Violence Against Women
The African Child Policy in cooperation with Plan, Save the Children, UNICEF and UNFPA organized a Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Violence against Girls in Africa on May 11-13, 2006. Unfortunately the issues raised on that event have still not been resolved. So, we will re-visit these issues again to draw attention to the need to address them in more effective ways.
Introduction
The international community now acknowledges that violence against children is a serious problem and cause for concern. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as many as 40 million children under the age of 15 are victims of violence every year. In its resolution 56/138, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to conduct an in-depth study on the issue of violence against children, upon the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. In February 2003, the Secretary-General appointed an independent expert, Prof. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, to direct the study.
The report was to be based on available evidence, information and a series of regional consultations, and be carried out in collaboration with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO.
The conference – Violence against Girls in Africa – organised by The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), was designed to complement and enrich the study process. This conference adds the voices of African women, women activists and leaders, as well as policy-makers, human rights activists, African youth and prominent African figures, to the debate on preventing violence against girls in Africa. The proceedings are informed by a conference report, testimonials, dialogue among the various stakeholders forum for children and youth. A poll-based report on young African women’s experiences of violence against them was produced before the conference. The outcome of the conference was a declaration to be and policy makers used as a vehicle for campaigning with the African Union, develop effective policies and programmes to prevent violence against girls.
The Context
Violence—physical, psychological and sexual—is an especially pernicious problem in Africa. As elsewhere, girls are particularly vulnerable, partly due to the influence of traditional values and tolerance towards domestic violence.
Girls in many parts of Africa are victims of early marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). Early marriage puts African girls at risk of contracting HIV, since most husbands are older and sexually experienced. According to the Botswana Human Development Report 2000, girls under the age of 14 are twice as likely as boys to contract HIV, rising to three times as likely between the ages of 15-29. African girls also contract HIV as a consequence of rape, exploitation and trafficking. HIV and AIDS are causes as well as consequences of violence against girls in Africa.
In many instances, the stigmatisation of HIV and AIDS causes others to carry out physical and psychological violence against girls living with HIV or AIDS.
African girls are further subjected to violence in times of conflict, since sexual violence against women and girls is increasingly being used as a weapon of war. In Sudan’s Darfur region, for example, many women and girls are being raped, abducted and forced into sexual slavery by Janjaweed conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) also suffer from sexual violence on a large scale, according to a 2005 report by Amnesty International.
The violence experienced by African girls in conflict situations reflects the discrimination and inequality they experience during peace times—at home, at school and in the community. A Human Rights Watch report of March 2001 disclosed the widespread practice of rape, assault and sexual harassment of girls by male students and teachers in South Africa. Various other reports indicate that girls in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia commonly drop out of school to avoid harassment by male students and teachers.
The conference focused on violence against girls in Africa in the three settings that are the principal areas of concern in the Pinheiro report:
The conference gave special attention to child-to-child violence, which is prevalent in these settings. In addition, the conference complemented the scope of the Pinheiro report by focusing on other forms of violence common in Africa, including:
- in the workplace
- in conflict and crisis situations
- exploitation and trafficking
- in the context of HIV and AIDS
Since women and girls in Africa are the most vulnerable, they should be in the vanguard of the fight against all forms of violence. This conference involved women activists, women leaders and adolescent girls in the ongoing consideration of violence against them. Their voices were added to the process and final outcome of the event, and will contribute to the follow-up debate on violence against children that will take place in New York in 2006, during the 61st ordinary session of the UN General Assembly.