Boys and men are challenging ideas about masculinity and dominance over women, helping to address Bolivia's high rates of violence against women. © UNFPA Bolivia
LA PAZ, Bolivia – “Being better men can eradicate abuse," said Marco Antonio Barrero, the mayor of Camargo, a small Andean town in Bolivia. Violence against women – one of the world’s most prevalent human rights violations – is a particularly acute problem in Bolivia. But a programme by UNFPA, local authorities, activists and young people is helping to change minds about the value of women and about what it means to be a man.
According to a 2013 study by the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization, Bolivia has one of South America’s highest rates of violence against women. According to 2010 information from the Vice-Ministry for Equal Opportunities, an estimated eight out of 10 Bolivian women have suffered some form of violence.
Gender-based violence is often viewed as a women’s issue, yet entrenched ideas about masculinity play a major role in the problem. Evidence suggests that women face more violence in places where social norms embrace male toughness, dominance and control of women.
© 2013 Arturo Sanabria, Courtesy of Photoshare
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — PMNCH has released a report from its recent consultation process on the Global Financing Facility in support of Every Woman Every Child. This report has been developed to provide a timely and constructive input to the GFF business planning process, and as such, will feed in more broadly to the 2015 development of an updated Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.
Извор: Светска здравствена организација – 22.12.2014
One of the most useful awareness-raising and educational tools at our disposal is the craft of film. To portray the real experiences and lives of individuals—particularly women who suffer tragedy, abuse, and revival—is something not to be taken for granted. It is just one way to open public consciousness and heighten awareness to the breadth of the issue of violence against women worldwide.
However, it is common for filmmakers to use violence against women as shock value or to be gratuitous, implying that such violence is either blithe or exemplary. Such portrayals further perpetuate the notion that sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence are a non-issue when in reality, they affect 1 in 3 women worldwide. Films that depict the violence girls and women experience in their daily lives are a great step towards building a better tomorrow simply by recognising the reality of today.
Many of the following films can be found online, which is yet another reason why video is a vital avenue for discussing worldwide and community issues like violence. Video-streaming sites like YouTube and Vimeo allow people to upload their own work or that of others, thus reaching a broader audience and bringing the conversation home. We hope that our 2014 selection of 16 documentaries show just how important film can be in advocating for the truth of these issues, enlightening audiences, and hopefully enabling others to join the fight to end violence against women.
Written by Ashley Sapp.
Photo - Reuters
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CONDEMNS “VIRGINITY TESTS” Degrading, Discriminatory, Unscientific Procedure Should be Banned
The WHO handbook upholds the widely accepted medical view that ‘virginity tests’ are worthless. Health authorities worldwide should end the practice of ‘virginity testing’ in all cases and prohibit health workers from perpetuating this discriminatory and degrading practice. Liesl Gerntholz, HRW Women’s Rights Director
New York – Governments should immediately carry out a new United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to end degrading, discriminatory, and unscientific “virginity testing” of women and girls, Human Rights Watch said.
The recommendation, included in a November 2014 WHO handbook, “Health care for women subjected to intimate partner violence or sexual violence,” states that health workers should never use “virginity tests.” The handbook emphasizes respect for a woman’s rights and comfort, and makes clear that any physical exam should be conducted only with informed consent and focused on determining the nature of medical care required. It concludes that the invasive and degrading “virginity test” or the “two-finger’ test” - still used in some countries to “prove” whether a woman or girl is a virgin - has “no scientific validity.”
New UN report says trafficking in children on the rise. Photo: UNODC
One in three known victims of human trafficking is a child, and girls and women are particularly targeted and forced into “modern slavery,” according to the 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released today by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna – 24 November 2014.
“Unfortunately, the report shows there is no place in the world where children, women and men are safe from human trafficking,” said UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov.
“Official data reported to UNODC by national authorities represent only what has been detected. It is very clear that the scale of modern-day slavery is far worse,” he added.
