their rights?

• Is the crime of rape motivated by lust or hate? What is the difference?

• Click here for more citations

Tenure of Efforts to End All forms of Discrimination (History of Women’s Advancement) Violence against women (VAW) emerged as an issue locally from women’s groups at the grass roots in every region because it is a problem that holds women back everywhere, and from which no country, culture, or religion is immune.

Women came together globally in the 1980’s and 90’s to advocate at the international level for an understanding of VAW not only as a global pandemic, but also as the most pervasive abuse of human rights experienced by women. The global campaign for this issue and the demand for recognition that “women’s rights are human rights” gathered momentum at many levels, from the creation of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence locally to the UN world conferences in Vienna (on human rights), Cairo (on population and development), Copenhagen (on social development), and culminating in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.

“Until recently, women have largely been excluded from the educational system. By understanding the history of women’s education one is able to better appreciate how far we have come and the extraordinary women who got us here.

It may surprise you to know that while Harvard opened in 1636, the first college to admit women did not do so for another 200 years. Women did not begin attending college in equal numbers to men until as recently as 1980. Women are standing up everywhere and a great development progress has been made in the developed world. However, many places around the developing world are still there where Harvard was 200 years ago.“ Dr. Surendra Kaushik, founder of Helena Kaushik Women’s College

Women’s Development Deficit Women development deficit has a direct correlation with country’s GNI, PPP, and its overall level of civilization. Historically and in many parts of the world, women’s participation in the profession of medicine (as physicians, for instance) was significantly restricted. Most countries of the world now guarantee equal access by women to medical education, although not all ensure equal employment opportunities. Many scholars have stressed the importance of incorporating women’s perspectives into policies and programs from their inception rather than added on after the policies have already been formulated. Thanks to the following women among many who have set the pace for gender parity on women’s participation in the profession of medicine as physicians:  Merit Ptah (2700 BC) — earliest cited women physician  Trotula of Salerno 11th century physician who is supposed to have held a chair at the Medical School of Salerno. Several influential texts on women’s medicine are also often attributed to her.  Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) is considered Germany’s first female physician. She conducted and published comprehensive studies of medicine and natural science.  Dorothea Erxleben (1715 – 1762) The first female doctor granted an M.D. in Germany.  James Miranda Barry (179?-1865) A renowned woman doctor who passed as a man to gain a medical education and practice medicine.  Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 – 1910) First woman to graduate from medical school in the US; MD 1849, Geneva College, New York.  Rebecca Lee Crumpler, (8 February 1831 – 9 March 1895) first African American woman physician in the United States.  Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836 – 1917) Pioneering woman doctor and feminist in Britain; co-​founder of London School of Medicine for Women.  Yoshioka Yayoi (1871 – 1959) One of the first women to gain a medical degree in Japan; founded a medical school for women in 1900.  Marie Equi (1872 – 1952) American doctor and activist for women’s access to birth control and abortion  Jane Elizabeth Hodgson (1915 – 2006) Pioneering provider of reproductive health care for women and advocate for women’s rights

Citation: Impact of Women’s Struggle Anandi Gopal Joshi A (or Anandibai Joshi) (March 31, 1865 — February 26, 1887)-Anandibai addressed the community at Serampore College Hall, explaining her decision to go to America and obtain a medical degree.

She discussed the persecution she and her husband had endured. She stressed the need for Hindu female doctors in India, and talked about her goal of opening a medical college for women in India. She also pledged that she would not convert to Christianity. Her speech received publicity, and financial contributions started coming in from all over India. The then Viceroy of India contributed 200 rupees to a fund for her education. She graduated with an M.D. on March 11, 1886, the topic of her thesis having been “Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindus”.

Today, Indian women are among the world’s best and brightest physicians and constitute a large proportion of medical doctors’ societies in many countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to New York, hail Indians, especially Indian women for their competence and the respect they have amassed for Indians globally.

Woman Suffrage Timeline

Women's Rights Timeline For over two decades women’s advocacy groups around the world have been working to draw more attention to the physical, psychological, and sexual abuse of women as well as to stress the need for action to end all forms of violence against women. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN Women, and several other champions especially those who attended the UN Human Rights Conference in 1993 in Vienna, and those who attended the Conference on the Beijing platform for action on Women’s empowerment in 1995. Since these events, efforts to close the gender gap as well as to address the cultivated dependency on structural foundations that culminated in the historical deficit suffered by women in the gender equation, has increased exponentially. Today, we are seeing progress in the worldwide increment of the number of Women in leadership.

The Need to Challenge Member States to Step Up: In Pursuit of Greater Legislative Compliance with CEDAW Although most African countries have ratified or accepted the CEDAW recommendations as shown on the map on previous page, it is important to understand that the fact that a country has ratified an agreement does not necessarily mean that it is observed, implemented, or respected.

In this context, it is important to mobilize the society through better awareness and effecting attitudinal and behavioral changes. This is why effective implementation of policies and programmes must be a national responsibility. Effort to instill attitudinal change to end VAW must prioritize, clear, unequivocal and salient across all executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government.

It is imperative that courageous initiatives and comprehensive policies are taken in order both to increase societal awareness around the issue and to ensure that nation states are acting to eradicate violence against women and can be held accountable for their progress or lack of it.

It is also important to fully grasp the economic implications of VAW, and to understand that the nation as a whole has to cover the cost.

Challenges to Domestication of CEDAW Treaties and its Effective Application An international treaty seldom stipulates how the States should implement its provisions, leaving it to each State to decide how that obligation will be executed on the domestic plane. There is no rule of general international law that all treaties must have effect in domestic law. However, many treaties have no domestic legal consequences and do not require implementation through the national legal systems of the States Parties.

In some countries, international (and at times regional) human rights law automatically becomes a part of national law. In other words, as soon as a state has ratified or acceded to an international agreement, that international law becomes national law. Under such systems treaties are considered to be self-executing. In other countries, international human rights law does not automatically form part of the national law of the ratifying state. International law in these countries is not self-executing, that is, it does not have the force of law without the passage of additional national legislation.

