Regional Campaign to Eliminate Gender Violence - SADC Gender Monitor - WIDSAA

Regional Campaign to Eliminate Gender Violence

The SADC region is observing the 18-month long campaign on the elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW) that was launched on 31 July 1998 by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Southern Africa Regional Office (SARO).

The regional campaign hopes to raise awareness with a view to transform public attitudes, policies, practices and legislation that will ensure a life free from violence for women and children.

The first 12 months of the campaign will be dedicated to a massive mobilisation of attention around issues of VAW, using different types of interventions involving various stakeholders and using different strategies including the media, debates, drama, and workshops.

The last six months will be devoted to evaluation and documentation of the processes highlighting challenges, constraints and opportunities and how these were utilized, as well as lessons learnt.

The campaign aims to draw public attention to the issues, cost of and different dimensions of gender-based violence. The initiative is also part of the UN's effort to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, commemorated on 10 December 1998.

Gita Honwana Welch, the Regional Programme Advisor for UNIFEM in southern Africa, hopes that at the end of this campaign, "VAW will be perceived by women and men alike as an intolerable act of barbarism and inhumanity, and as a crime against the human development of women and girls".

The campaign she added, "is also a way to acknowledge ongoing efforts, especially by the women's movements to decisively advocate for the elimination of this gross violation of human rights".

Welch said the regional campaign to eliminate VAW is part of UNIFEM's global initiative to strengthen the visibility and impact of activities towards a life free from violence.

The objectives of the campaign are:

To increase the commitment of governments of the region to put in place the necessary mechanisms including legal safeguards to prevent and penalise any forms of VAW; and
To strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations, especially women's organisations and networks, and religious community leaders, educational and health institutions to advocate for and implement programmes that contribute to the elimination of VAW.

Welch says a coordinated campaign at the regional level will increase visibility of what is still largely regarded as a "private" issue and make it a public and government concern.

UNIFEM has challenged every member of society to participate in the campaign and help society enter the next millenium in an environment that is free from violence.

"National women's machinery, NGO coalitions, and networks are encouraged to bring together organisations whose work relates to violence against women, and plan together to make their voice stronger," says a document released by UNIFEM in Harare.