HON. DANCIA PENN OBE, QC, MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM
November 25th, 2008

~~Adz:Right~~ Roadtown, Tortola - Ladies and Gentlemen I greet you: International Day Against Violence Against Women is celebrated worldwide, as 16 days of activism which begin on November 25th and end on December 10th which is also celebrated as International Human Rights Day. 

This year, under the theme “Zero Tolerance on Gender Based Violence for Equality”, many activities are being held in order to bring greater awareness and focus to the global scourge of violence against women. These events include public service announcements, marches, rallies and messages such as this.

In 1999, United Nations officially recognized November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It was on this day in 1960 that the three Mirabal sisters were assassinated in the Dominican Republic by the agents of the regime at the time. These women were political activists and openly demonstrated their resistance to the regime. This led to their demise.

This year, 2008, also marks 18 years of the activism campaign to stop violence against women and girls. It is a proud time of reflection on the tremendous amount of progress that had been made and challenges that remain in the fight to address violence against women and girls. In the 1990s and the dawn of the new Millennium an era was hailed where many of our Latin American and Caribbean  Governments passed and revised legislation to protect women and girls against violence.

The 1990’s also saw a series of International conferences where a number of recommendations were made and implemented to eliminate global gender inequalities and inequities. These conferences included the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, Austria, 1992, and the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, 1994. The fight continues and in February of this year, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a seven year campaign to end violence against women and girls. This campaign runs from 2008-2015.

According to the UN Secretary-General, “violence against women and girls makes its hideous imprint on every continent, country and culture, and it is time to focus on the concrete actions that all of us can and must take to prevent it”.

The UN estimates that at least one out of every three women in the world is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime, and one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape. Trafficking, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, dowry murder, honour killings and female infanticide are other widespread aspects of the problem.

While all of these incidents do not necessarily take place here, our Government is very concerned about, and committed to reducing family violence and has outlined some strategic objectives to reduce the level of Domestic Violence, as well as the inequalities and inequities between women and men. Violence against women and children is a serious gender issue and an example of gender inequalities in our society which must not be tolerated.

There must be “Zero Tolerance on Gender-Based Violence for Equality” as is the theme for the 16 days of activism. 

Violence against women and children is a violation of their human rights and has a tremendous impact on the physical, mental and psychological well being of those affected and afflicted, including the entire family circle.  Gender-Based violence which includes rape, murder, sexual abuse, and genital mutilation poses serious health problems for women and girls worldwide. The violence may also lead to unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages and contracting of the HIV virus, sexually transmitted infections and other health related issues. As such, gender based violence becomes a public health issue with socio-economic impacts on development.

If we are to realize our full potential as a people and a country, we need every one of our citizens, male or female, to be able to work fully and contribute meaningfully to our country and economy.

Following the fourth world conference on women held in Beijing, China in 1995, over 100 Heads of State made a commitment to introduce and revise their Laws to enable gender equality and equity.

We too have made some strides here in this Virgin Islands. One is public awareness and bringing the fact that domestic violence exists and to speak openly abut it.

Another important step was giving given legal recognition to its existence by the enactment of legislation, the Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act of 1995.

The BVI also has made part of its law the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and also seeks to adhere to the Internation Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women. “Convention of Belem do Para” was adopted in Belem do Para, Brasil, 1994.

As Minister of Health and Social Development, I am pleased to announce that our government will be introducing some measures to seek to eliminate violence against women and girls.
These include:

• The revision of the Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act, 1995. This, among other things, will broaden the definition of Domestic Violence and more clearly clarify the elements that make it a crime. 

• Further progress has also been made towards the development of a protocol for domestic violence. Just two weeks ago we had a successful stakeholders’ consultation where there was a general consensus that there is an urgent need for a domestic violence to have a protocol for all those who deal with domestic violence cases. These include the medical sector, social services, judiciary and law enforcement

• Our Government will continue to facilitate Capacity Building and Training in gender based violence and related issues to properly equip our frontline professionals.

• The Office of Gender Affairs will seek to develop and implement Batterers’ Intervention programmes which will teach individuals how to remain composed in stressful situations and thus be able to enjoy happy, healthy relationships.

• The programs will focus on men as well as women because the key in the reduction of violence is the strengthening of families.

• The Ministry of Health and Social Development will continue to be at the forefront of raising awareness on the issue of gender-based violence through the development and implementation of a comprehensive Public Education Campaign in our communities. Additionally, we will work with all agencies involved.

• A conflict resolution programme will also be developed.

Ladies and Gentlemen: we can only achieve these measures if we work together to eliminate and reduce violence against women and children. Very importantly, we must be vocal, be the voice of the voiceless and encourage our men, especially our young men, to be partners and to be part of the fight against violence against women and girls.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Eliminating violence against women and children is a great challenge, but we must be unwavering in our efforts to reduce it and achieve gender equality for all of us, as it is important that every woman, man, and child enjoys a life free of violence and abuse.

I thank you.