States incorporate treaties and norms into their domestic laws by specific "transformational" devices. The automatic incorporation of ratified treaties by constitutional provision, which has been called general transformation, mandates domestic enforcement without legislative action beyond ratification. A second method, special transformation, requires legislation in order to give treaties domestic effect. Implementation of treaties requires the approval of the majority of the State Houses of Assembly.

Reservations to CEDAW The CEDAW permits ratification subject to reservations, provided that the reservations are not incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. Some States parties that enter reservations to the Convention do not enter reservations to analogous provisions in other human rights treaties. A number of States enter reservations to particular articles on the ground that national law, tradition, religion or culture are not congruent with Convention principles, and purport to justify the reservation on that basis.

Some States argue that there is inherent conflict between the provisions of the State's constitution and its reservation to the Convention. 62 countries have placed reservations on 13 articles of CEDAW and also few broad based reservations like “Subject to Shariah. 26 Muslim and 37 non-Muslim states have entered one or more reservations for specific reservations by country, click here.

Law” and “Subject to the Constitution of the State” not applicable to throne or titles etc, are on record.

Reservations imply that some countries may ratify CEDAW without actually believing in its substance. The Committee has recognized this problem. It has indicated that reservations to CEDAW show the state’s unwillingness to accept women’s rights and ensure the continued subjugation of women in such country.

Many of the reservations are to Article 29, regarding dispute resolution. This provision specifically allows states to enter a reservation in order to opt out of the procedure.

Main Basis of Reservations to CEDAW • • • • • •

Incompatibility with Existing National Legislation Non Compliance with Shariah (Islamic Law) Political Reasons Economic Reasons Gender Bias Imperialistic inclinations

Worldwide Controversies Regarding CEDAW Treaties are intended to be agreements between countries. In fact, the United Nations' Charter prohibits the U.N. from intervening "in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any" nation. However, CEDAW is focused on domestic issues, intruding into every aspect of life: CEDAW: A Global Tool for Mischief By Wendy Wright. The CEDAW Committee has told numerous countries that to comply with the treaty they must change their constitution or national laws, particularly by inserting language from CEDAW. Many countries found CEDAW controversial for reasons listed below:

        

Promoting Western-Style radical feminism Promoting Western values and style of life Propagation for legalization of abortions Supporting decriminalization of prostitution Supporting anti-family agenda (encouraging single mothers) Supporting same sex marriages Instigating against state sovereignty Addressing Violence Against Women but does not say anything about violence against men by Women Claiming of “making CEDAW universal”, “equality without reservations” A real concern for Muslim states and will actually hinder the application of CEDAW provisions  Failing to recognize - or celebrate - that men and women are fundamentally different

CEDAW: Issues in the U.S. Ratification Debate U.S. ratification of CEDAW is a contentious policy issue that has generated considerable debate in Congress and among the general public.

While U.S. policymakers generally agree with CEDAW’s overall objective of eliminating discrimination against women around the world, they have disagreed, however, as to whether the Convention is an effective or appropriate means of achieving this goal. Ever since President Carter signed the Convention on July 17, 1980, and transmitted it to the Senate for advice and consent on November 12 of the same year, successive U.S. Administrations and Members of Congress have supported the Convention’s overall objectives. However, the Reagan and first Bush Administrations did not support ratification, and the Convention remained pending in the SFRC. Supporters of ratification hold that the Convention is a valuable mechanism for fighting women’s discrimination worldwide. They argue that U.S. ratification will give CEDAW added legitimacy and empower women who fight discrimination in their own countries. Opponents of the Convention maintain that it is not an effective mechanism for addressing discrimination against women internationally or domestically, emphasizing those countries widely believed to have poor women’s rights records have ratified the treaty. Critics further contend that U.S. ratification could undermine U.S. sovereignty and impact the private conducts of U.S. citizens. Some are particularly concerned with CEDAW’s possible effect on U.S. laws and policies relating to the definitions of discrimination, education, parental rights, and health care.

The U.S. Constitution has been a far better protector of women's rights in America than has any international treaty and the Senate should not subject the Constitution to this one. The Senate foreign Relations Committee, the full Senate, and the White House must more effectively explain to Americans, particularly women, why CEDAW and the United Nations are not protectors of their interests.

The reasons that the Senate has historically rejected CEDAW remain relevant, particularly the challenges it would create for the United States' federalized system of government. “If CEDAW is ratified by the Senate, then a U.N. compliance committee would be empowered to review a broad range of U.S. domestic laws and request that changes be made. Passage of CEDAW would make it more difficult to reform the Violence Against Women Act.” U.S. Actions on CEDAW / Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations of U.S. Ratification of Multilateral Treaties

Alternative Legal Framework for VAW Every country needs a specific legally binding instrument on violence against women. The United Nations has led the campaign to make sure that most countries have put in place measures in an attempt to curb the prevalence of violence against women with great success. However, many of those measures went unimplemented and a number of civil society groups had argued that the problem was not only increasing, but reaching epidemic proportions.

Some countries have taken comparable domestic legally binding initiatives to address violence against women in their countries. Example of such initiatives include the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), of the United States and The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) is one of the five National Women’s Alliances funded by the Australian Government to bring together women’s organizations and individuals across Australia to share information, identify issues and their solutions, to respond to and prevent violence against women and their children. Activists in the U.S. also launched the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) as a strategy to efficiently integrate gender-based violence prevention and response efforts into all U.S. government programming overseas by ensuring the U.S. has a strategy in place to do so, making ending violence against women and girls a diplomatic and foreign assistance priority for the United States.

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV, sec. 40001-40703 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, H.R. 3355) signed as Pub.L. 103–322 by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994 (codified in part at 42 U.S.C. sections 13701 through 14040). The Act provides $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposes automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allows civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave un-prosecuted. The Act also establishes the office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.

VAWA was drafted by the office of Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), with support from a broad coalition of advocacy groups. The Act passed through Congress with bipartisan support in 1994, clearing the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 235–195 and the Senate by a vote of 61–38, although the following year House Republicans attempted to cut the Act's funding. In the 2000 Supreme Court case United States v. Morrison, a sharply divided Court struck down the VAWA provision allowing women the right to sue their attackers in federal court. By a 5–4 majority, the Court's conservative wing overturned the provision as exceeding the federal government's powers under the Commerce Clause VAWA was reauthorized by bipartisan majorities in Congress in 2000, and again in December 2005, and signed by President George W. Bush. The Act's 2012 renewal was opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to extending the Act's protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered illegal immigrants to claim temporary visas.

