Women and violence

WIN News, Autumn, 2002

PHILIPPINES: PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

POPULATION SERVICES PILIPINAS INC.

274 Gil Puyat Ave., Pasay City 1300, Metro Manila, THE PHILIPPINES

"Population Services Philipinas Inc. (PSPI) and the Philippines partner for Marie Stopes International have sought to involve men in efforts to eliminate violence against women in the Philippines. We organised workshops in three cities in Metropolitan Cebu, south of Manila. Its objectives included:

* Selecting strategic segments of the adult male population for involvement in the prevention/elimination of violence against women (VAW)

* Engaging these groups in the creation of awareness regarding the issue of violence against women and in planning local actions

* Promoting understanding of 'end violence against women' among the broader population in order to bolster the actions of the identified male groups.

The programme targeted men, particularly members of the police force and elected male village heads ('barangay chairmen'), in Metropolitan Cebu's major cities (Cebu, Mandaue, and Talisay).

Forty-two barangay chairmen and 40 policemen participated in the two-part seminar-workshops. Invitations were sent by the City Mayors, whose authority covered the barangay chairmen; by the Chief of Police of the three cities that sent participants; and by the Regional Command Police Chief, who possessed jurisdiction over all police forces in Cebu.

The first workshop was devoted to understanding gender, gender biases and prejudices, and their linkages to violence against women. Participants in this workshop noted that violence against women is both a social and a public health problem and that nobody deserves violence. They also evaluated responses from the community with regard to violence against women. The second workshop focused on violence against women and its elimination. Conducted in December, 2001, this workshop dealt with the role of men in eliminating violence against women.

THE FOLLOWING COMMUNICATION MATERIALS, ON THE THEME OF 'MEN'S INVOLVEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, WERE ALSO DISTRIBUTED:

- A 30-second radio spot in the local dialect that was aired on four radio broadcast stations in Cebu. The spot took the format of a soap opera featuring a woman being beaten by her husband. Due to the incidence of domestic violence, the barangay chairman instructed the other male characters to gather all the men of their barangay to prevent similar events from happening. The spot was broadcast 40 times daily for 16 days.

- A poster that was produced in the local dialect and displayed in all barangay meeting halls and all police stations in metropolitan Cebu. The poster, which included illustrations representing barangay chairmen and policemen, bore the message 'Stop Violence Against Women.' A total of 1,000 copies of this poster were printed.

In the Philippines, domestic disturbances are brought before village committees headed by the barangay chairmen. Policemen then attend to the preservation of peace and order. The police force often assigns cases involving violence against women to policewomen, denying policemen the opportunity to understand women's experience with violence.

Gender-based violence has received growing attention since the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. As part of this effort, on an annual basis the World Conference commemorates the quest for ending violence against women through a period of intense activism starting November 25 and culminating on the International Human Rights Day, December 10.

ACTION PLANS FROM THE WORKSHOPS DETAILED ABOVE INCLUDE:

* Inventory of Barangay cases on maltreatment of spouses and children; re-invitation of the parties involved; enlightening the spouses on the rights of women

* Formation of a monitoring group on ending violence against women among the barangays

* Initiation of an information-sharing network on ending violence against women among men in barangays with the assistance of local experts

* Work to educate young men on gender, the presence of violence against women, and the role of men Support of policy and legislative initiatives on domestic violence

* Compassionate assistance for victims of violence against women The search for role models to promote ending violence against women: Promotion of respect for women in general."

PAKISTAN: 'ZINA' ORDINANCE TO PERSECUTE WOMEN STILL ENFORCED FROM

<moderator@feministpeacenetwork.org>, August 14, 2002

"Over the years, the Zina ordinance has been found to be an Islamic instrument for oppressing women. Twenty-Three years have passed since General Ziaul Haq promulgated five Hudood Ordinances ostensibly to bring some criminal laws in accord with Islamic injunctions. But each passing year has reinforced the view that the martial law administrator interpreted Islam in a manner suited to his strategy of perpetuating his personal rule, and consolidating the patriarchal system. And yet these ordinances continue to blight the lives of Pakistani women.

Two of the ordinaces, relate to offences against property and drinking...A third prescribes the mode of carrying out a punishment - whipping. A fourth created a new offence and has rarely been invoked. The fifth ordinance, commonly known as the Zina ordinance, under which thousands of women have been made to suffer, made women victims of rape vulnerable, and prescribed a punishment, stoning to death of the raped woman - which has been haunting women.