Violence against women: ringing the alarm to awake the conscience of society

UN Chronicle, June, 1995 by Nancy Seufert-Barr

Everywhere and in all ages, women have experienced violence. Often powerless to protect themselves, they have been raped, mutilated, battered and murdered. In most societies, gender-based violence has long been tolerated, letting the perpetrators go unpunished, their crime tacitly condoned.

A parliamentarian in a South Pacific country, taking part in a debate on wife battering, went as far as to say: "Wife beating is an accepted custom. We are wasting our time debating this issue."

Recent reports have begun to broadcast just how widespread and multifaceted the situation is.

* In Canada, a 1993 study found that 54 per cent of 420 randomly selected women had experienced some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16.

* In Bombay, India, where dowry-related "bride burning" is a known practice, 1 of every 5 deaths among women aged 15 to 44 was reported to be a case of "accidental burns".

* Genital mutilation is a traditional practice still conducted in parts of Africa and Asia. Globally, approximately 5 girls are genitally mutilated every minute.

* At a police station in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 70 per cent of all reported cases of violence against women took place in the home. In Santiago, Chile,three quarters of all assault injuries to women were caused by family members.

Yet, the seriousness and scope of the problem is often ignored. "If the leading newspapers were to announce tomorrow a new disease that, over the past year, had afflicted 3 to 4 million citizens, few would fail to appreciate the seriousness of the illness. Yet, when it comes to the 3 to 4 million women who are victimized by violence each year, the alarm bells ring softly", said Senator Joseph Biden of United States recently. In his country, one woman is physically abused every eight seconds and one is raped every six minutes.

Women have also been the victims of the ethnic, religious, communal and political conflicts which have marked the end of the cold war. According to a European Union fact-finding team, 20,000 women were raped in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first months of the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Many women abused in wars are from the most marginalized and vulnerable sectors of society, such as indigenous, refugee or displaced women.

Yet, most women who are terrorized and assaulted during wars take no active part in the conflict. And the participation of women in decision-making for the resolution of these wars is lower than in any other area.

The Secretary-General has therefore concluded in a recent report (E/CN.6/1995/3/Add.4) that women must be given "more say in decisions related to war or peace; reconciliation or violence, which would allow them to contribute to preventing such tragedies rather than becoming their victims".