Page 22 - IB APR 2017

Women
Step up in women’s rights

‘ for want of prosecution, and
... Most cases are dropped

there is evidence to suggest
that this ios usually because
of social pressure on the
By Priya Chand
victim to treat abuse as a

IN recent years, there has been increased private matter ...
awareness on gender-based violence- Shaista Shameem Photo: File ‘
related issues in the Pacific, in particular ganisations in this area, Child says strong of traditional status and power, wealth
relation to violence against women positive outcomes could be expected. disparity in modern societies, unsound
(VAW). But it was difficult to gauge the “However it will likely take another social welfare policies of the governments
overall impact of this effort on the lived round of prevalence studies – which I of the Pacific and lack of consensus in
experiences of Pacific women. expect to happen in the coming years – village/ tribal, regional and national
In a snapshot, 11 Pacific Island coun- before we really see the overall impact and decision-making.
tries (PICs) now have some form of family the extent to which women are safer in “At the moment we have a piecemeal
protection or domestic violence legisla- their homes and communities,” he says. approach to such things, which is a waste
tion, and several more have similar bills The Pacific Community’s Regional of resources in my view.”
under consultation or waiting to be tabled Right’s Resource Team provides technical Child in this regard also reiterated that
in Parliament. assistance and support to Pacific govern- a regional policy was a fine and worthy
According to Martin Child, Senior ments and civil society to enable increased idea.
Human Rights Adviser at the Pacific observance of human rights and good In fact, some of the architecture was al-
Community’s Regional Rights Resource governance standards for the benefit of ready there, in the form of several regional
Team (RRRT), there has absolutely been all Pacific peoples. declarations and commitments by Pacific
improvement in the state of women’s hu- In one of our earlier issues, Shamima leaders, churches and organisations.
man rights in the Pacific in recent years. Ali, speaking on behalf of the Pacific “Human rights and gender equality are
He said significant increases in many Women’s Network against Violence enshrined in the 2017 – 2030 Framework
countries in the number of incidents against Women, pointed out that although for Pacific Regionalism,” he said.
reported to authorities was generally there was a reason to celebrate that more “However, the focus of implementation
taken to be a positive sign as it signaled women who have been subjected to such needs to be at the national level, where
increased trust in the police and courts, violence came forth to report it, there had it would complement existing efforts, be
empowerment of women to speak against to be a political will for institutions, for tailored to context, and embrace local
their attackers, and improved functioning governments to ensure that women do energy around combatting violence and
of the justice chain. get justice. achieving equality.”
“We have seen the establishment of “Most of the countries, there are good He stressed that in any case, while get-
national gender policies in several coun- laws, there are constitutional provisions ting justice for victims was important, it
tries, significant increases in the capacity and so on, but when it comes down to did not itself effect social change.
of national women’s machineries, and women, the unfairness of how women “Research into treatment of intimate
a slow but steady trend of increasing are treated at different institutions– that partner violence in the formal justice
women’s political participation and rep- is very much still there. chain shows that the bigger problem is
resentation,” he said. “The old traditional belief systems, progressing cases to a conviction,” he
“Over the past three years, SPC has keeping the family together, woman said.
trained hundreds of MPs, government of- must have asked for it – those are very “Most cases are dropped for want of
ficials, magistrates and lawyers, commu- much entrenched values of people that prosecution, and there is evidence to
nity leaders and advocates on numerous we bring into the place and that is the suggest that this is usually because of
aspects of women’s human rights. Things biggest hurdle.” social pressure on the victim to treat
are improving, but by how much?” Constitutional and human rights lawyer abuse as a private matter, or maintain the
In the Pacific Islands Countries , up to Shaista Shameem had also pointed out harmony of the household and forgive
70 per cent of women have suffered some that a Pacific-wide robust policy was nec- her attacker.”
form of violence in their lifetime. This 70 essary to eliminate or minimise not only Child said if the full enjoyment of
per cent is an aggregated results of stud- gender prejudice but all forms of biasness women’s human rights in the Pacific was
ies conducted in six countries between and hate crimes. to be realised, each and every individual
2000 and 2011. She pointed out that such violence was must act as agents of change, and not its
Based on the monitoring and evalua- part of a broader and more malignant pat- bystanders.
tion of our work and the work of other or- tern of incorporating uneven distribution r priyameyou@gmail.com

22 Islands Business, April 2017