Say No to Violence Against Women

unifemcanada — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:52:19 +0000

Dear Friends,

The Say NO Team would like to wish you a Happy New Year with our new Say NO desktop calendar that we will issue every month from now. We hope you like it and find it useful. Download it here: http://www.saynotoviolence.org/desktop_calendars.

Thank you once more for adding your voices to make ending violence a top priority for decision makers worldwide. We welcomed 2010 with more than 29,000 actions recorded on Say NO; actions that range from petitions for new laws to protect women and girls, to raising awareness through music and arts, engaging men, women and youth in community mobilization, Parliaments and International Trade Unions committing to take actions, and more. Check out the news and actions coming in on www.saynotoviolence.org.

Today we need your voices more than ever. We still have a challenge to meet — the watchmaker Omega has pledged US$50,000 for the first 50,000 actions raised on Say NO. The money will go towards women’s organizations working on the ground to address the issue. We are asking for your help — spread the word, share the Say NO desktop calendar with people you know and ask them to join our global Say NO network. They can add their names to the global call for action or start an action page to showcase their activism on the issue.

Best wishes from the Say NO Team,

Nanette Braun
Head of Communications,
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

PS: You can also follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook and watch our videos on YouTube!

16 Days of Action on Gender Violence

unifemcanada — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:05:53 +0000

In 1991, international participants in the United States (US)-based Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL)’s first annual Women’s Global Leadership Institute conceived of and created an annual international campaign to communicate this message: violence against women (VAW) violates human rights. Each year from November 25 to December 10, participants use the “16 Days of Action against Gender Violence” campaign as an organising strategy to call for elimination of all forms of VAW (whether in the public or private sphere).

The dates that organisers chose for the campaign are meant to indicate a symbolic link between VAW and violation of human rights: November 25 marks the International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10 is International Human Rights Day. The 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including December 1 (World AIDS Day) and December 6 (the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, 1989, in which 14 women students at the École Polytechnique were systematically killed).

In coordinating the campaign, CWGL helps individuals and organisations plan activities that focus on developing and calling for the implementation of local, national, and global policies aimed at eliminating VAW. Resources available for campaigners include:

an International Calendar of Campaign Activities – developed annually to highlight organising efforts as part of a broader movement for women’s human rights; to provide others with examples of activities and strategies used during the Campaign; and to give activists an opportunity to join and support plans already in existence.
an interactive website that includes resources and opportunities for global campaign organising and collaboration.

With these tools in hand, activists have engaged in the following approaches as part of campaign work:

raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional, and international levels;
strengthening local work around VAW;
establishing a link between local and international work to end VAW;
providing a forum in which organisers can develop and share new and effective strategies;
demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organising against VAW; and
creating tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate VAW.

Each year, a particular theme is chosen; materials (e.g., the “take action kit”) and activities are shaped around the theme. (To read about past campaign themes, please visit the 16 Days website). To cite one example, the 2009 theme is “Commit • Act • Demand: We CAN End Violence Against Women!”

Women Central to Efforts to deal with Climate Change

unifemcanada — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:22:33 +0000

New York, Nov 18 – Women bear the disproportionate burden of climate change but have so far been largely overlooked in the debate about how to address problems of rising seas, droughts, melting glaciers, and extreme weather, concludes The State of World Population 2009, released today by the United Nations Population Fund. The report was launched in Ottawa by Neil Ford, UNFPA’s Chief of Media and Communications (a former CBC broadcaster) and Katherine McDonald, Executive Director of Action Canada for Population and Development. The report notes that the poor are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and the majority of the 1.5 billion people living on $1 a day or less are women…For additional information, see www.unfpa.org and www.acpd.ca

Say No to Violence against Women

unifemcanada — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:04:18 +0000

Thank you for saying NO to Violence against Women!

Last year 5,066,549 people from around the world, civil society organizations and governments signed on to Say NO, sending the urgent message to governments everywhere that ending violence against women and girls must be a top priority.

