1. Violence against women continues to persist as one of the most heinous,
systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world. It is a threat to
all women, and an obstacle to all our efforts for development, peace and
gender equality in all societies.
— UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
25 November –
International Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women

2. VAW: definition & myths
General Assembly in Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against Women
(1993): • VAW only affects small
percentage of women
- any act of gender-based violence that • DV is a family (personal) issue
results in, or is likely to result in, physical, only, nobody has the right to
sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, interfere
including threats of such acts, coercion or • Women get what they deserve,
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether provoke it
occurring in public or in private life”. Includes • She must enjoy it or she would
physical, sexual and psychological violence leave
occurring in the family and in the general • Men have the right to discipline
their partner
community, including battering, sexual abuse
of children, dowry-related violence, rape, • Leaving family is bad for children
female genital mutilation and other traditional • All men who violent come from
abusive family or are uneducated
practices harmful to women, non-spousal (working class)
violence and violence related to exploitation,
• DV is a one time, isolated
sexual harassment and intimidation at work, occurrence
in educational institutions and elsewhere, • It doesn’t affect me, its not my
trafficking in women, forced prostitution, and problem
violence perpetrated or condoned by the
state."

3. The issue on…human rights agenda,
development agenda, and security agenda
• 1/3 women beaten, coerced into sex,
abused in lifetime — with the abuser
usually someone known to her - 71%
in rural Ethiopia, 50 % of women in
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru and
Tanzania, 30% in UK and 22% in
USA
• 1/5 women become a victim of rape
or attempted rape in her lifetime
• women aged 15 to 44 years, violence
- major cause of death and disability,
rating higher than cancer, motor
vehicle accidents, war and malaria
• 55% - 95% of women who had been
physically abused by their partners
had never contacted NGOs, shelters
or the police for help
• women who have experienced
violence are at a higher risk of HIV
infection

4. The issue on…human rights agenda,
development agenda, and security agenda
• traditional harmful practices continue to
exist – genital mutilation, dowry murder,
honour killing, early marriage, …
• economic costs…of intimate partner
violence in the United States alone
exceed US$5.8 billion per year: US$4.1
billion are for direct medical and health
care services, while productivity losses
account for nearly US$1.8 billion (2003)
• 60% of senior executives said that
domestic violence, which limits women’s
workplace participation, has an adverse
effect on company productivity.
domestic violence victims lose nearly 8
million days of paid work per year — the
equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs

5. UN and VAW
•1976 General Assembly resolution 31/133 sets
up United Nations Development Fund for Women
to help improve the living standards of women in
developing countries and to address their
concerns.
•1991 - Women’s Global Institute sets 25
November - International Day for the Elimination
of Violence Against Women and 10 December -
International Human Rights Day + 16 Days
Campaign
•1993 – General Assembly Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence Against Women –
underlined that “violence against women
constitutes a violation of the rights and freedoms
of women” and identified “a need for ...
commitment by the international community at
large to the elimination of VAW.”
•1995 Beijing Platform for Action: “VAW is a
barrier to achieveing equality, development and
peace, VAW is human rights abuse.”

6. UN and VAW
•1996- General Assembly resolution
50/166 to set up UN Trust Fund to
End Violence Against Women. US$13
million and 263 projects up to date
•1999 – UN officially joins the 16 Day
Campaign & International Day
through GA resolution 54/134
•Security Council Resolution 1325
calls “all parties to armed conflict to
take special measures to protect
women and girls from gender based
violence, particularly rape and other
forms of sexual abuse”.
•UNHCR – Special Rapporteur on
VAW
•www.saynotoviolence.org to be
launched on 26 November, UNIFEM
& Goodwill Ambassador Nicole
Kidman

7. VAW in Uzbekistan
Domestic Violence in Uzbekistan
– Majority of murders, beatings, sexual crimes are committed within family
against women and children
- Most of cases have latent character (underreported)
-No separate legislation on VAW, DV or THB (no criminalization of DV,
absence of mechanisms for protection of victims, etc.)
-Some articles of existing legislations require modification/addition. E.g. murder
& beating punishment severity within family, absence of article on sexual
harassment and sex based discrimination
- According to General Prosecutors office statistics in 2005-2006 and 1 quarter
of 2007 37 cases of early marriage were considered in court
-Illegal labour migration and trafficking of people is on the rise among CIS
countries, including Uzbekistan, for women trafficking often means finding
themselves in slave-like conditions in the sex industry or other parts of the
informal economy. Women more likely to have faced abuse when engaged in
labour migration and deteriorated family relations upon return.

8. From words to action…
-Strong political will and commitment
-Relevant laws, statutes, rapporteurs in place
Only 60 countries have specific legislation on domestic violence in place
(2007), 89 have some provisions in other laws
104 countries have made marital rape a crime, 90 have provisions against
sexual harassment, 93 prohibit trafficking of people
-Sufficient resources allocated
-Police, judiciary, health officials trained
-General awareness raised
-Continued advocacy and mass media campaigns
-State NGO partnership exists
-….

9. From words to action-
what YOU can do…not just today but every day!
• Educate yourself on human
rights, women’s issues,
domestic violence
• Spread the word among your
children and extended family,
friends, colleagues, especially
among men!
• Organize an event or activity
in your family, community,
work place
• When notice violence report
immediately!