The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on “Violence Against Women: Strategies and Responses” on Capitol Hill on April 15. Reps. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.), Ted Poe (R-Texas) and others testified. They support The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA).
Government sponsored programs can and do help women and girls, according to several of the speakers.
One in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). One in five women experience rape or attempted rape, according to the World Health Organization. The proposed I-VAWA would address violence against women and girls in countries where the United States has influence. U.S. influence includes involvement with foreign assistance programs, and the training of foreign military, police, and judicial officials.
I-VAWA was re-introduced in the House (HR 4594), and the Senate (S.2982) on Feb. 4, and has bipartisan support.
“Globally, nearly a billion women around the world will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused in their lifetime,” said Rep. Bill Delahunt, who sponsored the bill in the House. “In some countries, 70 percent are affected by violence,” he added.
Current U.S. efforts to address violence against women globally are fragmented and piecemeal, wrote Ritu Sharma, co-founder of Women Thrive Worldwide. “There is no systematic review of best practices or lessons learned, and little measurement of programs’ impacts. … Violence against women and girls has not been systematically integrated into existing U.S. foreign assistance programs.” Her statements were published on Amnesty International’s website.
I-VAWA is designed to fill this need. “Among other things, the IVAWA would make ending violence against women a diplomatic priority for the first time in U.S. history,” said Sharma.
Nearly all who testified said rape has become a major tactic in war. It was used that way in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the 1990s. It has been used extensively in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Rape in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
The most shocking testimony came from retired Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, who served 39 years, much of it with U.N.’s peacekeeping operations.
“In the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I have seen the perpetrators of these crimes, foreign and national groups, and members of the government army and police.” He said women and children had testified that they were victimized. Perpetrators tortured their victims.
The crimes are often done in the presence of the victim’s husband and children, according to a Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) study commissioned by Oxfam. This report was made part of the record at this hearing.
Sexual slavery was also reported, with some women held captive for years.
HHI said that while the majority of the rapists were either soldiers or militiamen, the frequency of rapes carried out by civilians between 2004 and 2008 increased greatly—from less than 1 percent to 38 percent by the end of the period. “Sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life,” said Susan Bartels, the study’s lead researcher.
Cammaert said organized rape undermines public order. It tears apart families and communities, often forcing terrorized persons to flee and never return. Because the perpetrators are rarely prosecuted, “it is very difficult to rebuild [justice systems] and respect for the law.” It increases the spread of HIV/AIDS and destabilizes societies, creating conditions for terrorism. It prolongs conflict because rape and pillage become an incentive for combatants to keep fighting. It prevents or hinders women from fully participating in all sectors of society.
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has said that a vibrant civil society is impossible if half the population is left behind.
Changing Attitudes and Laws
Advice on how to bring about change in attitudes and practices was offered by several speakers.
Rep. Delahunt spoke of a period in U.S. history before the late 1970s and early 1980s when violence against women was not sanctioned as it is today. He described the “Rule of Thumb,” whereby “a husband was permitted to beat his wife as long as the stick did not exceed the circumference of his thumb.”
Rep. Delahunt said before Massachusetts adopted programs to mitigate violence against women, five or six women were killed in his district. After the programs started, no domestic violence murder happened for 12 years. He concluded that government sponsored programs can change behavior.
Journalist and former legislator Humaira Awais Shahid battled the Punjab Parliament in Pakistan in 2005 to change a legal framework that institutionalized violence against women. She set about abolishing acid attacks, forced marriages, Vani (bartering a women in lieu of punishment for crimes committed by their fathers and brothers), honor killings, stove burn killings (setting brides on fire for not bringing dowries), and “accusing women of adultery to usurp their inheritance and wealth,” said Ms. Shahid.
Dr. Gary Barker from the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) said that laws are not completely effective. Though rape is illegal in South Africa, it is common there, he said. A survey of men from the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), found that 28 percent had disclosed that they had raped a woman. “It is the highest reported of rape worldwide,” said Dr. Barker.
Dr. Barker said programs designed to “work with boys and adult men to question societal ideas about what it means to be men and boys” are needed. ICRW has group education programs in Brazil and India that have worked well.
Their findings show that violence against women is reduced when boys grow up in families where violence is not tolerated or violent men are held accountable, peer groups do not support violence against women, and communities have leaders who speak out against violence.
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