Dear Working Group Members,
You have sent many suggestions for resources to the Working Group. We have
compiled them here for the period 8-14 December. We hope these resources
will be useful in your efforts to end violence against women.
Thanks again for all your messages!
Warm regards,
the Moderators
******************
RESOURCES SUBMITTED TO
THE END-VIOLENCE WORKING GROUP
8-14 DECEMBER 2001
*** 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM CAMPAIGN ***
BANGLADESH
Warm Greetings from CWCS!
For your kind information Centre for Women and Children Studies (CWCS) has
observed the 16 Days of Action Against Gender based Violence which started
on 25 December, the International Day for the Elemination of Violence
against Women and culminated on 10 December 2001 on Human Rights Day.
Please see below for more detail.
Prof. Ishart Shamim
President, CWCS
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------
A RALLY AND A HUMAN CHAIN TO OBSERVE THE END OF 16 DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 2001
Centre for Women and Children Studies (CWCS) and students of the
Department of Sociology of Dhaka University have jointly organized a Rally
and a Human Chain to celebrate the Human Right Day on 10th December 2001
which was the culmination of 16 days of activism Against Gender-based
Violence initiated by the United Nations Development Funds for Women
(UNIFEM) that started on 25th November 2001 on the International day for
the Elimination of Violence Against Women adopted by the UN General
Assembly. The Rally started at 9:30 am from Shishu Academy and ended at
the National Press Club at 10:00 am, Prof. Ishrat Shamim, President of
CWCS as well as Chairman of the Department of the Sociology led the Rally.
A Human Chain was organized at the National Press Club, Dhaka, Bangladesh
at 10:00 am and ended at 10:45 am.
*** ARTICLES ***
Aids patient Women lose their lives because of men's attitudes
Wednesday, 12 December, 2001, 17:27 GMT African men
criticised over Aids
By our reporter Fiona Werge
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1706000/1706589.stm
African women delegates at an international conference on Aids have
strongly criticised African men, saying their attitude towards sex is
putting their lives at risks and helping to spread HIV throughout the
continent.
Women at the conference in Burkino Faso blamed the male-dominated
culture in African countries for infecting the highest number of
women of any continent with the virus which causes the disease.
They said practices such as a refusal to wear a condom, intimidating
young girls into having sex, polygamy, and rape were major problems.
Superstitions such as purification through having sex with a virgin
were also endangering women's lives.
Delegates heard that many African women had to run a gauntlet of
taboo, male opposition and financial worry just to get access to HIV
tests and the simplest drugs.
Women as property
These hurdles simply helped the virus to be transmitted from mother
to child, in the womb and through maternal milk.
Women were widely regarded as chattels, mired in poverty and poor
education and condemned to a life of child raising.
One delegate claimed that of 20m people on the continent with HIV,
more than half were women, a higher percentage than anywhere else in
the world.
The conference heard that finding solutions depended on practical
work with local communities, rather than agreeing on grandiose
declarations.
*** UPCOMING EVENTS ****
THE FIRST SOUTH AFRICAN GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND HEALTH CONFERENCE
17 - 20 April 2002
Organized by the South African Gender Based Violence and Health Initiative
(SAGBVHI).
The conference will be held over three days in Gauteng, South Africa. It
will draw on international and national expertise in stimulating
discussion. The first day will focus on defining problems or challenges of
gender based violence and health. The second day will explore current
programmes on gender based violence and health, specifically training and
curriculum development for health professionals. The final day will
explore how challenges can be addressed.
More information: Naomi Webster - SAGBVHI 27 (12) 339 8527, Private Bag
X35 Pretoria 0001 South Africa, E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*** CALL FOR PAPERS ***
Journal on Impact of Violence on Women's and Children's Health
Dear Working Group,
I am an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. I
am currently in the process of publishing an International,
Interdisciplinary and Feminist Journal called "Women's Health and Urban
Life." I am particularly interested in publishing scholarly manuscripts on
the impact of violence on women's and children's health. If you are
interested in submitting a manuscript or want more information on the
journal, please visit the following website, or contact me:
http://www.didem.ws/whul
--
Professor Aysan Sev'er,
Editor: Women's Health and Urban Life
Department of Sociology, University of Toronto
1265 Military Trail
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada, M1C 1A4
tel: 416-287-7296
fax: 416-287-7283
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*** CAMPAIGNS ***
FIRST GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO END CATHOLIC BISHOPS' BAN ON CONDOMS LAUNCHED ON
INTERNET, BILLBOARDS, IN SUBWAYS AND NEWSPAPERS
"Banning Condoms Kills" is World AIDS Day message for massive mobilizing
effort in U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America to change Vatican's
condom policy.
