2014 Theme Announcement
From
Peace in the Home to Peace in the World:
Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Gender-Based Violence!
Positioning the 16 Days Campaign from
November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women)
and December 10 (Human Rights Day) rightfully stresses that gender-based
violence is an international human rights violation. In the lead up to, and
during, the 16 days of activism, participants will highlight the systemic
nature of gender-based violence and militarism which encourages inequality and
discrimination and prioritizes weapons spending over funding for quality
education and healthcare and safe public spaces. The culture of militarism
builds on and protects systems of power by controlling dissent and using
violence to settle economic, political and social disputes. Militarism draws on
and perpetuates patriarchal models of political, economic, and social
domination of people by a small number of elites and privileges violent
masculinity as acceptable behavior. The 16 Days Campaign focus on the
intersections of gender-based violence and militarism is an effort to work
toward a more equitable and peaceful world.
The intersectionality of age, class, gender,
geographic location, race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation
among other categories of analysis inform the ways in which women experience
and respond to violence, inequality, and discrimination. They also affect the ways
in which communities and the States respond since States’ relations with the
people are mediated in part through the above categories.
Take Action to End GBV and Militarism!
Integral to a world free of gender-based
violence where all are able to experience freedom from fear and want is, in
part, the recognition of the indivisibility of human rights, and that women’s
rights are human rights. Within the contexts of the intersections of gender-based
violence, militarism, and economic and social rights, and being mindful of the
work of campaigners worldwide, the 16 Days Campaign has identified three
priority areas for the 2014 Campaign:
1 Violence Perpetrated by
State Actors
Despite the due diligence principle requiring
State responsibility to respect, protect, and promote human rights, State
actors often act with impunity as transgressors of human rights norms and/or
often fail to deliver justice against perpetrators of violence, especially when
conducted against socially and economically marginalized groups. Bolstered by
their powerful positions, State and non-State actors use violence and the
threat of violence to achieve social, economic and political control over
individuals and communities. Frequently, this violence specifically targets
women and in particular human rights defenders (WHRDs) other protestors and
dissenters as a way to silence through fear. WHRDs are targets of both State
and non-State actors and face physical and sexual violence because of who they
are and what they do. In addition, the lack of accountability and regulation of
transnational corporations (TNCs), including in the extractive industry, and
private military companies, empowers them with the power to exploit and violate
the human rights of workers, indigenous communities, and local populations,
including human rights defenders.
What can be done?
- Document and publicize instances of violations
against human rights defenders, journalists, indigenous and marginalized
groups.
- Engage with members of your community and with
policymakers who are willing to listen and who work at the local,
national, international and other influential levels to make ending
gender-based violence a priority and success marker for national
development.
- Strengthen and support the work of Women Human
Rights Defenders and demand accountability from State and non-State
perpetrators of violence through national, regional, and international
mechanisms.
2
Proliferation of Small Arms in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence
Domestic and intimate partner violence (IPV)
is a violation of human rights that affects every society, culture, and
community worldwide. IPV flourishes because of economic dependence, gendered
social norms, and inadequate and gender blind policies. Economic independence
and transformative shifts that eliminate the current social acceptance of
gender inequality and violence is necessary for an end to domestic and intimate
partner violence. The presence of small arms, such as guns increases the risk
of murder by 41%, but in domestic and IPV situations for women the risk becomes
even greater (272%). Not surprisingly, experts estimate that approximately 900
million small arms are in the global market, with women three to four times
more likely to be victims of threats and deaths compared to men. The use of and
the proliferation of small arms is an extension of normalization of violence,
violent masculinity, and militarism. To curb these rates of violence, action
must go beyond lip-service, legislation, or reform and toward focused
implementation of prevention, protection, justice, and services for survivors.
What can be done?
- Support disarmament of perpetrators of intimate
partner violence and stronger regulation of small arms. Work with your
communities and policymakers to require stronger background checks, gun
storage, and linking the occurrence of intimate partner violence with
removal of guns from homes.
- Encourage conversation on intimate partner violence
with family, friends, and community members in order to remove stigma,
protect, and support those who report it.
- Advocate for improved training and response by local
law enforcement that adequately addresses intimate partner violence.
3
Sexual Violence During and After Conflict
Belligerents and opportunists in conflict
climates commit acts of violence directed especially against women and girls as
a way to instill fear, threaten, or weaken the opposing side and to reap from
what they see as “spoils of war”. Various forms of sexual violence are
violations of human rights and human dignity and are used to fuel conflict
between ethnic and ideological groups and by international power holders as the
basis of interventions and occupations. Sexual violence is gendered and carries
social stigma, forcing women and girls into perpetually insecure lives with
inadequate services and support from family, community, and/or health and
justice providers. The onus to protect and prevent sexual violence is forced
upon women or their families and communities, while the act is often condoned
as a reality both of “peace” and of war and instability across the conflict
spectrum. Militarism feeds attitudes that support impunity for perpetrators and
allows the legal justice system to be lax about investigation, prosecution, and
punishment of crimes of sexual violence. Disarmament, demobilization, and
reintegration processes must also address women and girls forced into sexual
slavery and combat, and prevention, protection, and justice mechanisms must
involve women’s experiences.
What can be done?
- Build local and international awareness by writing
and speaking on the occurrence and stigma of sexual violence or use your
skills to heighten the sense of urgency around sexual violence in your
community.
- Encourage policymakers to make addressing the crime
of sexual violence in conflict a priority and to support local, national,
and international prevention, protection, and justice mechanisms and
women’s leadership in peace processes.
- Work with men and boys who believe in gender
equality to end gender-based violence in conflict and work together to
involve more of their peers in ending gender-based and sexual violence.
Join the 16 Days Campaign!
The 16 Days Campaign is open to participants engaging in action on these issues
in ways that are relevant to their specific context. Participants know best on
what and with whom they can engage – whether their governments or communities –
to challenge and change in positive terms the structures which perpetuate
gender-based violence. Use of the hashtag #16Days when tweeting is encouraged!
Download
and Share the theme announcement in [English - PDF,
Word
doc], [French - PDF,
Word
doc], and [Spanish - PDF,
Word
doc] !