Ultimately, VAWA was again reauthorized in 2013, after a long legislative battle throughout 2012–2013.

- Wikipedia

International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) Experts in related fields from 40 international and 150 U.S. groups agreed and made great effort to legislate the International Violence against Women Act (I-VAWA) The legislation was the initiative of Amnesty International USA, Family Violence Prevention Fund, and Women Thrive Worldwide and required U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives as co-sponsors). The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) was a bill, designed as an integrated approach to address violence against women and girls and places women’s advancement at the center of U.S. foreign policy with the intention of making ‘ending VAW as a top U.S. diplomatic priority. The legislation was developed by Amnesty International USA, Family Violence Prevention Fund and Women Thrive Worldwide with input from 40 international and 150 U.S. based groups with relevant expertise. The bill was introduced in the House and Senate 110th and 111th United States Congress but was not passed into law.

Detail on I-VAWA Campaign can be found here: International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA)

US Arguments Against CEDAW and I-VAWA Both CEDAW and I-VAWA have been met with strong opposition in the United States, and many are speaking out against CEDAW and I-VAWA:  Julia Ernst, an attorney who organized a "Rally for CEDAW" at the American Bar Association's national convention in 2002, stated she believed ratifying CEDAW would have no effect on U.S. citizens: “Would CEDAW proponents go to such lengths to ratify the treaty if it were ineffective or purely political symbolism, to show solidarity with the women of the world?”  Focus on the Family: CEDAW gives a “U.N. committee authority to dictate family policy.”  Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute: “CEDAW is ‘a binding international treaty with a compliance committee that has pressured no less than 37 sovereign nations to liberalize their abortion laws.”  Concerned Women for America: CEDAW is “A global tool that would harm women.”  “CEDAW is fundamentally flawed. No reservations could protect our laws and culture from its skewed belief that there is no difference between men and women.”  I-VAWA would provide United States funding to the United Nations to implement international gender bias. The American public has seen the colossal failure of the domestic version of this plan in our own country, yet members of our Congress are preparing to inflict these same damages on the entire world using our tax dollars.  I-VAWA also carries the proposed United States funding to the international programs that will discriminate against abuse victims based solely on gender, while failing to serve those they claim it does.  “CEDAW is a multilateral radical feminist agenda and I-VAWA is a bilateral radical feminist agenda with imperialistic inclinations.”  “Ratifying CEDAW would unleash a litigation tsunami and thus is a threat to the US national interest. This is true - CEDAW will be used in the United States to harm our democratic system, national sovereignty, and protection of women, families and religious institutions. But in the countries that truly need reform to bring dignity to women, it has done too little.” Read more  30 years that have passed since CEDAW's inception continue to illustrate how little the treaty has accomplished to improve women's rights in some of the most oppressive nations that have ratified it, such as Saudi Arabia, and how United Nations "experts" have used the treaty to create new rights and to intimidate countries into adopting radical social policies.

More: CEDAW: How U.N. Interference Threatens the Rights of American Women

The Decline of I-VAWA and Marginalization of CEDAW A Global Call to Action” hearing revisited the US’s hesitation to ratify the CEDAW, and to pass the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). I-VAWA has been criticized on the grounds that it would discriminate against male victims and impose Western values upon other societies. According to Wendy McElroy, a research fellow at The Independent Institute, the Act "constitutes a 5-year redirection of foreign aid funds in order to insert politically-correct feminism into the structure of other nations" and "re-victimizes every male victim by denying his existence.

Both IVAWA and CEDAW are considered to be based on interventionist development agenda that is no longer tenable in the age where cultural homogeneity is obsolete and cultural diversity is being recognized.

“CEDAW is a multilateral radical feminist agenda and I-VAWA is a bilateral radical feminist agenda with imperialistic inclinations” this statement holds true particularly for countries with colonial heritage whose sovereign agenda has been set on the right to self-determination course. Although many countries ratified the CEDAW treaty, they often have no ways and means to implement it domestically. Activists in many societies are beginning to worry that the Convention serves nothing more than diplomatic good faith document to appease the league of nations on human right concerns but without substantive effort to end VAW and advance women. The other issue is the pace at which certain country need to move to get up to speed on the education on gender issue. Many societies are still grappling with the concept of gender inequality while some are in utterly denial about VAW. Although CEDAW has brought unprecedented awareness and progress to Gender Inequality and VAW around the world it is clear that it has limitations and therefore must be accommodating to new initiatives that support the same goal of ending all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls everywhere in the world.

Difference Between Violence Against Women and Violence Against Men Previous research has consistently shown that violence against women differs in important ways from violence against men, notably the scope and severity of the violence and consequences of victimization (Vaillancourt 2010, Johnson and Dawson 2011). A CDC 2010-11 report in 2012 showed that 40% of domestic abuse victim were men. The 2013 "Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project (PASK)", published by the Domestic Violence Research Group (Springer Publishing journal) "Partner Abuse,“ reiterated the findings of parity in rates of both perpetration and victimization for men and women. The "Unprecedented Domestic Violence Study Affirms Need to Recognize Male Victims". Note that domestic violence is only one of more than 40 categories of violence against women. Domestic violence is a term used to characterize a pattern of obvious and subtle hash and brash behaviors resulting into physical and psychological abuses between partners in any types of intimate relationships or other members in a household. Domestic violence can be in a cumulative form of physical, emotional, verbal, economic and sexual abuse or any other type of control mechanism to coerce another individual perpetually. Consequences of domestic violence vary from anxiety, dismay, social disconnect, fragile mental state, tension, breakdown mental and unpredictable consequences such as illness, homicide or permanent disfigurement, which can happen between any type of partners including same sex, or even between any members of household, who are not necessarily in a spousal relationship. Domestic Violence is a crime under VAWA.