The first global campaign to end the Catholic bishops' ban on condoms is
being launched by Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC
www.catholicsforchoice.org) on the eve of World AIDS Day 2001. Billboards
and ads in subways and newspapers carrying the message "Banning Condoms
Kills" will begin appearing around the world on November 30. This
unprecedented worldwide public education effort is aimed at Catholics and
non-Catholics alike to raise public awareness of the devastating effect of
the bishops' ban on condoms. It invites the public to join a global
campaign to end the ban � Condoms4life at www.condoms4life.org. People who
join the campaign will be asked to contact local policy makers and express
their support for the availability of condoms and their concern that the
bishops should not undermine responsible public health policy on HIV/AIDS.
The roll out of advertising in the U.S. and in countries with a significant
Catholic population or AIDS crisis, such as Mexico, the Philippines, Kenya,
South Africa, Chile, and Zimbabwe, is the first phase of a sustained
mobilizing effort to change the Vatican's policy and its aggressive
lobbying against availability and access to condoms, especially in areas of
the world where HIV transmission and AIDS deaths are rising dramatically.
"The Vatican and the world's bishops bear significant responsibility for
the death of thousands of people who have died from AIDS," stated Frances
Kissling, president of CFFC, an advocacy organization of Catholics who
disagree with Vatican positions on sexuality and reproduction. "For
individuals who follow the Vatican policy and Catholic health care
providers who are forced to deny condoms, the bishops' ban is a disaster.
Real people are dying from AIDS. Real bishops are silently acquiescent. We
can no longer stand by and allow the ban to go unchallenged."
The initial phase of the Condoms4life campaign includes advocacy
advertising that starts on November 30 in Washington, DC, with 50 bus
shelter and 225 subway poster ads and a Federal Page ad in The Washington
Post. In Europe, a full-page ad in The Guardian Weekly will appear on
November 29. Billboards will go up at prominent locations in January 2002
in Brussels, Belgium; Cape Town, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare,
Zimbabwe; La Paz, Bolivia; Santiago, Chile; Mexico City, Mexico; and,
Manila, the Philippines, with newspaper ads reinforcing the message,
"Catholic People Care - Do Our Bishops? Banning Condoms Kills."
The effect of the bishops' ban on condoms-the only technology available
that can prevent sexual transmission of HIV- has been noted by world
leaders in the fight against AIDS. UNAIDS director, Peter Piot, stated in
June 2001 that "When priests preach against using contraception, they are
committing a serious mistake which is costing human lives. We do not ask
the church to promote contraception, but merely to stop banning its use."
The Condoms4life campaign ads point out that many of the 4,435 plus bishops
worldwide actively lobby governments and the United Nations to restrict
access to condoms claiming that condoms cause AIDS, not prevent it. For
example, the South African Catholic Bishops Conference said:
"Widespread and indiscriminate promotion of condoms [is] an immoral and
misguided weapon in our battle against HIV-AIDS� Condoms may even be one of
the main reasons for the spread of HIV-AIDS."
The Condoms4life campaign is particularly important in Catholic countries.
"When the head of the Mexican Red Cross, responding to pressure from the
Catholic bishops, came out and said that condoms cause AIDS, the impact was
devastating," stated Mar�a Consuelo Mej�a, director of Cat�licas por el
Derecho a Decidir, M�xico. "With 50,000 Mexicans living with HIV, we cannot
afford any confusion about the best way to prevent HIV transmission- use a
condom every time you have sex."
The campaign will be visible in European countries as well, with a
billboard going up first in Brussels in early 2002, where the European
Union plays a significant role in HIV/AIDS funding to developing countries.
