WUNRN
Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights
Ending Gender-Based
Violence & Discrimination: Youth as
Agents of Change
12 March 2013 “We are here to explore
ways in which the international organisations can learn to engage more
effectively with young people, so as to transform the brutal, routine violence
too often endured by women and girls around the world”, said UN Human Rights
Chief Navi Pillay at an interactive event with youth activists to discuss how
youth can effect positive change to end violence against women and girls.
Statistics on violence against women and girls continue to
be alarming, including cases of domestic violence. A multi-country
study published by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that
between 15 and 71% of women aged between 15 and 49 years reported physical
and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.
“One vital step would be to put an end to impunity for all
forms of violence against women. When crimes are committed, it is important to
seek punishment and redress”, declared Pillay, while admitting that it was
still not enough since “some of these crimes are culturally accepted and widely
considered to be almost an intrinsic part of growing up female”.
“What we need is changed behaviour. We need to prevent the
underlying attitudes, stereotypes and discrimination that give rise to these
specific forms of violence”, Pillay said.
Pillay recognized the crucial role of youth in effecting
positive transformative change by challenging political and social norms, and
addressing stereotypes that perpetuate violence against women and girls,
whether through powerful social protests or social media campaigns.
Referring to the two recent gang-rapes of 23-year-old
Nirbhaya in
After speaking about various youth initiatives in their
respective countries to combat violence and discrimination against women, young
activists asked that States provide better protection for victims as well as
activists. One of the panellists, a survivor of violence, reminded participants
that “victims usually have to go back to the same community where the tape of
what happened to them is played over and over”, and asked for adequate funding
for psycho-social programmes to respond to the needs of victims, including by
providing them with places of safety.
Awareness raising campaigns organized by youth organizations
in schools and universities have had a major impact on young people, said
several youth activists, adding that, when young men are involved in these
campaigns, then, a deeper transformative change is more likely to happen and
harmful gender norms can be tackled. One of the panellists spoke about the
positive impact of the White Ribbon Campaign, an initiative where fathers, male
educators, coaches, and young activists, take a stand to promote gender
equality and combat sexual violence and discrimination against women.
Social media has an empowering effect, said several young
activists, adding that it had allowed them to reach large audiences, organize
meetings, engage others in debates, and raise awareness on sexual violence and
gender equality. A young activist from
While supporting the use of social media to end violence and
discrimination against women, a few activists also shared their concerns about
the difficulty of organizing their activities beyond protests and social media
campaigns. Youth activists have the energy and time to transform behaviours but
needs to have access to funds at the local level to get organized and increase
their capacity to propose concrete and practical solutions, said a panellist.
Activists working on violence against women campaigns should
keep in mind that in many communities victims do not have access to the
internet, reminded a representative from the
The side-event was sponsored by OHCHR, UNFPA, WHO, YWCA, the
Graduate Institute in