There are no doubt women and girls do commit violence against men and boys. of cause it happens a lot! However, while violence against men is also an important issue requiring attention, this violence takes different forms and is not rooted in power imbalances and structural relationships of inequality between women and men. Thus, the broader issue of interpersonal violence, which has male and female victims, who may also be vulnerable by way of age, disability or social exclusion, requires a separate approach and different methodology to measure it. That is, violence against men is not systemic, rather often based on personal vendetta or power struggle, and could be a psychosocial or character delinquency. It is important to understand why violence against women requires a different approach than others types of violence, such as violence against men.

Focusing on the goal: Convergence of Gender Equality and Violence Against Women Gender equality is the doctrine that having met all meritocratic suitability and expectation requirements on any given issue, gender of a person should no longer be a considerable factor in extending, assessing or accessing the rights, choices opportunities and reward of equal value as deserved in a given society. The relationship between gender inequality and violence against women is complex, as gender inequality is both a cause and result of violence against women. While progressing gender equality will reduce violence against women in the future, violence and abuse also act as a barrier to achieving gender equality as it has serious impacts on women’s health and wellbeing. Even more complex is the fact that some women experience multiple inequalities, such as those based on culture, ethnicity, age, sexuality and disability.

Africa is making progress in advancing gender equality, many women still experience fewer opportunities, poorer outcomes and more restricted choices than men. By working on the improvement of data and statistics on violence against women, adopting special legislation that guarantees equal protection of the law and enforcement of its provisions, Governments can put in place the building blocks of a system that can respond more effectively to gender-based violence.

Violence against women is a serious human-right violation that takes precedence over other forms of systemic discrimination for very good reasons. Women have suffered from inequality since the beginning of human history and the cumulated value deficit stifling the growth of women are apparent in every country’s development record. Judy Erola, former Canadian federal cabinet minister, shared her belief that” The policies that women advocate are not just beneficial for women but for society as a whole. If women don’t speak out, all of society suffers”.

CEDAW’s Limitations  CEDAW has attracted the most significant reservations of any human rights treaty. The Convention, however, provides no mechanism to determine whether a given reservation violates the terms of Article 28. Significantly, many argue that without this reservation process, CEDAW would have far fewer signatories.  CEDAW does not identify specific societal interests that are considered sufficient to outweigh the substantive rights set forth.

Nevertheless, certain limitations are inherent in the terms of the rights and freedoms.  The definition of discrimination does not encompass all distinctions based on sex but rather, only those which have the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women, on a basis of equality, of their human rights.

An example of distinctions on the basis of sex that fall outside the concept of discrimination under the Convention, are acts of "positive discrimination" which are deemed not to be discrimination by article 4.

States Parties attach reservations to particular provisions of treaties they refuse to accept. Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination contains more rigorous procedures for the approval of party reservations. Article (20)2 of CERD provides: A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of this Convention shall not be permitted, nor shall a reservation the effect of which would inhibit the operation of any of the bodies established by the Convention be allowed. A reservation shall be considered incompatible or inhibitive if at least two-thirds of the States Parties to this Convention object to it.

Measuring Status of Women Status of women may be measured in legal (formal) terms and in terms of indicators such as health, literacy, per capita income, violence, and participation in public life (de facto status). CEDAW requires State parties to pursue both formal and de facto equality. With the preponderance of State parties now coming before it for periodic rather than initial reviews, some of them with more than twenty years of post-ratification history, the CEDAW Committee increasingly focuses on de facto equality. However, the Committee clearly indicates in all its reviews that formal equality, as stated in constitutions, laws, and administrative regulations, is fundamental to the achievement of de facto equality.

Measuring status of women helps proper allocation of resources, support to research and documentation on causes and consequences of gender-based violence, identify specific areas of education and prevention programmes, support efforts to increase community responsibility, makes information on women’s rights issues readily available and helps create partnerships between Governments and NGOs where it is most necessary and important.

Moreover, Violence against women has been recognized, at both the national and international levels, as a serious and ongoing impediment to gender equality. By understanding the various dimensions of this global problem through data collection and analysis, decision makers are better able to develop and evaluate measures designed to prevent and eliminate violence against women. In particular, measures based on gender-specific data analysis can more effectively address factors associated with violence against girls and women, as well as the particular needs of victims.

The Importance of Gender Distinction Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity. A gender analysis is important because gender inequalities need to be identified before they can be addressed through either mainstreaming procedures or specific measures directed to women or to men. Sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role in 1955. Before his work, it was uncommon to use the word gender to refer to anything but grammatical categories. However, Money's meaning of the word did not become widespread until the 1970s, when feminist theory embraced the concept of a distinction between biological sex and the social construct of gender. Today, the distinction is strictly followed in contexts by the many institutions around the world, and Gender studies has become a field of interdisciplinary academic studies devoted to gender identity and study gendered representation. This field includes women's studies (concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics), men's studies, and LGBT. Regarding gender, Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one". This view proposes that in gender studies, the term "gender" should be used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinities and femininities, not to the state of being male or female in its entirety. However, this view is not held by all gender theorists and is very determinant in how political actors and governments choose their legislative positions on variety of women issues.

Gender analysis is a systematic attempt to identify key issues contributing to gender inequalities so that they can be properly addressed. Gender analysis provides the basis for gender mainstreaming and is described as ‘the study of differences in the conditions, needs, participation rates, access to resources and development, control of assets, decision-making powers, etc., between women and men in their assigned gender roles’. Gender analysis is also needed to determine whether specific measures are needed for women or men in addition to mainstreaming activities. Gender analysis should be conducted at all levels, from the grassroots (the micro level) through intermediate levels (meso level) such as service delivery systems, to the highest political levels (macro level), and across all sectors and programmes of development cooperation. This is the only way to even the scale on gender.

Gender Inequality Index (GII) Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Girls and women have made major strides since 1990, but they have not yet gained gender equity. The disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, labour market, etc — with negative repercussions for development of their capabilities and their freedom of choice.

Gender Inequality Index: A composite measure reflecting inequality in achievement between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market. The GII measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development—reproductive health measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education; and economic status expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older. The GII sheds new light on the position of women in over 150 countries; it yields insights in gender gaps in major areas of human development. The component indicators highlight areas in need of critical policy intervention and it stimulates proactive thinking and public policy to overcome systematic disadvantages of women.

