Background

Women's human rights in the countries of East and Southeast Asia continue to be obstructed due to the persistence of a culture of violence against women, lack of awareness about women's human rights and inadequate resource allocations to combat abuses, including VAW at national and local levels. This continues in almost all countries of the region, despite Governments' international commitments to uphold women's human rights and eliminate violence against women.

Action is required at the regional, national and local levels to hold Governments to account to take effective actions to implement the commitments they have made under international Conventions, such as CEDAW, and in international fora such as the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Through this regional programme UNIFEM seeks to build on its strategic role at the regional level in the thematic area of women's human rights and in line with the strategic objective of increasing options and opportunities for women, especially those living in poverty.

The programme will cover Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam in the East and Southeast Asia Sub region, and will be implemented over a three year period from 2001-2003.

Programme Objective

The programme aims to promote women's human rights in order to eliminate all forms of violence against women and transform development into a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable process.

The programme also aims to:

• Strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations and institutions to collaborate, advocate and educate citizens about violence against women;
• Place the issue of violence against women on the policy agenda of governments at all levels;
• Increase the effectiveness and sustainability of existing strategies and activities to eliminate violence against women;
• Utilize global public campaigns such as the 16 Days of Activism as catalysts to ensure that violence against women issues are continually brought to public attention and given increased priority by governments at all levels;
• Promote self-help and integrated approaches to the elimination of violence against women in local communities.

Programme components

Creating National and Regional EVAW Action Networks of government organizations, NGOs and international developing agencies.

The specific objective is to use networking to place EVAW on the policy agenda at the local, provincial and national levels in the participating countries and link these activities at the regional level to increase the pressure on governments to take effective policy action.
The component will be initiated in Cambodia, Philippines and Thailand, and later extended to other countries in the region.

Supporting EVAW Campaigns in the Region

Utilize global public campaigns such as the 16 Days of Activism as catalyst to ensure that EVAW issues are continually brought to public attention and given increased priority by governments at all levels. The principal strategy is to strengthen national activities and develop a regional dimension through networking and advocacy.

Activities

In 2001, the Programme supported activities for the 16 Days of Activism Campaign to Eliminate Violence Against Women in eight countries, including Cambodia, PR China, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

Awareness raising among the youth

One activity under this component will use theatre-in-education to create awareness among youth of the causes and consequences of violence against women, including the linkage between VAW and HIV/AIDS. Mai Khit Fai (Thailand), a youth theatre group, will use drama to make students and schools more aware of VAW.

Promote self-help to the elimination of VAW in local communities

This component will use a community-based approach to combat violence against women.
One activity under the component aims to involve members of communities - students, families, women's groups, youth groups and local government officials - to help women survivors of violence, prevent such violence and better understand the issue.

Putting EVAW on the political agenda

Putting EVAW on the national political agenda will involve lobbying members of parliament, senators, political parties and women's wings of political parties. At local levels, activities will include lobbying with provincial and district authorities.

Activities

In Phnom Penh on 4-6 December, 2001 the Programme supported a Workshop on National Legislation on Domestic Violence in the Mekong Basin Sub-region. Forty-eight 48 NGO and government participants from four countries in the Mekong Basin Sub-region, supported by six resource persons, gathered in Phnom Penh to discuss legislation on domestic violence. A full report is attached.

Updated: 10Feb2002