UN agency launches 16-day campaign vs. violence against women

More than 1.6 million actions have been registered with the Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women initiative of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, a milestone registration that coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Nov. 25.

The online effort was launched a year ago to provide a platform for individuals, civil society groups and governments to showcase and record their activities on the issue.

It was part of the UN Secretary-General’s campaign, UNiTE to End Violence against Women.

“I am thrilled that Say NO – UNiTE has surpassed 1 million actions,” said UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet in a release on the Say No to Violence website.

The website acts as a “portal” for various online and actual, on-the-ground, campaigns that are aimed to stop violence against women.

Site visitors can choose from over 300 grassroots actions that range from sending e-letters to members of parliament in Chile, or signing a petition to end forced marriages in Pakistan, to “sending flowers instead of slaps” to battered wives in crisis centers in the Slovenia – to even signing up as a volunteer to man a crisis center in Afghanistan.

“I signed on to Say NO as President of Chile, knowing that public commitments like this go a long way,” said Bachelet, former president of Chile, who now heads UN Women, of which UNIFEM is a part.

“Say NO – UNiTE is proof that there is a global groundswell for ending violence against women,” she added.

According to the UNIFEM, people from 227 countries and territories have visited the Say NO – UNiTE website and more than 300 civil society groups have engaged through action pages that highlight their activities and allow people who visit to sign on and express support or get involved in activities.

Officials from 72 governments have signed on, the UNIFEM said, including 226 ministers and 31 heads of state.

26 a day

In the Philippines, the number of reported cases of violence against women (VAW) increased to 26 a day in 2009, from 20 a day reported in 2006, according to statistics of the Philippine Commission on Women.

Latest PCW statistics (2009) also show that of the 9,485 reported VAW cases reported in 2009, more than 50 percent, or 5,285 are cases of wife abuse, 1,498 are wife battery cases, 770 are rape, and 152 are cases of human trafficking.

Huge trafficking problem

The Philippines is the world’s fourth top exporter of children for brothels, with about 60,000 to 100,000 Filipina children trafficked for sexual purposes annually, the Human Trafficking website reported, citing the United States State Department Trafficking in Persons Reports.

Government and NGO estimates of the number of Filipino women trafficked range from 300,000 to 400,000.

16 days, $100 million

The annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, which kicks off on Nov. 25 uses Say NO – UNiTE to mobilize advocates around the world to take actions.

This year, Say NO – UNiTE has also backed a new fund drive by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The drive aims to raise $100 million.

By texting the word UNITE to 27722, people in the United States can donate $10 to the UN Foundation, which supports UN Trust Fund programs and services on the ground. Online donations can be made through the UN Foundation.

“With up to 70 percent of women and girls experiencing some form of violence, the need for vastly scaled-up support is clear,” Bachelet said.

The UN Trust Fund grants fund programs to end violence, but in 2009, despite offering more than $20 million in funding, the Fund could meet less than two percent of requests from around the world.

Zonta International, a long-term supporter of the UN Trust Fund recently announced $430,000 in funding to stop acid attacks against women and girls in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda.

Another $200,000 contribution will go toward UNIFEM’s work in Haiti, where security and services are provided to women and girls after the devastating earthquake there.

That the European Union is moving forward with an EU-wide strategy to prevent violence and legislature in the Maldives adopted a new resolution on eliminating violence, are concrete actions that demonstrate political will to end violence, Bachelet said.

While Say NO – UNiTE actions are diverse, these all add to the global momentum around stopping violence against women, the UNIFEM said.

World actions

In Tajikistan, taekwondo trainers are sensitizing military men on maintaining healthy relations in their families.

At a concert organized for the Global Youth Conference in Mexico last summer, 3,000 young people came together to support the UNiTE campaign and to call on youth to work for peaceful communities.

The Office of the Attorney General in Thailand has embarked on a national campaign with more than 100,000 signatories and actions that range from providing new guidance to judicial officials on upholding domestic violence laws, to parades, television shows and speech contests to spread awareness among the general public.

In northern Uganda, traditional leaders called for making women’s needs central to peacebuilding and have conducted a campaign on zero tolerance for violence. -(philstar.com)