Image Courtesy: news18.com
United Nations:: UN chief Antonio Guterres said that a woman or a girl is killed every 11 minutes by an intimate partner or a family member saying that violence against them is the most pervasive “human rights violation” in the world. The UN chief called on governments to implement national action plans to tackle the violence against women.
Asserting that a woman or a girl is killed every 11 minutes by an intimate partner or a family member, UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that violence against them is the most pervasive human rights violation in the world and called on governments to implement national action plans that tackle this scourge.
The UN chief made the remarks ahead of the International Day for the ‘Elimination of Violence against Women’ which is observed on November 25. Besides, “we know that other stresses, from the COVID-19 pandemic to economic turmoil, inevitably lead to even more physical and verbal abuse,” UN chief Antonio Guterres added.
Guterres’ remarks come in the backdrop of the recent Shraddha Walker murder case that has shocked India with its brutal details. He said women and girls also face rampant online violence, from misogynistic hate speech to sexual harassment, image abuse and grooming by predators.
“This discrimination, violence and abuse targeting half of humanity come at a steep cost. It limits women’s and girls’ participation in all walks of life, denies their basic rights and freedoms, and blocks the equal economic recovery and sustainable growth our world needs, he said. The UN chief gave a clarion call to all to consign violence against women and girls to the history books, saying now is the time for transformative action that ends violence against women and girls.
He said this means governments designing, funding and implementing national action plans to tackle this scourge, involving grass-roots and civil society groups at every stage of decision-making and ensuring that laws are implemented and respected, so survivors see their rights to justice and support upheld.
Calling on governments to increase funding by 50 per cent to women’s rights organisations and movements by 2026, Guterres urged all to take a stand and raise our voices in support of women’s rights and proudly declare that we are all feminists. He called for supporting public campaigns that challenge patriarchal norms and promote different forms of masculinities that reject misogyny and violence.
Guterres said that this year’s theme “UNITE: Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls” is a reminder for all to stand with activists around the world who are calling for change and supporting survivors of violence. “I call on governments to increase funding by 50% to women’s rights organizations and movements by 2026,” he said.
A reflection of the concerns highlighted by the UN secretary general were raised recently in the findings shared in a report on “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: the gender snapshot 2022”. The report, jointly produced by UN Women and the UN Statistics Division while assessing progress across countries and regions on different goals, drew attention to the fact that violence within homes continues to be a pressing issue.
The report shows that globally, more than 1 in every 10 women and girls aged 15-49 were subjected to sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner in the previous year. Also 1 in 4 women describe more frequent household conflicts since the pandemic began.
The report highlighted that despite progress on laws to address and prevent violence against women, at the current rate, it will take at least another 21 years for these laws to be in place everywhere.
The UN chief also said that women and girls also face online violence, from misogynistic hate speech to sexual harassment, image abuse and grooming by predators.
India has seen a double edge to this patriarchal online abuse: Between June 2021 and January 2022, India’s toxic hate-ridden public sphere saw the online targeting of successful professional Muslim women. The Bulli Bai abuse followed by the Sulli Bai App are the most venal examples of these.
“This discrimination, violence and abuse targeting half of humanity come at a steep cost. It limits women’s and girls’ participation in all walks of life, denies their basic rights and freedoms, and blocks the equal economic recovery and sustainable growth our world needs,” he said.
The UN chief gave a clarion call to all to “consign violence against women and girls to the history books,” saying that now is the time for transformative action that ends violence against women and girls, calling on governments to increase funding by 50 per cent to women’s rights organisations and movements by 2026.
UN chief Guterres urged all to take a “stand and raise our voices in support of women’s rights” and proudly declare that “we are all feminists.”
Related:
What happened to Gauri Lankesh started with online threats: Activists
I’m a vocal Indian Muslim woman, not an object to be auctioned