This November, UNIFEM will take the initiative one step further and launch a new platform for action, Say NO–UNiTE to End Violence against Women. It is UNIFEM’s contribution to the UN Secretary-General’s campaign to end violence against women involving governments, civil society and the entire UN system.
Say NO–UNiTE will count and showcase actions taken by individuals, organizations and governments worldwide to end violence against women. Whether you volunteer at a shelter, reach out to students, advocate for better laws and policies — every action counts.

Let us count you in!

Add your name to become part of a global community rising to say NO to violence against women and girls. See www.unifem.org to add your name.

Canadian Senate Honours Famous 5

unifemcanada — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:32:31 +0000

Ottawa, October 8 – Eighty years after they changed history, the Famous Five have done it again – this time by becoming the only Canadians to be appointed honorary senators. The Famous Five are Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlby, and in 1929, they won a landmark court ruling that recognized women as “persons,” thus opening up the doors for women to sit in the Senate.Their dream came full circle last week when they were posthumously appointed to the Senate. The five are most associated with Alberta – although Murphy, McKinney and McClung were born in Ontario.

This is the first time that such an honour will be bestowed upon a Canadian, said Frances Wright, founder of the non-profit Famous 5 Foundation.

“It’s a fabulous gift,” she said on Sunday from Calgary. “It shows that dreams in Canada can come true and particularly when you dedicate your life … to contributing to the growth of Canada.”The Senate voted to name the women honorary senators last Thursday, just 10 days before the 80th anniversary of their historic triumph.The five lobbied to have women included in the definition of “persons” under the BNA Act of 1867 so they could participate in all levels of political life. After failing to persuade the Supreme Court, the women took their fight to the British Privy Council, then Canada’s highest court, and won.

UN and partners open new front in war on sexual violence against girls

unifemcanada — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:05:44 +0000

Women marching against sexual violence in the DRC (file photo)

25 September 2009 – The United Nations joined with other partners today to launch a new initiative in the fight against sexual violence against girls, a scourge which affects 150 million victims in a given year and contributes to the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The programme seeks to provide funding to expand surveillance of sexual violence against girls in developing and emerging countries, develop a technical package of interventions for implementation at a country level to reduce the incidence of such abuse, and launch a major media campaign to motivate social and behavioural change.

“These three intervention strategies are pillars of what is expected to emerge as a global movement to address this devastating human injustice and public health problem,” the partners said in a joint news release.

The initiative brings together five UN agencies – the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private sector supporters via the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).

Commission on the Status of Women

unifemcanada — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:49:41 +0000

The 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held on 2–13 March 2009. In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2007–2009, the Commission considered the following themes at its 53rd session:

Priority Theme: “The Equal Sharing of Responsibilities between Women and Men, including Caregiving in the Context of HIV/AIDS”
Emerging Issue: “The Gender Perspectives of the Financial Crisis”
Review Theme: “Equal Participation of Women and Men in Decision-Making Processes at All Levels” — review of the agreed conclusions on this theme adopted by the Commission at its 50th session in 2006

Agreed Conclusions
The Commission adopted its agreed conclusions on 13 March, urging governments and the United Nations, among others, to intensify efforts to fully implement the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, mainstream gender perspectives into all legislation and programmes, and incorporate a gender-responsive budgeting process across all policy areas. On the specific issue of caregiving in the context of HIV and AIDS, the conclusions called for scaling up efforts to achieve universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support. They recognized the increased feminization of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and the need to review existing policies to ensure that they reduce women’s vulnerability to the disease. In other areas, the conclusions called on governments to incorporate the value of unpaid work within ho useholds into policies and budgets; ensure that women and men have access to maternity and paternity leave; increase access to quality public services including education and care for children and dependants; and allocate financial resources for the implementation of women’s rights instruments. Read the complete document (advance unedited version).

