International
Eliminating Violence against Women: if not now, when? By Lizzette Robleto de Howarth
O
n 17 December 1999, through Resolution 54/1341, the United Nations adopted the 25th of November as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Every year, on this date, UN Women begin 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence that runs until the 10th of December, which celebrates Human Rights Day2.
The 25th of November was specifically chosen, because on that date in 1960, three Mirabal Sisters (Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa)3 were murdered on the orders of the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). Better known as “Las Mariposas”, or “The Butterflies”, the Mirabal Sisters were four sisters – Patria, Minerva, Maria Teresa and Dede – who actively opposed the brutal dictatorship of Trujillo4. The remaining sister, Dedé, died of natural causes on 1 February 20145. The eldest sister, Patria, left school to marry a farmer, Pedro Gonzales, who later aided and supported her in challenging the Trujillo regime6. The third daughter, Minerva, enrolled at the University of Santo Domingo to study law but because she had declined Trujillo’s sexual advances, she was denied a licence to practice7. The youngest sister, María Teresa, also enrolled at the University of Santo Domingo where she studied mathematics. Two of the sisters, Minerva and María Teresa, were incarcerated, raped and tortured in clandestine prisons 28 | LegalWomen
on several occasions8. On 25th November 1960, Minerva, Maria and Patria were returning from a visit to their husbands, who were in Puerto Plata prison, when Trujillo supporters beat them to death with sticks, shoved them into the back of a car and threw them off a cliff. The Trujillo government declared afterwards that their deaths had been caused by a road-traffic accident9. Trujillo’s plan to silence the Mirabal Sisters ultimately failed as their deaths caused mass public outrage and only resulted in highlighting their cause and the regime’s brutality. The Mirabal Sisters became symbols of feminist resistance and women’s rights activism. Sadly, gender-based violence is still a scourge that has yet to be eliminated. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)10, a total of 87,000 women around the world were intentionally killed in 2017. Their report states that 58% were killed by intimate partners or family members which equates to 137 women being murdered every single day. The regions with the largest number of women killed by intimate partners (not including other family members) were Asia and Africa (11,000 each), followed by the Americas (6,000), Europe (2,000) and Oceania (200). Gender-based violence or violence against women and girls is a global pandemic that affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime11. This problem is not only devastating for the survivors of violence and their families, but it also carries significant social and economic costs. According to the World Bank, in some countries, it is estimated that violence against women costs up to 3.7% of their GDP which is more than double what most governments spend on education12.