The GII is built on the same framework as the HDI and the IHDI — to better expose differences in the distribution of achievements between women and men. It measures the human development costs of gender inequality, thus the higher the GII value the more disparities between females and males. The GII values vary tremendously across countries, they range from 2.1 percent to 73.3 percent.

Countries with high gender inequality also experience more unequal distribution of human development.

GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX

In Pursuit of Greater Violence Against Women’s Legislative Compliance in Africa At the end of World War II in 1945, nearly every country in Africa was subject to colonial rule or administration. With the founding of the UN in 1945 and its massive decolonization effort, many countries in Africa gained independence. Both the United Nations office of the Special Adviser on Africa and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development were put in place to enhance international support for African development and security and to improve coordination of UN system support.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter) is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent. Following on from recognition that women's rights were often marginalized in the context of human rights, a meeting organized by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) in March 1995, in Lomé, Togo called for the development of a specific protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights to address the rights of women. The OAU assembly mandated the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) to develop such a protocol at its 31st Ordinary Session in June 1995, in Addis Ababa. Group of representatives of African NGOs and international observers including International Commission of Jurists, Special Rapporteur on Women's Rights in Africa, Inter African Committee, Equality Now were part of the campaign. On 25 November 2005, having been ratified by the required 15 member nations of the African Union, the protocol entered into force. of the 53 member countries in the African Union, the heads of states of 46 countries signed the protocol, and As of July 2010, 28 of those countries had ratified and deposited the protocol.

African Union Definitions on its Charter on Human Rights to Address the Rights of women The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, guarantees comprehensive rights to women including the right to take part in the political process, to social and political equality with men, to control of their reproductive health, and an end to female genital mutilation. As the name suggests, it was adopted by the African Union in the form of a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples‘ Rights in Maputo Mozambique.

"Discrimination against women" means any distinction, exclusion or restriction or any differential treatment based on sex and whose objectives or effects compromise or destroy the recognition, enjoyment or the exercise by women, regardless of their marital status, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all spheres of life; "Harmful Practices" means all behavior, attitudes and/or practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of Women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity; Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

Ratification Table A detailed grid with reservation indicators and dates of signature, ratification and deposition.

Violence Against Women In Africa: A Situational Analysis According to the UN United Nations Economic Commission for Africa – The African Centre for Gender and Social Development (ACGSD), a department that focuses on mainstreaming a gender perspective in national development policies, promoting women's human and legal rights programs, including budgetary processes, in order to achieve the goals of gender equality and women's empowerment- stated that the scourge of violence against women in Africa particularly is still largely hidden. It is also believed that incidence reports appearing in the media, and complaints made at police stations are just the tip of the iceberg; the magnitude of the problem is much greater and most of the time hidden and unspoken of.

This is so for a number of reasons: the predominance of the system of patriarchy across Africa has meant that women are still perceived and treated as subordinate to men; violence against women is accepted as the cultural norm in many societies and is often condoned by community and sometimes state leaders; the stigma attached to female victims of violence has resulted in very low rates of reporting; and often if women do report violence against them, they are either turned away because the authorities see violence against women as a matter to be dealt with privately or within the family, or they struggle to access justice in a criminal justice system that is not informed by or sensitive to the needs of women. Recent cases includes grim report from Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt, Somalia, and even south Africa on issues of rape, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), IDP, access to or control over and ownership of resources including land, credit, politics, energy, information, and technology. The worse example of VAW concern is the reminder of the abducted girls in Chibok town of Borno State in Northern Nigeria.

CEDAW Treaty Ratification or Accession “AFRICA for WOMEN'S RIGHTS“ -- a campaign launched by regional and international human rights and women's rights organizations present throughout Africa aimed to call on African states to RATIFY international and regional women's human rights protection instruments recommended

by CEDAW and to RESPECT them in law and practice.

The objectives of the campaign are to encourage Member States in the African continent to observe the following:  The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)  Protocol to CEDAW  The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women

Green: countries that have ratified 3 of 3 instruments Yellow: those who ratified 2 of 3 instruments Orange: those who have ratified 1 of 3 instruments Red: those that have not ratified any of 3 instruments

VAW in Africa: Unsatisfactory Reports While it is true that there have been continuous efforts made by various parties to eliminate VAW in many countries, available data, literature, and anecdotal evidence prove that prevalence of VAW is still high in Africa. The statistics are shocking according to a report on World Bank’s website. A global study by the World Health Organization found Sub-Saharan Africa rates for intimate partner violence to be above the world average of 6.4%.

The highest prevalence is in the Central African sub-region (65.6%) and in the West African sub-region (41.8%).

Rates of non-partner sexual violence are also much higher than the global average of 7%, with the highest prevalence recorded in the central African sub-region (21.1%) and in the southern African sub-region (17.4%).

These factors result in a dearth of information and data about violence against women across Africa, and ultimately affect the ability of policy makers to: guide legislative and policy reforms; ensure adequate provision of targeted and effective services; monitor trends and progress in addressing and eliminating violence against women; and assess the impact of measures taken.

Note however that there are lots of remarkable progress and positive development being made in many cities across Africa, but unfortunately overshadowed by the overwhelming national aggregate of unsatisfactory reports.

Nonetheless, the great continent must rise to the occasion with steps to change the trajectory of traditions that encourages wrong decisions and reward bad values. African can change from within.

Disambiguation of the Task to End VAW In order for the vision for ending violence against women to become a reality, countries must be morally as well as legally committed to adhere to the multilateral convention and incorporate Anti Violence Against Women in to practice within their law. This asserts further that elimination of violence against women must be addressed on multiple levels and in multiple sectors of society simultaneously, taking direction from local people on how women’s rights may be promoted in a given context. It is therefore important to understand what motivates people. According to Maslow, people possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. (The Maslow's (1943, 1954, 1970) hierarchy of Motivational needs) One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. It is important to understand that countries, especially developing countries have priorities that are not in accordance to the pace of development in countries with sophisticated institutional systems’ operation or desire.

According to the UN Charter, PART I, Article 1 “1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

First, by ratifying CEDAW, every nation declares cognizance that comprehensive legislation is fundamental and a basic need for an effective and coordinated response to violence against women. That, lack of a proper legislative framework for VAW is therefore a deficiency -- since basic needs are desirable motivational factors when they are unmet. Also, the need to fulfill such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. for example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become.

