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| Friday, 1 October 2004 |
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Islandwide campaign to end violence against women
An Islandwide Campaign to End Violence Against Women (CEVAW) was launched on Friday (September 24) with the aim to reduce social acceptance of violence against women. The objective of this three-year-long campaign is to create an enabling environment for public dialogue on violence against women and to generate a collective as well as visible stand against it, so as to bring about change in attitudes, beliefs and practices. The campaign has been conceived, facilitated and resourced by Oxfam GB and is unique in its nature as it has been developed by community organisations working all over the country. The campaign strategy was chalked out by a steering committee consisting of 10 national non-governmental organisations and a National Alliance, which comprises a larger group of non-government and community based organisations. The campaign, which is a part of a South Asia regional effort by Oxfam, will be carried forward at the district and grass roots level by community based organisations. At the national level the campaign will endeavour to give media exposure to the work done at the community level. Each district will have a public event to launch the campaign at the community level. The necessity for the campaign arose because of the increase in incidents of violence against women. These incidents are spiralling ever higher in spite of immense efforts by women's groups as well as local, national and international organisations to reduce it. According to various surveys and studies worldwide one in three women face violence. The situation of women in South Asia is worse. In Sri Lanka, it is estimated in several reports that around 60 percent of women are subjected to domestic violence. According to the statistics compiled by the Sri Lanka police based on complaints it has registered during 2003, there were 2,155 cases of violence against women, of which 690 cases (32%) were of battering, assault and injury. The statistics indicate that 1,006 women (47%) had reported sexual abuse and harassment. The maximum number of cases were reported from Kegalle, where 66 complaints were registered, followed by 64 in Galle. In the capital Colombo, 31 such cases were reported to the police. However, these statistics do not include figures from areas that are not under the control of the government in the North and East. And it is common knowledge that a large number of cases go unrecorded as either the survivor or the family fail to report the matter to the police and law enforcement authorities, fearing social stigma and also due to the lengthy and delayed legal proceedings. Even with such high figures domestic violence is still seen by most as normal and a private matter. This normalisation of domestic violence merely reinforces societal acceptance. The campaign aims to recognise domestic violence as a violation of human rights which should no longer be tolerated. The campaign is a multi pronged approach towards reducing the social acceptance of violence against women. It will involve diverse civil society groups, who can combat violence against women in their own sectors. To build popular awareness the campaign will include street theatre, posters, performing arts and other popular means of mass communication. Towards this end the news and entertainment media will be approached to help initiate a dialogue on the issues of gender inequality and violence against women. For further information contact Sumangalie Atulugama on 2585965; 2597522; or 2597567 (National Alliance, Sri Lanka Campaign to End Violence Against Women, P O Box 2006, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tel: + 94 11 2597522 or 2597567, Fax: + 94 11 2585270, Website: www.wecan.org) |
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