SPECIAL CALL TO ACTION
November 25, 2009
  
On November 25th in Guatemala, the United Nations will launch Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's campaign “Unite to End Violence Against Women” for the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The campaign focuses on strategies to counter violence against women at the regional, national, and local levels. At the Board of Directors 41st Regional Reunion Conference about Women in Latin American and the Caribbean, the Secretary General proposed an agreement to formally initiate the campaign, and many UN organizations have committed to lead campaign activities in the region. The regional efforts are focused on ending impunity for the crime of violence against women and girls through the implementation of international and national legal mechanisms; the increased commitment of governments to fulfill their promises to put and end to violence against women and girls; and the mobilization of  key actors working for the empowerment of women and their communities.
    
Women’s organizations have been invited to be part of the campaign with the understanding that they are the key actors in this international and national effort, and that November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, was born of the movement’s efforts to position the issue in the political agenda at all levels, especially the Latin American feminist movement.

Why Guatemala?
Guatemala has been chosen as the focal point of this effort because of the escalation of violence against women in the country, a level of violence which has yet to be fully recognized by the international community.

In 2007, Guatemala was ranked third highest in death rates in Latin America resulting from violence against women.  In 2009, Guatemala has moved quickly to first (depending on the method of classifying causes of death). Between January and May of 2009, 265 femicide (murder of women for being women) cases were recorded.

Between 2005 and 2007, there were 19,600 women murdered; however, only 43 of those responsible for the deaths were sentenced.  A factor that explains the increase of assassinations in 2009 is that, in the previous three years, 1,912 murders were never prosecuted.

Since the law against femicide took effect in May of 2008, only two offenders have been sentenced, although 722 women have been killed by violence.  (Fundación Sobrevivientes (Survivors' Foundation)).

Of these 722 murders, 32% of the women were murdered in their homes, 43% outside of their homes, and 25% in unknown locations. In 2008, there were 39,400 reports of domestic violence, and women were involved (almost all as victims) in 95% of those cases. After 2008, the Feminist Transgressional Watch (OTF) compiled their observations to create a Legal Crimes Against Women 2000 Report in May, 2009.

Violence in Guatemala generates a cost of more than $300 billion annually, equivalent to 7% of the GDP.

It is evident from the observations of OTF that women's organizations and the specialized programs that they have created for the promotion of their rights in Guatemala reflect a strong measure of resilience and resistance, as well showing the infinite creativity possessed by these women as they organize, prepare, and mobilize for the struggle against adverse conditions of social devaluation, misogyny, and ethnocentrism. The UN campaign supports these efforts by promoting solidarity among regional and international organizations and initiatives in order to share knowledge, strength, and resistance.
                                     
Amplifying Women's Voices as Central Focus of Camapaign
One central focus of the campaign is amplifying women's voices to raise awareness about violence against women among all people in all places and organizations working for social progress and peace. The voices of victims and survivors will be emphasized during the launch of the campaign. This activity is led by women for women, in the pursuit of justice and reparations – which are the best ways in which violence against women can be addressed and prevented.

Feminist International Radio Endeavour (RIF/FIRE) has undertaken a special consultancy with UNIFEM to help motivate and organize women’s NGO activities for the Regional Launching, along with women’s organizations in Guatemala and the region. For several days around the official launch of the Campaign, the coalition will conduct activities in Guatemala and in the region.  
 
Please join us during this time in Guatemala and participate in the elaboration of an URGENT AGENDA that will be presented by a Honduran spokeswoman representing the women of the region to the public on November 25th.

Another main focus of the campaign is the assertion that violence against women is a “State problem” – it is the primary responsibility of states to fulfil their obligations under international law, to work for the security of all their citizens, particularly women, and to promote equality between women and men. To improve the socio-political condition of our planet, the right of women to live without violence must be recognized.

Regional Initatives
The Secretary General's campaign was founded last year as a call to all social sectors, the media, and the UN system to work toward the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. The campaign will last until 2015, and has five major objectives, including the launch of regional and national campaigns, and social mobilization for the promotion of civil society participation in the prevention of violence and the effective support of women and girl survivors. The campaign includes actions to prevent and impose sanctions for sexual violence in conflict areas, and to promote a politics of peace and security, with sufficient financial commitment and the implementation of mechanisms to protect and prevent systemic violations of human rights. Human rights violations in this context include violence against women in all its forms (physical, psychological, sexual, economic, etc.) For this reason, to effectively eliminate all forms of violence against women, we must adopt measures to promote gender equality and the human rights of women in tandem with the international framework of human rights.

The campaign is based on the recognition of diverse forms of violence – socio-cultural, economic, and political – and is conducted in a way that is sensitive to structural inequality and imbalances of power between women and men. Race, ethnicity, and other fault lines of discrimination that affect women and girls in the region will be specifically taken into account (such as rural residence, disability, HIV/AIDS).
 
The basis of the campaign is respect for the human rights of women and girls.  As such, the campaign compliments existing efforts to confront violence beyond traditional boundaries – as a campaign exclusively focused on women – with the objective of formulating a clear and effective solution to violence itself. The campaign follows a holistic and integral approach to the issue of violence against women, promoting collaboration among a wide range of social sectors and actors (such as  health care, education, justice, security, labour, etc.)

The inter-agency initiative includes:  UN Fund for Women's Development (UNIFEM); UN Population Fund (UNFPA); (Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean (CEPAL);  UN High Commission for Human Rights (ACNUDH);  UNICEF, The InterAmerican Commission of Women (CIM), InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Pan American Health Organization (OPS), UN Development Program for (UNDP), The Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS  (UNAIDS);  and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Translated by Hannah Powell Losada
Edited by Ross Ryan & Margaret Thompson

You can participate:
• Sending emails of solidarity to the Guatemalan women even if you are not in Guatemala to participate in the campaign launch;
• Listening to the FIRE webcasts during the launch between November 24 -30th;
• Organizing special activities of your own or connecting the ones you are already organizing with the women’s NGO efforts in the launch;

To coordinate the efforts of your  organization with the   activities that are being planned for the launch of this UN campign, contact us FIRE at oficina@radiofeminista.net

More information is available online:
www.radiofeminista.net