An interventionist can choose to help by providing the person a fish or at the same time showing the person where to find fish and teaching the person how to fish. The same rule applies to a country. States have clear obligations under international law to enact, implement and monitor legislation addressing all forms of violence against women and over the past two decades, many States have adopted or revised legislation on violence against women. Therefore, while many states might be willing to close significant gaps remaining, they either do not have the proper legislative provisions, reluctant to interventionist agenda, require majority of National and State assemblies vote to pass the law, overwhelmed by cultural pushbacks, or do not possess the means to institutionalize it.

The Role of Treaties, International Law, in Municipal Law Any law that can be used to promote or protect human rights may be considered to be part of human rights law. Human rights laws can be found in national constitutions, legislation and unwritten common law. National constitutions increasingly reflect a commitment to human rights. At times the rights are listed in a separate section generally known as a bill of rights. A treaty's text may permit some reservations, thus allowing a greater number of States to enter into a treaty at the sacrifice of certain objectives and purposes of the treaty.

Even though international law requires a State to carry out its international obligations, the processes used by a State to carry out its international obligations will vary for example, from legislation, executive and/or judicial measures. States also follow different practices in incorporating treaties within the state's legal structure so that the provisions can be implemented by state authorities. In some countries, international (and at times regional) human rights law automatically becomes a part of national law. In other words, as soon as a state has ratified or acceded to an international agreement, that international law becomes national law. Under such systems treaties are considered to be self-executing. In other countries, international human rights law does not automatically form part of the national law of the ratifying state. International law in these countries is not self-executing, that is, it does not have the force of law without the passage of additional national legislation.

States incorporate treaties and norms into their domestic laws by specific "transformational" devices. The automatic incorporation of ratified treaties by constitutional provision, which has been called general transformation, mandates domestic enforcement without legislative action beyond ratification. A second method, special transformation, requires legislation in order to give treaties domestic effect.

In the absence of special agreements, a State will decide how to carry out its international obligations. for example, in the United States, the Federal government will decide whether an agreement is to be self-executing or should await implementation by legislation or appropriate executive or administrative action. Unless a court deems a treaty to be self-executing, the treaty will bind domestic courts only if Congress has passed legislation for the specific purpose of implementing the treaty provisions domestically. While the U.S. Constitution assigns the power to make and adopt treaties to the federal government, several state and local governments have adopted human rights treaties. for example, in the absence of federal ratification on the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), San Francisco has incorporated principles of CEDAW into binding local law.

The Supremacy of Constitutions National constitutions increasingly reflect a commitment to human rights. At times the rights are listed in a separate section generally known as a bill of rights. Drafters of recent constitutions often consider the language of international and regional norms in fashioning their guarantees. The Constitution is said to be the supreme law of the land (for explicit claims, see inter alia, the Constitution of Australia, Preamble; the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, Art.552; the Constitution of Italy, Art.1; the Constitution of Ireland, Art.6; the Constitution of Japan, Art. 98; and the Constitution of the United States, Art. 6. for implicit claims, see inter alia, the Constitution of India, Arts.

251 and 254; the Basic Law of Federal Republic of Germany, Arts. 20 (3), 23, 28 (1) and (3), 37, 56, 64(2), 70, 87 a (2), 98(2), and 142). The Constitution is the source of all political power within the nation.

The logical consequence of the superiority of the Constitution is that all acts of the legislature, repugnant to the Constitution will be void. Therefore, these acts will not bind either the courts or the citizens. The constitutionality of every law and every act of the Government is one of the most important political principles of democracies and universally accepted rule of law norms. The very essence of civil liberty consists of the right of every individual to claim the protection of the laws, whenever one receives an injury; one of the main duties of government is to protect the rights of all persons. Access to courts and the right to an effective remedy are fundamental rights included in article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A successful rights claim may have wider impact and lead to the reform of legislation or policies found to violate the Violence Against Women Act. Advocates can thus take test cases or impact litigation cases to court to challenge policies or laws, which discriminate against women in many nations that already provide provisions and the proper language for Anti Violence Against Women Act in their constitutions.

NATIONS

EXISTING PROVISION for WOMEN IN NATION’S CONSTITUTION Constitution of Egypt 2014 The state commits to the protection of women against all forms of violence, and ensures women empowerment to reconcile the duties of a woman toward her family and her work requirements.

Constitution of Rwanda 2003 The State of Rwanda commits itself to build a pluralistic democratic government, equality of all Rwandans and between women and men reflected by ensuring that women are granted at least thirty per cent of posts in decision making organs.

Constitution of Senegal 2001 adhesion to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 and ….

Any discrimination between men and women in employment, salary and taxation [impôt] is forbidden. Two-fifths at least of the Senators are women.

Constitution of Uganda 1995 Women shall have the right to equal treatment with men and that right shall include equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities. Women shall have the right to affirmative action for the purpose of redressing the imbalances created by history, tradition or custom. One third of the membership of each local government council shall be women;

Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013 government at every level must take practical measures to ensure that women have access to resources, including land, on the basis of equality with men. women constitute at least half the membership of all Commissions and other elective and appointed offices…

Why Gender Sensitive Legislature Matters Some countries do not believe in gender sensitive legislations. Many countries also use the clause of nondiscrimination act to make no distinction between male and female in their legislatures, but a person's sex as male or female has legal significance—hence, sex is indicated on government documents, and laws provide differently for men and women. Many pension systems have different retirement ages for men or women. Marriage is usually only available to opposite-sex couples; in some countries, there are same-sex marriage laws. The question then arises as to what legally determines whether someone is female or male. In most cases this can appear obvious, but the matter is complicated for intersex or transgender people. Different jurisdictions have adopted different answers to this question. Almost all countries permit changes of legal gender status in cases of inter-sexualism, when the gender assignment made at birth is determined upon further investigation to be biologically inaccurate—technically, however, this is not a change of status per se. Rather, it is recognition of a status deemed to exist but unknown from birth. Increasingly, jurisdictions also provide a procedure for changes of legal gender for transgender people. Gender and particularly the role of women are widely recognized as vitally important to international development issues. This often means a focus on gender-equality, ensuring participation, but includes an understanding of the different roles and expectation of the genders within the community.

