Violence against women: problems and ways of surmounting

The exhibition "Violence against women: problems and ways of surmounting", dedicated to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, has been opened since November 14 till December 8 in the documents of international organizations reading room (207g).

This Day was announced by the UN General Assembly on December 17, 1999 (resolution 54/134) and is annually celebrated on November 25. Violence against women is still a global pandemic. This problem is typical of all cultures and touches women regardless geographic borders, age and race. Women are violated in the legal sphere and in everyday life. Equal rights for women are de-jure but are not de-facto and are often violated in many countries. Up to 70% of women suffer from violation at household level. 35 % of women and girls are exposed to different forms of physical or sexual violation during their lives. The number of infant girls who were married against their will is more than 700 million. Female embryos and babies are still being killed in several countries. Very often such violations and outrages are left without punishment, and their performers are not imprisoned.

Violence against women is rooted in historical inequality of men and women and in unending women discrimination. It’s not only violation against human rights but also entails huge social and economic expenses.

Violence has extreme consequences for lives of women, their families and society in general and is a serious threat for achievement of internationally coordinated aims in the sphere of development.

Understanding the importance and global scale of this problem, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on violence against women eradication (A/RES/48/104) on December 20, 1993 and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced in February 2008 the beginning of the campaign "End violence against women (2008–2015)", aimed at working out and adoption of concrete measures on elimination and eradication of violence against women and girls all over the world.

Much attention is paid to problems of violence against women in the Republic of Belarus. The strategy of our state is aimed at prevention, suppression and eradication of violence. This strategy is stuck to at the international arena. Belarus is an organizer of several international events aimed at forming of effective global partnership against slavery and human trafficking in the 21st century and violence against women.

Documents presented at the exhibition reveal manifold activities of the UN, other international organizations, women movements and communities, targeted at struggle against violence, acquaint with different aspects of gender problems, reveal the role of women in modern society.

The exposition presents more than 80 documents in Russian, English, French and German: books, periodicals, mimeographed UN materials, brochures, booklets.

The exhibition consists of the following sections:

• International and regional legal documents aimed at violence against women eradication.
• Problem of violence against women in the Republic of Belarus.
• Home violence. Measures on prevention and suppression of violence against women in families.
• Woman and armed conflicts.
• Woman as a commodity – a problem of human trafficking.
• Social inequality and gender discrimination.

The exhibition will be interesting to students, professors, social pedagogues, psychologists, lawyers, specialists in anti-human-trafficking, activists of human rights organizations and NGOs.

List of references

Useful links

• International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
• Framework of the Campaign of the UN Secretary General "End violence against women"
• UN activities on improvement of women’s situation
• Campaign of the UN Secretary General "End violence against women"
• Global strategy of women’s and children’s health protection
• Materials of the Global Bank for students "Do you know... ?"
• Women, peace and security
• Manual for parliamentarians: Convention on eradication of women discrimination and optional protocol to it
• Session of Commission on the Status of Women [Beijing+10] (New York, February 28 – March 11, 2005)
• Special session of the General Assembly [Beijing +5] (New York, June 5–9, 2000)
• The 4th Global Conference on the Status of Women (Beijing, September 4–15, 1995)
• International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (February 6)
• International Women’s Day (March 8)
• International Girls’ Day (October 11)
• International Rural Women’s Day (October 15)
• "World’s women 2015: tendencies and statistics"
• Structure "The UN – Women": Eradicate violence against women

Documents

• Resolutions of the General Assembly
• Resolutions of the Security Council
• Resolutions of UNECOSOC
• Reports of the Secretary General

Declarations, conventions and agreements

• Typical strategies and practical measures on violence against women eradication in the area of crime prevention and criminal justice (1997)
• Declaration on violence against women eradication (1993)
• Convention on eradication of discrimination against women (1979) (see also Optional protocol)
• Declarations on women rights
• Conventions on women rights