International Women’s Day Success

unifemcanada — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:59:06 +0000

“Women and Men United to End Violence against Women and Girls” was this year’s theme of International Women’s Day – observed each year on 8 March. This year’s theme was chosen to support United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s multi-year campaign to “UNite to End Violence against Women,” which he launched in February 2008. International Women’s Day, adopted by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1977 as a day for Women’s Rights and International Peace, acknowledges that women play an important role in securing peace and social progress and that they deserve equal rights in terms of development, equity and active participation. Worldwide various activities were organized to commemorate the Day. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his statement warned that violence against women is an abomination and called for unification and change as “violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance, by any political leader or by any government.” In cooperation with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development, NGLS hosted a financial crisis workshop on 5 March, focussing on policy issues and priorities. ILO organized a panel discussion on Work and Family: the way to care is to share! UNOG and CONGO had a roundtable discussion, entitled the Economics of the Financial Crisis: Gender Equality and the Role of Women. On 10-11 March UNCTAD facilitated an Expert Meeting on Mainstreaming Gender into Trade Policy. More information on the content of these events is available online.

UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) launched its global annual call for proposals to support country-level efforts to end violence against women and girls on 6 March 2009. The complete Call for Proposals detailing criteria, eligibility requirements and complete guidelines on how to apply is available at http://www.unifem.org/untfevaw/. The deadline for application is 17 April 2009.

Invest in Girls!

unifemcanada — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:08:08 +0000

MDG’s will fail without investment in Girls!

This 185-page report is published by Plan International for the purpose of bringing global attention to the fact that progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is being hampered by a continued lack of investment in girls and young women. The report begins with the premise that the condition and position of girls’ lives matters, and that the impact of conflict on girls is far-reaching and goes beyond their experiences as either combatants or victims of violence. It intends to show how conflict affects girls differently from boys and how their rights are ignored, their responsibilities changed, and their lives altered by war. It describes how discrimination against girls is in place before the fighting begins and remains after it is over. The report also examines the implications of conflict for girls’ health, girls’ education, gender roles, and relationship dynamics.

“‘Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2008’ is the second in a series of eight reports published by Plan examining the rights of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women….The 2008 report, subtitled ‘In the Shadow of War’, examines the state of girls in conflict situations around the world and looks at what happens to them before, during and after war is over. It makes recommendations for change at international, national and local levels….The report is organised in two sections – the first is a comprehensive overview of data and an analysis of why and how girls experience conflict in particular ways due to their age and sex….The second section monitors global statistics to see how girls are faring.”

This report contains policy and programme strategies for the action campaign “Because I am a Girl”, including seeking to improve the enforcement procedures of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) or Children’s Convention. It addresses humanitarian legal protections of girls through the Children’s Convention and international law and gives updates and indicators of national legislation related to girls and women by country.

Click here to download this document in PDF format.

Click here to access Plan’s website on the report and campaign.

Contact

Keshet Bachan

–>

Keshet Bachan

Report Coordinator

Plan UK

5-6 Underhill Street

London

NW1 7HS

United Kingdom (UK)

Tel: 020 7482 9777

Fax: 020 7482 9778

Because I am a Girl website

Keshet.Bachan@plan-international.org

UNIFEM Project to End Violence

unifemcanada — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:34:28 +0000

United Nations, New York , Dec. 17 – The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women<http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/trust_fund.php> will award nearly US$19 million in 2008 to 23 projects and initiatives in 29 countries that are addressing gender-based violence. This is more than the UN Trust Fund – which is administered by UNIFEM on behalf of the UN system – has awarded in total since its inception in 1996. In comparison to last year, when US$5 million were disbursed, the grant amount has almost quadrupled. “This is an extremely encouraging trend,” UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi said. “It is a sign of new momentum created through UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s campaign to End Violence against Women<http://endviolence.un.org/>. In the context of this campaign, the UN Trust Fund is a key mechanism to provide urgently needed funding to initiatives worldwide,” she added.

Despite the steep increase, resources still fall short to meet the vast demand. Overall, grants requests amounting to US$525 million were received this year for initiatives in developing countries, including in conflict-affected countries where widespread and systematic sexual violence has become a horrific tactic of warfare.

For more information, visit www.unifem.org<http://www.unifem.org/>. UNIFEM, 304 East 45th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017. Tel: +1 212 906-6400. Fax: +1 212 906-6705.