Regardless of one’s political or religious inclination, the ultimate purpose of gender sensitive legislation is to “level the playing field” for all citizens.

Gender-Sensitive Parliaments

Introducing Anti Violence Against Women Act (AVAWA) Anti Violence Against Women Act (AVAWA) is a comprehensive national anti violence against women policies and procedures. It is essentially an ‘Act’ of accountability on the need to respect and meet the national mandate already stated within a country’s own constitution to protect and empower women within its borders. The AVAWA serves as an impetus for developing a comprehensive national strategy as well as updating judicial, legislative, enforcement and budgetary policies to address complex challenges of violence against women and other specific needs for healing with emphasis on rehabilitation of victims, and advancing gender equality measures on annual basis.

Arguments for AVAWA AVAWA is a legislative framework that spells out the need to protect women from all forms of violence and discriminations, as well as empower the girl child and the woman to close the gender equity gap. AVAWA is different for many reasons:  AVAWA is not an interventionist agenda; It supports self-determination and self-actualization, which is a concern for previously colonized States.  AVAWA derives from the country’s existing constitution –there is no conflict of interest adopting it by member states.  AVAWA does not provide content of the policy. Rather, it only creates the vision and the framework which gives each member states the impetus to develop self-fulfilling act based on the existing provision already spelled out in the nation’s constitution.  This also means that each country’s AVAWA will be unique, but we expect adopted policies, programs, ways and means to achieve and various degrees of success in different societies to be transparent and feasible.  Global benchmarks set by those countries in Africa, Europe, the New World, and Asia who have achieved or close to achieving gender equality in the market place can serve as goal posts for those countries that have not yet done so.  AVAWA provides a perspective that Legislation should be gender-sensitive, not gender-blind. It reveals how gender-sensitive approach to legislation on violence against women acknowledges that women’s and men’s experiences of violence differ and that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women and discrimination against women – needing redress.  AVAWA provides clarity and feasibility to country capability or lack thereof in executing its obligation to ending VAW.  AVAWA maps out target, procedures, scope, budget, executing institutions,  AVAWA can serve as a convergence for resolving conflicts between customary and/or religious law and the formal justice system, with respect for the human rights of the survivor and in accordance with gender equality standards; and • the processing of a case under customary and/or religious law does not preclude it from being brought before the formal justice system.  AVAWA strengthens the implementation of CEDAW including its Optional Protocol, DEVAW, and the Maputo Protocol without compromising the integrity of the State or the existing protocols.  AVAWA can help provide more relevant information the UN Women and the United Nations on the issue of Women and development.  AVAWA ends a long-standing debate as to the best way to ensure gender-sensitivity in legislation on violence.  AVAWA can also serve as the convergence of all the human rights standard of elimination of violence against women scattered throughout various international and regional conventions which can make it more difficult to seek accountability.  AVAWA is a legally binding framework.

Legislation on Anti Violence Against Women Act There are many programs as well as many blue prints existing throughout world proving blue prints and hand books or recommendations to legislate violence against women. In 2008, the Secretary-General launched a multi-year global campaign called UNiTE to End Violence against Women. His appeal encouraged partners to join forces in effort expedite the elimination of this scourge – and created a Campaign that recognizes the power of the law: one of its five key goals is for all countries to adopt and enforce, by 2015, national laws that address and punish all forms of such violence, in line with international human rights standards. A Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women, prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Division for the Advancement of Women (DESA/DAW), as well as handbook on How to Complain About Human Rights Treaty Violations are intended to assist States and other stakeholders to enhance existing, or develop new laws to protect women. The Anti Violence Against Women Act (AVAWA) is expected to follow the blue print of the valuable legislative framework already in place and serve as a useful tool in supporting efforts to provide justice, support, protection and remedies to victims and to hold perpetrators accountable, BUT NOT to develop new laws where none is necessary. The AVAWA (Act) follows the form of questionnaire on how a country plans to implement and respond to violence against women as stated in its constitution.

We expect AVAWA to include Laws that criminalize s such violence, ensure the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, empower and support victims, strengthen prevention, make implementation budget transparent, enunciate implementing institutions, and make reporting tools available and accessible.

Legislative Framework for the Implementation of Constitutional Provisions Reserved Specifically for Women: AVAWA Because Constitutions are understood to be supreme law of the land, they must be carried out and their implementation must be prioritized as primary needs of the country. The parliamentary or congressional approval requirement and the harmonization of the regulation process with executing institutions are not as complicated as if it were a bilateral or multilateral interventionist ratification agenda. This however does not reduce the challenges involved to undertake the fulfillment of such constitutional mandate as AVAWA. The Model framework for the Anti Violence Against Women Act can be expected to address the need for comprehensive legislative information and feasibility on the following categories: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii.

Object of the provision for women in the constitution (History, Origin , Objective and Goal) Interpretation of the provision and scope within the defined forms of violence against women Comprehensive legislative approach Relationship between customary and/or religious law and the formal justice system Implementation: National action plan or strategy Training and capacity-building for public officials Training Specialized police and prosecutorial units Protocols, guidelines, standards and regulations

viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. xvi. xvii.

Training Specialized police and prosecutorial units Monitoring and evaluation; Legal proceedings and evidence Specific institutional mechanism to monitor implementation Collection of statistical data, Investigations and Reporting Prevention: Incorporation of provisions on prevention of violence against women Awareness-raising Programs Educational Programs Comprehensive and integrated support services: Protection, support, and assistance to complainants/survivors Budget Other relevant and voluntary topic categories‌

The Result of Failure to Adopt AVAWA Anti Violence Against Women Act (AVAWA) is highly recommended for adoption as an imperative component of sustainable legislative strategy for peace and security in Africa. The AVAWA initiative is a non-intrusive diplomatic strategy to mitigate as well as make ending violence against women and girls a top priority for African States. AVAWA suggests that the African States’ governments honor the existing provision for women as stated in their constitutions with a comprehensive, multi-sectorial strategic national plan for reducing and ending violence against women. This provides a great opportunity for country’s advancement on many fronts. Your endorsement will make the AVAWA report a legal tender of nations’ accountability act on the issue of women and human rights.

