WUNRN
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2008
World YWCA Statement
Investing in the Safety of Women & Girls
The YWCA has long been associated with safe spaces for women and girls. >From
the turn of the 20th century when young women found a safe space in Great
Britain, Europe and North America as they served in World War I to the early
21st century when young women found refuge from violent relationships in YWCA
crisis centers around the world in Hong Kong, Canada and Angola – the YWCA has
been associated with safety and a voice advocating for an end to violence
against women.
As the world commemorates International Women’s Day on March 8, the World
YWCA calls on governments, inter-governmental organisation, non-governmental
organisation and community groups to ensure women and girls feel secure and are
safe at home, school and work.
Women make up 48% of all people living with HIV, and the proportion of women
infected with HIV is increasing in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin
America. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by HIV, 60% of
all adults and three out of four young people living with the virus are
female (1) . These figures demonstrate the great personal security
threat women face.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights; it
is time that women fully exercise their right to life, liberty and security of
person. To ensure security for women and girls we must invest in changing
social, cultural and economic factors that put women at risk. Investing in
women and girls includes allocating flexible and adequate funds to women,
providing appropriate services and ensuring they have equal opportunities.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) address issues that put women at
risk of violence and insecurity. The World YWCA calls on governments to place
MDGs 1 and 3 - that address poverty and inequality respectively - at the center
of their development indicators. Recent studies show that investing in women
and girls has a multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustained
economic growth. Once countries eliminate extreme poverty – the status of women
is likely to increase and they are less at risk of violence and abuse.
Therefore, to ensure women and girls are safe the World YWCA recommends:
1. Reducing women’s vulnerability in the face of HIV and AIDS
- The YWCA Nairobi 2007 Call to Action on HIV and AIDS
(2) calls for the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and
rights of all women and girls, including healthy and safe practices that
minimise the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and
expansion of female initiated HIV-prevention methods. World leaders must
work towards promoting these rights.
- In a bid to increase the number of people who know
their HIV status, health care providers are increasingly being encouraged
to recommend HIV testing to clients attending their facilities. Women
visiting prenatal clinics are especially vulnerable under this policy; yet
pregnant women alone should not be aggressively targeted in HIV testing
strategies. Women and men should be reached together to avoid women being
singled out for testing without their partners. As governments,
policy-makers and non-governmental organisations strive to link violence
and reproductive health to HIV, they must not ignore the human rights of
pregnant women, including their right to privacy and security.
- Socio-economic factors and legal challenges that put
many HIV-positive women at risk of violence must be addressed. Many
HIV-positive women are beaten up, thrown out of their homes and lose their
possession when they share their HIV status with their families.
Governments, international organisations and civil society must ensure
that laws and policies that redress inequality and poverty are implemented
in a bid to protect women from violence.
2. Ending violence against women
- The World YWCA welcomes the newly launched United
Nations campaign to address Violence against women, ‘Unite: To end Violence
against Women’. Governments must work towards closing gaps between
international instruments that address women’s rights and national laws,
policies and practices that put women at risk of violence.
- Organisations running programmes such as shelters for
women in violent relationship, help-lines and counseling facilities must
be adequately financed to ensure their services remain reliable and
accessible.
- Programmes such as the YWCA Week Without Violence
commemorated annually in November around the world help educate
communities on the types of violence women in their country face. A
society that understands the impact and effects of violence against women
is better versed to address the issues at government and policy level.
Education on violence against women must be integrated in programmes that
reach different sectors of society including men and boys.
3. Involving women in conflict resolution and peace building
- The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on
women, peace and security recognises the impact of armed conflict on women
and girls and affirms the important role of women in the prevention and
resolution of conflict and in peace-building. Governments must commit to
no impunity for rape, sexual enslavement and other crimes specifically
targeting women during conflict.
- Government institutions in fragile states are weak –
they have limited revenue opportunities and multiple and complex demands
for funding. The humanitarian response, peace building and peacekeeping
all demand extensive financing - leaving women with less capacity and
opportunities to access resources for their empowerment. The World
YWCA therefore urges governments to allocate adequate resources through
flexible and accessible financing mechanism for the implementation of the
UN Security Council Resolution 1325, on women, peace and security.
(1)UNAIDS. 2006. HIV Epidemiology update.
Geneva. WHO
(2)The YWCA Nairobi 2007 Call to Action on HIV and AIDS was launched at the
International Women’s Summit on Women’s Leadership in HIV and AIDS hosted by
the World YWCA in July 2007. The summit was the first international
conference to focus on women’s leadership and AIDS. Read the Call to Action and
Sign the Pledge on the World YWCA website: www.worldywca.org
Founded
in 1855, the World YWCA is a global movement that reaches 25 million women and
girls in 125 countries, providing them with the space and skills to develop
leadership to achieve justice, peace, security, health, human dignity, freedom
and care for the environment for the entire community. The World YWCA affirms
that women’s human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated.
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Kaburo Kobia
Communication Director, World YWCA
E-Mail: kaburo.kobia@worldywca.org
Website: www.worldywca.org
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