"Now is the time for the European governments to put pressure on the
bishops to change their life-denying policy," said Elfriede Harth, European
representative for Catholics for a Free Choice. "All of our worthwhile
efforts to fight AIDS are undercut by those bishops and the Vatican who
work to deny access to condoms."
In addition to the advocacy advertising on billboards and newspapers, the
CFFC news journal, Conscience, distributed to policy makers and opinion
leaders in over 100 countries, has just released a special issue called A
Body Weakened: The Church and AIDS.
-----------------------------------
Catholics for a Free Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive
ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to women's
well-being, and respect and affirms the moral capacity of women and men to
make sound decisions about their lives. Through discourse, education and
advocacy, CFFC works in the United States and internationally to infuse
these values into public policy, community life, feminist analysis, and
Catholic social thinking and teaching.
See also their SEE CHANGE campaign : www.seechange.org
***
SILENT TEARS CAMPAIGN
Recently sometime ago , we felt it was necessary as well to let the public
know about this issue relating to victims of domestic violence. If you
proceed to our web site at www.silenttears.org and to our site index you
will find our site titled DV/AIDS.
Silent Tears challenges you to help us bring awareness to the fact that
innocent victims of domestic violence are at risk for many things. We bring
this topic to light as we feel we the risk are too great for the victims of
domestic abuse.
Recently we had a member join our group. Not only was she a victim of
domestic violence, dealing with all that has to offer a victim, but now she
is having to endure finding out that her abuser contracted AIDS and infected
her with it.
Victims of abuse are fighting daily to regain back their lives and their self
esteem. What is seldom acknowledged is that many victims also have to
recover from STD's, including AIDS; marital unfaithfulness frequently occurs
in abusive relationships. As we have spoke with this new member and learned
more of what she is dealing with, we soon realized that there is not a lot of
information on this topic. We feel this is something that needs more
awareness for all victims of abuse. If you are in a relationship with a
partner that is having unsafe sex with others, we caution you to be careful.
Protect yourself. AIDS is a reality of unprotected sex. It is possible and it
is happening to more people each day. If your partner is having unprotected
sex with others, this is not something to turn the other cheek upon. Take a
stand, put up your guard and protect yourself from sexually transmitted
diseases-even if it means getting out.
We teach our children not to have unprotected sex. Remember that yourself! If
you at all suspect your partner is having extramarital sexual partners. Don't
be a victim twice!
AIDS can and will kill you; you can protect yourself from sexually
transmitted diseases. We at Silent Tears want you to know you are not alone.
You can come share with us, gather support and awareness.
You Are Not Alone-- there are others that are suffering from this as you are.
We felt the need to create a special ribbon symbolizing both DV and AIDS with
this project, so we used both colors. We challenge you to display our special
ribbon on your web site and link back to us at www.silenttears.org Please
choose from the ribbons below and right click on it to save to your computer,
then upload it to upon your web site. Also, we ask that you let us know once
you have done that so that we may list your site on this page as supporting
this very important project.
Colors of this special ribbon symbolize: Purple stands for Domestic Violence
Awareness and the Red stands for AIDS Awareness.
Please visit this important urgent site today
http://home.talkcity.com//SupportSt/tangodelata/dvaids.html and help us!!
Help us spread the word for all victims nationwide.
Tia Hamm
Founder/ Co-President
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Silent Tears, Inc.
USA
www.silenttears.org
*** WEBSITES ***
(Source: ENDVAW Update - December 13, 2001)
Toolkit to End Violence Against Women
http://toolkit.ncjrs.org/
The Toolkit to End Violence Against Women was launched last month by the
National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women, which is chaired by
the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS). Each of the Toolkit's sixteen chapters (.pdf) is geared
toward a specific audience (e.g., Native Women, the US Military, the
entertainment industry, health and mental care systems, etc.) and stresses
ways in which these audience can increase prevention efforts and better
services for victims. Clicking on a chapter title brings up a
bullet-pointed list of things that particular audience can do to make a
difference and links to the .pdf version of the chapter and an "action
card" (a .pdf version of the bullet points with explication).
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