Summary
Highlights
Investing in autonomous women's movements has been a key driver of legal and policy changes addressing violence against women over the past 40 years. These movements define the concept of violence, raise awareness, and place the issue on national and global agendas. The video concludes by reiterating that violence against women and girls violates fundamental human rights and that human rights-based tactics offer a practical route to addressing systemic challenges. Through evidence-informed prevention, tackling power relations, community organizing, strengthening health systems, robust legal frameworks, access to justice, and feminist mobilization, a world free from violence and discrimination for women and girls can be achieved by 2030.
The video opens by highlighting the normalization of violence against women in various cultures, including femicide, marital violence, and marital rape, and the taboo surrounding these issues. It connects this to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasizing human rights and well-being as integral to addressing poverty, education, and gender equality. The video stresses that sexual and reproductive health rights are enshrined in international law and are continually fought for by women's rights activists, despite persistent barriers, especially for marginalized groups.
Violence against women is defined as any act resulting in or likely to result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering, including threats, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, occurring in both public and private life. Crises often exacerbate these rates. It is directed at women due to their status, jeopardizing their health, including sexual, reproductive, and mental health, and impeding their societal participation. Most survivors do not disclose or seek help.
The majority of violence against women is committed by intimate partners, with approximately 30% of women globally experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from a partner. This increases the risk of STIs. Schools are another setting where girls face assault, harassment, bullying, and abuse, impacting their access to education and other human rights. The workplace, particularly for migrant workers and those in precarious employment, also presents challenges regarding sexual harassment and violence, often dismissed by companies.
Preventing intimate partner violence is possible through evidence-based interventions. The WHO, UN Women, and OHCHR's 'Respect Women' framework outlines seven strategies: improving relationship skills, empowering women, strengthening services (health, justice, police, social), reducing poverty, creating safer environments (schools, workplaces, public spaces), preventing child and adolescent abuse, and transforming gender norms. This framework guides policymakers and health implementers in designing and evaluating interventions.
Violence against women is rooted in discriminatory social norms and power dynamics, where men are often privileged and women subordinate. Addressing these underlying causes is central to achieving gender equality, healthy lives, and reducing inequalities (SDGs 3, 5, 10). The video emphasizes that power, while a problem, can also be a solution, and that real change requires engaging with power at all levels. Raising awareness and fostering dialogue are crucial for changing norms and reducing stigma.
Intervention can be as simple as fostering dialogue. Engaging parents and school personnel in conversations and training providers to refer children to healthcare facilities can spark community-wide discussions and normalize talking about violence. The SASA! approach is presented as an activist-led community mobilization strategy to prevent violence against women and address HIV/AIDS, empowering local activists rather than relying solely on traditional programming. Health systems play a critical role, requiring health workers to be trained in providing appropriate, safe, and survivor-centered care.
While legal frameworks promoting equality and non-discrimination are essential (SDG 5), their existence doesn't guarantee effectiveness. The video advocates for stronger legislative duties, such as mandatory preventative measures for employers against harassment. It highlights the decades-long struggle by women's rights movements to establish violence against women as a human rights concern, not a private matter. Governments have obligations to protect individuals from violence and ensure accountability, with survivor safety and well-being as the primary consideration. Strategic litigation and public campaigns are effective tools for holding perpetrators accountable, as demonstrated by cases involving pregnant schoolgirls and gang rape where legal action led to compensation and policy changes.