Convocatoria 25 november, day for elimination of violence against women
25 NOVEMBER, DAY FOR ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Violence against women is increasing during the pandemic
Violence against women is increasing during the pandemic
One of the greatest scourges suffered by humankind is violence against women. Societies evolve in achieving rights, but the fundamental right, the right to life, is taken away from thousands of women. Assassinations of women continue everywhere on the planet and among all social classes. One in three women in the world suffers violence by men.
To eradicate this blight, the United Nations approved the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women on 20 December 1993 and established 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In the first article of the declaration, the UN understands violence against women to mean every act of violence based on belonging to the feminine gender that results or could result in harm or physical, sexual or psychological suffering for women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, either in public or private life. Paradoxically, some of the most frequent forms of violence towards women occur in the family setting, in the bosom of their own home.
Such violence has been exercised since the most remote times of the patriarchy and what is the most serious is that it is intensified in times of crisis such as the pandemic we are living through. Imagine what it must be like to live in confinement closed in with one’s oppressor, the impossibility for the victim to seek help, and if she does obtain it, the difficulty of finding assistance from the social services overwhelmed by effects of the pandemic. Not to mention that often it is the women themselves who self-impose silence and do not denounce the aggressor in order to avoid their children’s suffering. They don’t realize that, according to these children, that silence increases their suffering, in addition to perpetuating asocial and inacceptable models of behavior.
Even before COVID-19, macho violence was already one of the most flagrant and widespread violations of human rights. According to the UN, in the previous 12 months, 243 million women and children (between the ages of 15 and 49) worldwide had suffered sexual or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner. We do not yet have statistics on cases during the pandemic but there are victims’ testimonies. The information we receive is just the tip of the iceberg with regard to the hidden violence that is not reported.
Once again, we turn to the testimony of the United Nations, in words of the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres: “For many women and girls, the threat looms largest precisely where they should be safest: in their own homes […] We know that lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19, but they can trap women with abusive partners.”
To this violence, one must add the increase in cyber violence exercised against women and girls. According to various means of communication, publications on social networks and studies on women’s rights, various forms of on-line violence are on the increase, including sexual harassment*.
The effects of the pandemic on people’s mental health and the economic crisis impact women the most unfavorably. Fear, anxiety, and financial stress or the consumption of alcohol increase added to the difficulty of health and social services to communicate with the victims and offer them support.
We Women in Black feel that violence against women is a public health issue and a grave violation of human rights and we request:
♀ That the prevention and the management of violence against women be a fundamental part of the plans for responding to COVID-19.
♀ That organizations for the defense of women be supported and financed.
♀ That psycho-social support and advice on-line be increased, using technological solutions such as, for example, SMS (Short Message Service), digital tools and networks to extend social support.
♀ That a means be created to reach women who do not have access to telephones or the internet.
♀ That behavior leading to violence against women not be accepted or tolerated, be it individual or social; that such behavior not be condoned and the perpetrator fervently censured.
♀ That we women rebel against the violence we encounter in our lives.
To eradicate this blight, the United Nations approved the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women on 20 December 1993 and established 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In the first article of the declaration, the UN understands violence against women to mean every act of violence based on belonging to the feminine gender that results or could result in harm or physical, sexual or psychological suffering for women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, either in public or private life. Paradoxically, some of the most frequent forms of violence towards women occur in the family setting, in the bosom of their own home.
Such violence has been exercised since the most remote times of the patriarchy and what is the most serious is that it is intensified in times of crisis such as the pandemic we are living through. Imagine what it must be like to live in confinement closed in with one’s oppressor, the impossibility for the victim to seek help, and if she does obtain it, the difficulty of finding assistance from the social services overwhelmed by effects of the pandemic. Not to mention that often it is the women themselves who self-impose silence and do not denounce the aggressor in order to avoid their children’s suffering. They don’t realize that, according to these children, that silence increases their suffering, in addition to perpetuating asocial and inacceptable models of behavior.
Even before COVID-19, macho violence was already one of the most flagrant and widespread violations of human rights. According to the UN, in the previous 12 months, 243 million women and children (between the ages of 15 and 49) worldwide had suffered sexual or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner. We do not yet have statistics on cases during the pandemic but there are victims’ testimonies. The information we receive is just the tip of the iceberg with regard to the hidden violence that is not reported.
Once again, we turn to the testimony of the United Nations, in words of the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres: “For many women and girls, the threat looms largest precisely where they should be safest: in their own homes […] We know that lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19, but they can trap women with abusive partners.”
To this violence, one must add the increase in cyber violence exercised against women and girls. According to various means of communication, publications on social networks and studies on women’s rights, various forms of on-line violence are on the increase, including sexual harassment*.
The effects of the pandemic on people’s mental health and the economic crisis impact women the most unfavorably. Fear, anxiety, and financial stress or the consumption of alcohol increase added to the difficulty of health and social services to communicate with the victims and offer them support.
We Women in Black feel that violence against women is a public health issue and a grave violation of human rights and we request:
♀ That the prevention and the management of violence against women be a fundamental part of the plans for responding to COVID-19.
♀ That organizations for the defense of women be supported and financed.
♀ That psycho-social support and advice on-line be increased, using technological solutions such as, for example, SMS (Short Message Service), digital tools and networks to extend social support.
♀ That a means be created to reach women who do not have access to telephones or the internet.
♀ That behavior leading to violence against women not be accepted or tolerated, be it individual or social; that such behavior not be condoned and the perpetrator fervently censured.
♀ That we women rebel against the violence we encounter in our lives.
Let us act in solidarity with all women to end the various forms of violence
from which we suffer.
Translation: Trisha Novak, USA – Yolanda Rouiller, WiB Spain
* Some links for more info (in Spanish):
https://plan.org.ec/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Libres-Para-Estar-En-Linea.pdf
https://www.elmostrador.cl/braga/2020/08/05/738-de-mujeres-han-sufrido-alguna-forma-de-violencia-de-genero-en-internet-a-raiz-de-la-pandemia/
https://saludconlupa.com/la-vida-de-nosotras/ninas-y-mujeres-hablan-del-acoso-en-linea/
https://plan.org.ec/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Libres-Para-Estar-En-Linea.pdf
https://www.elmostrador.cl/braga/2020/08/05/738-de-mujeres-han-sufrido-alguna-forma-de-violencia-de-genero-en-internet-a-raiz-de-la-pandemia/
https://saludconlupa.com/la-vida-de-nosotras/ninas-y-mujeres-hablan-del-acoso-en-linea/
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