COUNTRY POLICY AND STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING GBV

Transcription

1 Maldives COUNTRY POLICY AND STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING GBV Legal framework on the Girl Child and SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.! Maldives acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in Policies! Maldives is a participatory to the Beijing Platform for A c t i o n a n d t h e Commonwealth Plan of Action on Gender and Development.! The Ministry of Gender and Family was restructured following the cabinet reshuffle of July 005 to focus on gender, child protection and family.! The Family Law provides for judges to order divorce in cases of domestic violence but legislation on GBV is yet to be developed.! The Ministry of Gender, Family Development and Social Security (MGFDSS) is mandated 1 to formulate policies, to implement activities and to monitor the situation with respect to! Maldives is a participatory to the SAARC Plan of Action 1 women and violation of their rights.! The National Gender Policy was endorsed by CEDAW in 006.! The Ministry of Gender and Family was merged with the Ministry of Health after the election of the new government in November 008. The current policy of the government of Maldives on gender is mainstreaming gender into all sectors. (Gender mainstreaming policy, 010) Strategies! The National Reproductive Health Strategy

2 has identified gender in guiding principles,! The UNFPA country programmes objectives and strategy and has also focused on have established a comprehensive model of gender-based violence. health sector response to gender-based Programmes and plan of action violence.! Strengthened national response, including by! The 7th National Development Plan 006- the health sector, to violence against women 010 considers gender-based violence as an and girls, taking into account linkages to integrated, zero-tolerance approach and also protection and legal services (UNDAF 011- advocates for the elimination of violence 015, expected output). against children. COUNTRY SITUATION OF GBV The Ministry of Gender and Family, Maldives with technical assistance from WHO and financial support from UNFPA and UNICEF, conducted the Study on Women's Health and Life Experiences. The study consisted of a cross-sectional population-based household survey of women aged years in 58 households across the whole country. The sample size represented 6% of all households in Maldives and 5% of the women's population 1 aged years. Salient Findings The most prevalent form of intimate partner violence is emotional abuse (9.%) followed by physical violence (18%) and sexual violence (6.7%). Physical or sexual violence was reported by 19.5% of the women. 1 (Figure 1). Percentage Intimidation (n=1) 31.5 Verbal abouse (n=1) 4.8 Physical violence (n=0) 15.7 Sexual soercion (n=39) Figure 1: Percentage of women reporting different forms of intimate partner violence, Maldives, 006 Intimate partner violence: All statistics related to intimate partner violence are calculated as a proportion of women aged years who have ever been in a relationship (married or just dating). Physical violence by an intimate partner: Was slapped or had something thrown at her that could hurt her /was pushed or shoved or had her hair pulled or cut / was hit with fist or something else 1 Domestic Violence bill is in the parliament. Deliberation at comiitteee stage has been finished. The bill was submitted to parliament in 010

3 that could hurt /was choked or burnt on purpose /Perpetrator threatened to use or actually used a weapon against her. Sexual violence by an intimate partner: Was physically forced to have sexual intercourse when she did not want to /had sexual intercourse when she did not want to because she was afraid of what partner might do/was forced to do something sexual that she found degrading or humiliating. Emotional violence by an intimate partner: Was insulted or made to feel bad about herself/was belittled or humiliated in front of other people/ perpetrator had done things to scare or intimidate her on purpose (e.g. by yelling or smashing things) 3.50% 49.60% 36.50% 10.40% Unknown Mild Moderate Server Figure : Percentage of different severities of injuries among women who have ever been injured by a partner, Maldives, 006 Mild: cuts, punctures, bites, scratches, abrasions, bruises. Moderate: sprains, dislocations, burns. Severe: penetrating injuries, deep cuts, gashes, broken eardrums,eye injuries, fractures, broken bones, broken teeth, internal injuries. Unknown: other injury. Booklet- [ You think violence against women doesn't happen in Maldives? Think Again] 3

