Violence Against Women

UNIFEM Around the World

Involving Military and Police Forces in Ending Violence Against Women
From 7 May to 1 June 2005, UNIFEM and the UN High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) conducted an extensive multimedia campaign in four provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in an effort to raise awareness about sexual violence committed against women and children. The campaign, with its theme "Break the Silence, Awake Your Conscience and Say No to Violence," was targeted at military and police personnel in an attempt to reach out to men as partners in combating violence.

More than 300 soldiers and policemen from Mbandaka, Bukavu, Kisangani and Kivu participated. To stimulate dialogue, the campaign used short plays by theatre groups in various local languages to highlight the main issues. These were followed by information exchange sessions to discuss the causes of sexual violence and ways to stop it from happening. The factors fuelling violence put forward included drug and alcohol abuse, poor living standards of military and police personnel, impunity, and the general precariousness of the social situation in the country. The men also suggested possible solutions to curb the spread of violence — from reinforcing the role of the family, forming "moral" police units or creating surveillance committees within police and army units that focus on sexual violence crimes, establishing mixed patrols, enforcing stricter criteria for recruitment and stricter penalties for drug and alcohol abuse, to involving the police and army in national efforts to promote and defend human rights.

A key conclusion that emerged from the information exchange sessions was the "power of conscience," and how using this positively could be one of the best strategies to combat violence. (Extracted from article in Uhuru newspaper, 9 June 2005.) For more information on the campaign, please contact Miranda Tabifor, miranda.tabifor@undp.org

________________________
Source