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ASIA-PACIFIC CAMPAIGN ON ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

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Gender Violence Strategies Framework

RESEARCH

INTERVENTION

Understanding the Violence Responding to the Violence Attacking the Roots of Violence

VICTIMS

Actual and Potential

• Document and identify: kind and extent of violence; conditions supporting it; effects on women; what is needed to stop it; appropriate programmatic responses.

• Offer protection to victims (shelter, crisis intervention, etc.)

• Provide medical, legal, & therapeutic assistance.

• Establish support systems.

EMPOWER women to:

• Develop a social analysis of violence.

• Understand extent/limits of the law.

• Create new options by developing skills (self- confidence, self-defense, employment, political, etc.).

• Organize for political action.

THE PUBLIC

• Identify: popular beliefs about causes of gender violence; attitudes of tolerance/acceptance, etc. by men and women. • Provide information on the prevalence of gender violence in society.

• Supply information on available resources/procedures, etc.

• Make violence a political issue, relevant to all.

INSTITUTIONS

• Identify: influential institutions & groups; their mechanisms for affecting social values and attitudes on gender violence.

• Identify cultural and economic practices that facilitate violence.

• Assist institutions close to victims (religious, social, etc.) To provide relevant support.

• Collaborate with state agencies to provide adequate services.

• Train medical, legal, & other personnel to adequately respond to victims' needs/rights.

• Cultivate constituencies and allies in key institutions and groups.

• Challenge religious, educational, professional, economic authorities to take appropriate action.

• Engage them in political action.

• Counter negative institutional influences (through education, dialogue, protest, boycott, etc.)

LAWS and POLICIES

• Evaluate laws dealing with violence (ideological base, intent, adequacy)

• Identify how laws can be improved, expand women's rights, protections, and alternatives.

• Develop a new legal framework to reflect the concepts of gender violence, alternative sanctions, etc.

• Use legal means available to obtain protection or redress. At local, national, international levels:

• Propose more adequate laws.

• Introduce new frameworks and arguments.

• Mobilize public support through campaigns, protests, etc.

• Lobby legislative bodies for passage of new laws, procedures, policies.

ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Judges

Prosecutors

Police

• Document how the law are enforced: frequency of reporting; how victims are treated; frequency of prosecutions; biases of police and prosectutors; etc.

• Identify what is needed to improve enforcement of the law.

• Document how cases are handled in the courts: number of cases prosecuted; judgements; sentences; bias of judges; etc.

• Pressure police to enforce the law, prosecute gender violence crimes, and be respectful of the victims.

• Propose suitable procedures, if needed.

• Set up accountability mechanisms.

• Identify and use sympathetic courts.

• Challenge or confront the courts through, legal and political means, to comply with he law.

• Educate police and prosecutors to develop new attitudes & skills in dealing with gender violence.

• Monitor police handling of violence cases and police behavior.

• Elaborate alternative approaches regarding victims and perpetrators.

• Make judges aware of their gender biases and cultivate new patterns of judicial behavior.

• Use litigation and test cases to improve behaviour of the courts.

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