4 The prevalence of girl child sexual abuse is 1.% in Maldives and the highest reported rate is from the capital, Male (16.3%). (Figure 3) Percentage North North Central Central South Central South Male Maldives Figure 3: Percentage of women who reported experiencing sexual abuse before the age of 15, by region, Maldives, 006 Girl child sexual abuse appears to be perpetrated predominantly by family members (48%). Acquaintants (6%) and strangers (6%) are also perpetrators of girl child sexual abuse. (Figure 4) 6 % 48% 6% Family Acquainyance Stranger Figure 4: Perpetrators of girl child sexual abuse, Maldives, 006 Booklet- [ You think violence against women doesn't happen in Maldives? Think Again] 4

5 COUNTRY ACTIVITIES IN COMBATING GBV GWH-SEARO conducted a survey in October 009 among the gender focal points in the WHO country offices of Member States using a questionnaire containing 3 questions under four clusters. The findings of the survey for Maldives are listed below. Scale* Logislations/Police/ programme Resources Research Evidence** Country Situation Total no. of indicators Figure 5: Country activities in combating gender-based violence in Maldives, 009 * The scale represents country-specific situation plotted against the maximum rating for 4 clusters of indicators: (1) Legislations/policies/programmes () Resource (3) Research and (4) Evidence ** A lower score reflects lower evidence of GBV 5

6 S.No. Category Activities 1. Legislation/policies and The country has a national action plan, health policy and programmes on GBV multisectoral action plan on GBV.. Resources for combating The following resources are available: Workshops and training for health providers. Activities on gender mainstreaming for prevention of GBV. Data collection system for GBV exists in hospitals, NGOs, legal aid centres, social support centres and in police stations. The facilities for helping the victims of GBV are available in the police department, legal aid centres and in counseling centres. There is budget allocation for GBV in the country. 3. Research on GBV Research has been conducted on the cause and consequences of GBV. 4. Evidence on GBV The country has findings on types of GBV, findings related to the cause of GBV and findings related to women s health due to GBV. _ GBV is present in > 15-years-olds and in > 15 year-olds. Violence during pregnancy is present. Additional Information Victims of GBV Spouse, family members and domestic helpers have been found to be the victims of GBV. Types of GBV GBV is present in physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and economic forms. Findings related to women's health after GBV Mental disturbances, suicide, attempts at suicide, abortion and miscarriages, disability and death have been found to be related to women's health after GBV. Violence during pregnancy Violence during pregnancy is present in physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and economic forms. Age of GBV victims GBV in less than 15-year-olds exists in physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and economic forms. GBV in more than or equal to 15 year olds exists in physical, psychological, sexual, emotional and economic forms. 6

7 PARTNERSHIP IN COMBATING GBV Government initiatives! On November 5, 009, the Members of Parliament in Maldives signed a declaration supporting the elimination of violence against women, recognizing the problem of domestic violence facing Maldives and undertaking to bear it in mind when legislating. The signing marked the 10th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.! Recognizing gender-based violence as a public health issue, Maldives tertiary hospital and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), established the Family Protection Unit under the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in August 005. The unit was established with the support of the Ministry of Gender and Family, Ministry of Health and with funding from UNFPA and UNICEF, to provide support to victims of gender-based violence and child abuse that come through the hospital.! With Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture and UNFPA as the executing agency, the Ministry of Women s Affairs and Social Security, Television Maldives and Voice of Maldives have implemented a project titled - Advocacy on gender equality and male participation through mass media. Combating violence against women is one of the important components of the project.! The Ministry of Gender, Family Development and Social Security (MGFDSS) has conducted an orientation and sensitization workshop on VAW for the employees of ward offices and representatives from the Women s Development Committees. Sensitization workshops and training, advocacy and awareness-raising activities on the issues of Domestic Violence (DV) / Violence Against Women (VAW) are also being carried out by the MGFDSS.! As part of a multisectoral approach to addressing gender-based violence, four participants from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), the police and the Ministry of Gender and Family undertook training on Forensic Investigation of Rape Cases, conducted by the Amity Institute of Advanced Forensic Science and Research and Training in India. 7

8 Country Contact Information: Aminath Shenalin (Ms) WHO Country Office, Maldives Tel , Fax Produced by: Gender, Women and Health (GWH) Department of Family Health and Research World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia World Health House, Indraprastha Estate Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi Phone: , Ext 6301 Fax: , ,