WUNRN
ISSUES OF DISCRIMINATION IN WIDOWHOOD IN
that require addressing in the
context of the CEDAW
Margaret Owen, WPD
(Widows for Peace through Democracy) Director
Laura
Castellan, WPD Research Assistant
WPD
hopes that this report will assist the Committee in its examination of the
Government of
As in many
countries, especially those in conflict and
post conflict situations, the status of their widows – and wives of those
forcibly disappeared or missing – is often ignored. Yet it is widows and their
children, particularly their daughters, who so often suffer the most
discrimination, direct and indirect, and this discrimination, resulting in
extreme poverty, marginalisation, and exposure to violence, requires visibility
so that it can be addressed by governments.
After more than four decades of
civil conflict,
The Government has so far
inadequately addressed this situation in its policies, has not attempted to
gather statistics on the numbers of these women, or information on their
life-styles, ages, needs and roles. It has failed to give it an appropriate
regard in its previous and current reports to the CEDAW Committee. WPD
hopes that this brief submission will assist the Committee in its consideration
of
1. As a result of the conflict
affecting the country, the numbers of Colombian widows of all ages are many.
According to a report recently published by the National Centre for Historical
Memory, at least 220.000 Colombians, 80% of whom civilians, have been killed
since 1958; 25.000 have gone missing and more than 5 million have been uprooted
or displaced.[1] Considering that the vast majority of direct
victims of killings and kidnappings is represented by men, it is clear that the
numbers of widows and wives of the must be considerable.
→ The Government should be
required to take all available means, including working with women’s and
widows’ NGOS, to fill this gap, providing official and reliable statistics to
be used as a basis to design and implement effective policies.
→ Failure of the Government to
attempt to identify this huge category of Colombian women in all sections of
society, or to instigate any systematic research and analysis of their needs
and roles, is itself a form of discrimination which requires attention
according to Article 2 of the CEDAW.
2. Despite the existence of an advanced
legal framework for the protection and support of victims (we can particularly
mention: Article 2 of the Constitution, law 418 and law 1448)[2],
the challenge is to get the law effectively enforced, as pointed out also by
Margarita Bueso, the National Coordinator of UN Women in Colombia.[3]
· Access
to justice is often problematic: NGOs report
cases in which police and authorities not only fail in helping widows to find
out the truth about the fate of their relatives and obtain justice, but also
impede them when they try to locate their bodies.[4]
→ The Government should be
asked to report on the level of adequacy of the measures undertaken so far to
comply with Article 15 of the CEDAW by facilitating access to justice,
especially for widows who particularly lack of legal support, economical
resources and education.
· Widows
and their families (and especially widows of journalists and other activists
who are murdered after reporting injustice, corruption, narcotraffic, illegal
land occupations and crimes against the civil population) are often forced to
migrate to other locations because of threats of violence, lack of support
and protection against violence and attacks on their property and
homesteads.[5]
→ The Government should be
called to explain which measures it has undertaken to protect widows against
threats of violence that preclude them and their families the enjoyment of
rights and freedoms (as required by Article 3 of the CEDAW); particular
attention must be dedicated to measures addressing the needs of indigenous,
afrocolombian and rural widows (Article 14 of the CEDAW), who are the
ones who more has suffered and still suffer the consequences of the
conflict.
· Adequate
support should be provided to widows and their children (e.g. economical
support, access to healthcare and education), as mandated under Law 1448.[6]
Despite the economic efforts of the Government, the bureaucracy that widows
have to face to obtain support is massive (including the procedure to be
included in the Registro Unico de las Victimas); widows often face difficulties
in the enjoyment of their right to property and the contingency plans put in
action seem to be not adequate, due also to the lack of a proper cooperation
between the Unidad Nacional de Proteccion (UNP) and the Victims Unit.[7]
→ The Government should be
asked to explain its strategies to improve the rapidity and accessibility – so
far insufficient - of the measures to support widows and their children in all
the fields covered by Part III of the CEDAW.
3. In Columbian society, which is
traditionally machista and patriarchal, the main income on which many
families rely is given by men. Informal labour, on which widows rely for
economic survival, lacks social insurance (pensions, health, life insurance),
and therefore does not alleviate the distress suffered by widows and their
families, who are not materially and psychologically prepared to face their
situation.[8]
Moreover, Columbian social attitudes tend to stigmatise widows, but also do not
approve of widows remarrying. The consequences of these social and cultural
patterns, both for widows and their children, are marginalization and the
involvement in narcotraffic, prostitution and crime as coping strategies.[9]
This represents a personal, familiar and social tragedy which still affects
Colombia.
→ The Government should be
asked to clarify what its efforts are, in conformity with Article 5 of
the CEDAW, to prevent widows from being victim of stereotypes and social
pressures that impede the full enjoyment of their rights and freedoms.
→ According to Article 6
of the CEDAW, the Government should be held responsible to undertake all
efforts possible in order to impede that widow’s coping strategies lead them
and their families towards illegality, exploitation, marginalization and
extreme poverty; both material and psychological support strategies are to be
taken into account.
WPD
thanks the Committee for inviting it to submit this report. Please contact us
if you require any further information.
WPD (Widows for Peace through Democracy)
http://www.widowsforpeace.org/
Telephone: 020 7 603 9733
Email: director.wpd@gmail.com