Violence against women: a threat to universal human rights

Sixty years ago, world leaders including women like Eleanor Roosevelt drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948 to ensure freedom, justice and peace prevailed in the world. This extraordinary document has contributed to the emancipation of many sectors of society including women and youth.

The theme for this year’s Human Rights Day calls for ‘Dignity and justice for all of us’. Yet 60 years on, there remains a serious threat to dignity and justice for all—violence against women. Research shows that in every region and every country, violence against women remains endemic. Yakin Ertürk, the outgoing United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, has called the pandemic “… a pervasive and universal violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality.”

Subsequent documents like CEDAW and the Beijing Platform of Action that uplift women’s human rights rely on the basic rights outlined in the Declaration of Human Rights. The advancement of women is central to achieving human rights and the Millennium Development Goals on gender equality.

The organisations represented by the Alliance of Youth CEOs have been active in ensuring that gender equality and women’s empowerment are integrated into the human rights work of their member associations and the United Nations. The Alliance calls on governments, international organisations and civil society to:

In addition to carrying out research on the cause of violence, governments must take steps to prevent violence before it starts. A strategic way to prevent violence is to introduce laws that protect women from violence, and enforce those laws—there must be no impunity for acts of violence against women. One of the first obligations of CEDAW requires UN member states to entrench women’s human rights in their constitutional and legal systems. Educating the public on such laws is crucial in preventing violence against women.

Adequate and accessible funding must be provided for services that provide holistic care for survivors of violence. Lack of information prevents many women from accessing services that would help them to regain dignity in their lives; women’s right to information must be upheld. Governments must include in their national plan of action on violence against women adequate training and awareness raising for civil servants, including law enforcement officers, to ensure they respond effectively to violence, and women and girls feel safe in their care.

Socio-economic factors and legal challenges that put many HIV-positive women at risk of violence must be addressed. Recently, a number of countries have adopted laws that criminalize HIV. These laws have a particular impact on women and leave them vulnerable to violence. We can not afford to retreat on the progress we have made in human rights; the rights of people living with HIV, especially women and girls, must be upheld.