Civil Society, United Nations and Government Officials join hands to end violence against women in India

For immediate release

New Delhi - After 14 long years of physical and emotional harassment, one brave lady decided to take action against her abusive husband. That was the start of an excruciating battle for justice. “I went to the police but they were very uncooperative and asked me to go back to my husband. I was branded a prostitute with even the judges discriminating against me,” she said. Speaking at a meeting organized by UN Women to accelerate progress to end violence against women, she shared her challenges in the presence of lawyers, policymakers, other survivors and activists from all over India.

They came together for a single cause – to define a common strategy to put an end to this violence. These strategies will become a part of the United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign launched to eliminate violence against women and girls by 2015. The campaign is an opportunity to encourage governments and civil society to create priorities and identify the main challenges and priorities.

Speaking at the event, Professor Kiran Walia, Minister for Women and Child Development and Education, Government of Delhi reiterated the need for better implementation of the Domestic Violence Act. “All of us are responsible for ending violence against women. My commitment to the cause is deep and I pledge to save women from violence of all kinds,” she said.

Some of the recommendations made by the participants from JAGORI, Lawyers Collective and other civil society organizations included better trauma counseling centers for victims of violence and training of counselors. Many suggested that interventions should focus on working with police and judges to
ensure that they can respond to the needs of the women.

“Two-thirds of women in South Asia are going to face violence at some time of their life. The key question today is how to take this campaign forward to end this violation of human rights,” said Lise Grande, United Nations Resident Coordinator. She stressed the need to join forces and focus on one singular priority.

Evoking the sentiments of the civil society, Suneeta Dhar, Director, JAGORI said: “India has a vibrant women’s movement on ending violence against women. We refuse to stand by as more than a billion women experience violence around the globe.”
 
Partnerships are crucial to the success of this campaign. “It is very clear that no single intervention, no matter however powerful, can end violence against women on its own. We must unite and work together in a coordinated way,” said Anne F. Stehammer, Regional Programme Director, UN Women South Asia.

In India, UN Women works to prevent trafficking and make public places safer for women by supporting the Government and civil society.


Media inquiries:

Sabrina Sidhu, Communications and Information Officer, UN Women South Asia, Email: sabrina.sidhu@unwomen.org, Tel: 9818717522 or 9560452556