Say NO to Violence against Women

July 15, 11:40 AMLA County Foreign Policy ExaminerLawrence Gist

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Theo Ben Gurirab, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, signs on to Say NO. (UN Photo)

Speakers and deputy speakers of 15 national parliaments as well as the Arab Transitional Parliament signed on to UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women campaign on 14 July and agreed to make the issue a priority in their work.

"We should not be timid: As speakers, parliamentarians and women, we have a responsibility to lead the way in the effort to empower women," said Barbara Prammer, Speaker of the Austrian National Council and host of the Fifth Annual Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament during which the signing took place. "We need to show political will and ensure that our institutions are more involved in this battle."

The conference in Vienna, Austria, on 13-14 July was organized by the National Council of Austria and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), whose president also added his name to Say NO. Worldwide there are a total of 34 women speakers of parliament, representing 12 percent of all speakers; 17 speakers and deputy speakers were gathered at the meeting in Vienna.

Besides violence against women, the meeting also focused on the impact of the global economic crisis on women. In her keynote speech, UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi emphasized the interlinkage between the two issues: "There is growing concern that the widespread loss of jobs and livelihoods will increase threats to women’s and girls’ personal security and exacerbate levels of violence against them," she said, pointing out a recent survey of US-based violence shelters of which 75 percent reported an increase in women seeking help for abuse since September 2008, when the economic crisis hit.

Participants discussed the necessity of national legislation on violence against women in line with international commitments, especially CEDAW, but also stressed the need for effective implementation. Specific attention in this regard was placed on the justice system, the police and the health system. Rose Mukantabana, Speaker of the Rwandan Chamber of Deputies, highlighted the Gender Desk within the Rwandan Police and the one-stop service centers for violence survivors, both supported by UNIFEM, as part of a comprehensive national response to address violence against women.

In their conclusions, the participating speakers agreed to mark 25 November, the International Day to End Violence against Women, in parliaments worldwide and report back on progress made. They also acknowledged Say NO as a global effort to highlight and advance the issue: "There is progress: At the international level, the UN campaign launched by the Secretary-General, the UNIFEM campaign Say NO to Violence against Women and most recently IPU’s campaign, which focuses more particularly on parliaments, contribute to making violence against women a priority on the international agenda."

The following speakers signed on to Say NO:

    * Ms. Jozefina Topalli, Speaker of Parliament, Albania
    * Ms. Anna Burke, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Australia
    * Ms. Barbara Prammer, Speaker of the National Council, Austria
    * Ms. Joyce Bamford-Addo, Speaker of Parliament, Ghana
    * Ms. Katalin Szili, Speaker of the National Assembly, Hungary
    * Ms. Ntlhoi Motsamai, Speaker of the National Assembly, Lesotho
    * Mr. Theo Ben Gurirab, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Speaker of the National Assembly, Namibia
    * Ms. Margot Kraneveldt-Van Der Veen, Deputy-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Netherlands
    * Ms. Fehmida Mizra, Speaker of the National Assembly, Pakistan
    * Ms. Rose Mukantabana, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda
    * Ms. Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, Speaker of the National Assembly, Serbia
    * Ms. Gelame Zwane, President of the Senate, Swaziland
    * Ms. Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, President of the National Council, Switzerland
    * Ms. Pascale Bruderer, Vice-President of the National Council, Switzerland
    * Ms., Akja Tajiyewna Nurberdiyewa, Speaker of the Mejlis, Turkmenistan
    * Baroness Anne Gibson of Market Rasen, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
    * Ms. Hoda Fathi Ben Amer, President of the Parliament, Arab Transitional Parliament