Failure to make effective use of the opportunity that AVAWA presents may subject African countries to perpetual cycle of interventionist agenda.

Monitoring and Evaluation of AVAWA

The idea of how to monitor the benefit of AVAWA has been widely debated. We believe that the best proxies for AVAWA effectiveness are the beneficiaries themselves. Therefore we are proposing that a national network of Anti Violence Against Women’s Associations be formed in local communities. The AVAWA members will be the proxy for scaling and reporting the benefits from the government mandates for empowerment and protection of Women - directly. This AVAWA Network initiative should be an inclusive broad coalition of individuals, organizations, independent, public and private institutions in capacity ensuring, monitoring, and evaluating proper implementation of the statutes in the Act. The AVAWA networks can also be a great service to providing CEDAW’s optional protocol report to the UN.

Successful AVAWA Pilot Projects

The first AVAWA was launched at the end of December 2013, and in just six months, we have registered over 1000 local Women from a diverse ethnic, professional and religious backgrounds. Since the inception of this initiative, we have issued biometric identification cards to registered members, facilitated their access to bank accounts; provided them with small loans with a convenient payback schedule at no interest at all. We have managed to enroll many of the women in the government adult literacy program, which is wholly conducted by selected in-house mentors that are now on government payroll through our organization. We are proud to say that our capacity building system for women empowerment works. This concept is also unique to our organization and is currently being implemented in Moshi, Tanzania Dakar, Senegal and.

Anti Violence Against Women Associates/ AVAWA Beneficiaries

Strategy for Awareness-Raising of AVAWA (PINK Africa) The AVAWA (The Act) and the AVAWA (Association) are complementary to the goal of ending violence against women and closing the gender gap, a good strategy for promoting the AVAWA agenda is tied together by an annual review summit designed to reward effectiveness and performance. This summit is an award program that could take place in countries willing to showcase their record to the world on ANTI VIOLENCE Against Women Act. The summit is being planned to be inclusive and encompass international and local activists, GBV activists, beneficiaries groups, women Networks, government bodies, ministries of women, association of first ladies, women networks, Women empowerment networks, organizations, institutions, government, men and women who work tirelessly toward the accomplishment of gender equity everywhere in the world and specifically in the host country of the Summit. Summit will also celebrate a country’s readiness, inclusion, or inauguration of its Anti- Violence Against Women Act; as well as provide opportunity to review Country’s Act and present report from the country’s AVAWA Networks to juxtapose performance and development. The summit has been termed PINK Africa. (The PINK always capitalized).

The ‘PINK Africa Summit’ will showcase the collective strength of women leadership and cultural advancement in relation to the Universal human rights and efforts as well as process to end VAW on the world stage. The Summit will also serve as a powerful tool for increasing the necessary awareness on every country’s need to adopt, update, and validate its’ AVAWA and Gender Equity Policy Framework and programs. Some of the specifics of the summit include the following: 1.

To encourage African Women Advancement by recognizing and rewarding those who have made most significant contribution in the advancement and empowerment of women in selected categories.

2.

To observe and validate the effectiveness of every African country’s anti violence Against Women Act and gender policy as well as acknowledge the country whose gender policy framework best ensure women’s safety and best address the need for women empowerment.

PINK Africa Summit: Award Categories The 13 critical areas of award categories recommended are as follows: 1. Women and the environment 2. Women in power and decision-making 3. The girl child 4. Women and the economy 5. Women and poverty 6. Violence against women 7. Human rights of women 8. Education and training of women 9. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women 10. Women and health 11. Women and the media 12. Women and armed conflict 13. Men for Women Equality (HeforShe/ I care About Her)

PINK Africa: Recognition of Greatness

Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) (25 October 1900 Abeokuta, Nigeria - 13 April 1978 Lagos, Nigeria

The PINK Africa Summit provides a great opportunity for the celebration of achievements by women in nation building and recognition of the milestones in women advancement with both national and international credibility and gravitas. Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, a teacher, political campaigner, women's rights activist and traditional aristocrat embodies the distinction as one of the most prominent leaders of her generation – makes a good example of selective category for achievement award. She was also the first woman, in Nigeria, to drive a car. Ransome-Kuti's political activism led to her being described as the doyen of female rights in Nigeria, as well as to her being regarded as "The Mother of Africa." Early on, she was a very powerful force advocating for the Nigerian woman's right to vote. She was described in 1947, by the West African Pilot as the "Lioness of Lisabi" for her dynamic leadership of the organization for both literate and illiterate women of the Egba clan that she belonged to on a campaign against their arbitrary taxation. That struggle led to the abdication of the Egba high king Oba Ademola II in 1949. Learn more Each country has a unique story to celebrate. This makes PINK Africa a great cultural and empowering tool, as well as an additional incentive to host the summit in other countries.

Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was the mother of the renowned activists Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a musician, Beko Ransome-Kuti, a doctor, and Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a doctor and a former health minister of Nigeria. She was also grandmother to musicians Yeni Kuti, Sola Kuti, Seun Kuti and Femi Kuti.

Granddaughter: Sola Anikulapo Kuti

AVAWA (Act)/ AVAWA (Association- Network)/ The PINK Africa Summit Country Specific Promotional Initiatives The Summit will also provide opportunity for high profile country marketing opportunities. We also plan to use the designed logo to create souvenirs and market if under the slogan: “PINK Africa�

Which is emblematic and official logo of the Women Empowerment and Advancement Summit in Africa. Here are some examples of country like Senegal and Nigeria as well as the International PINK Africa Logo. The emblem is designed to be applicable to any country when the summit will take place or simple for the constituents or supporters of such countries. The PINK Africa summit could also provide great economic opportunity for AVAWA networks and the country where the summit is scheduled to take place.

Thank You for Your Participation and Collaboration To End Violence Against Women and Close the Gender Gap If you would like to participate in this project ensuring the successful launch of AVAWA please sign the petition that is going to be presented to Ambassadors and Ministers for Women Affairs with relevance to African States.

Click here to sign the petition

THANK YOU!

http://bit.ly/support_AVAWA

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