UN Secretary General launches UNiTE campaign at Africa Summit

By MediaGlobal

8 February 2010 [MediaGlobal]: At the Africa Union Summit last week, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all African leaders to show more political leadership by emphasizing an end to male violence against women and girls in their home countries by endorsing the UNiTE campaign. The UNiTE campaign was originally launched in 2008 and was introduced to bring in a number of UN agencies to work together in ending gender-based violence around the world. The African component of the campaign was launched at the summit, and in a message read by the Under secretary General Abdoulie Janneh on the Secretary General’s behalf, Janneh called on African leaders “to take concrete steps to end impunity for violence against women and girls.”

Violence against Women survivors meet in Mboko, DRC to organize a march. (Photo credit: Creative Commons.)

Officially called UNiTE to End Violence against Women the campaign consists of five main objectives that will hopefully be achieved in all countries by 2015.The first of these aims is the establishment of domestic laws which punish violence against women and girls; the second is to implement national action plans against domestic violence; the third is to strengthen data collection on the issue; the fourth is to increase social awareness and increase mobilization around the issue; and the final aim is to address sexual violence during conflict. The Secretary General has also urged African leaders to tackle widespread violence through the elimination of all types of discrimination against women. This can often include cultural practices that discriminate against women and girls, which can vary from forced marriages at an early age to female genital mutilation to the denial of access to education. While gender-based violence is by no means specific to developing countries, the UNiTE campaign has particular relevance in many African regions due to the rise of the use of rape as a weapon of war. According to UNIFEM, instances of rape in countries such as Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo are not only increasing, but victims are also becoming younger.

Speaking to MediaGlobal, Katie Booth from the International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR) stated: “Our President Ms. Souhayr Belhassen believes that there is no doubt that the struggle for the eradication of violence against women cannot be won without addressing, first and foremost, the issue of discrimination against women. Pervasive inequalities and stereotypes on the role of women in society are indeed at the roots of such violence. The International Federation for Human Rights gives its strong support to all campaigns and actions that call upon states to ensure equal rights between men and women, in law and practice. Indeed the campaign we are currently coordinating with over 100 NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] in Africa…shares this central aim.”

Misogynistic attitudes can exist at many levels in any society and in turn can influence laws, policies, and cultural practices, which can result in lasting discrimination against women. Speaking at the 2009 Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality, the Secretary General said “men must teach each other that real men do not violate or oppress women.” Accordingly, the Secretary General has established a “Network of Men Leaders” consisting of a number of influential men from around the world who are allied in speaking out against gender-based violence. The network includes the best-selling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, who was designated as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in September 2007, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

Juan Carlos Arean, senior program director of the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) in the United States, is also a member of the Network of the Men Leaders. Speaking to MediaGlobal, Arean said: “I agree with the Secretary General that women in Africa, as in many other parts of the world, can be both the center of the family and the target of unspeakable violence. The good news is that sub-Saharan Africa is also one of the regions in the world where many groups of men are actively organizing to end gender-based violence. This is, of course, in line with the goals of the Secretary’s Network of Men Leaders. Since violence against women is mainly generated by men, we will never solve the problem if we don’t engage them, especially the majority of men who actually do not use violence against their partners, daughters, mothers, and other women”.

To take action to end violence against women around the world or to sign up for news updates on the UNiTE campaign, readers can visit the campaign website at www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/action.asp.