On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to cover a hearing in front of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight. The hearing was entitled International Violence Against Women: Stories and Solutions and featured the following witnesses, all speaking in support of the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA):
Most of the news coverage of the event focused on a very short dialogue between Ms. Kidman and US Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) where Mr. Rohrabacher had pressed Ms. Kidman on whether or not Hollywood shared some responsibility for promoting a culture of violence against women. While this certainly shouldn’t be ignored, I felt that it distracted from the underlying message of the International Violence Against Women Act and the testimony given. So I’ve decided to include excerpts from the testimony of each witness along with some of my photos from the event below.
“The reality is that violence against women is a humanitarian tragedy, a vicious crime, a global health catastrophe, a social and economic impediment, and a threat to national security. Violence against women knows no borders, nor class, race, ethnicity, or religion. It is a truly global plague, affecting women and girls at all stages of life. The numbers speak for themselves: one in three women worldwide is beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused over the course of her lifetime. But the stories of individuals are even more powerful.”
“According to Amnesty International, over 142,000 women have fled Darfur for neighboring Chad over the past six years. And while they ran from violence and rape in their homeland, thousands continue to face sexual violence as refugees. Not only do women risk rape and abuse every time they travel outside the camp to gather food, water, and firewood, but sexual violence also routinely occurs within the camps, despite the presence of UN security and humanitarian workers.”
“The situation is perhaps even more dire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the systematic use of rape as a low-tech, low-cost weapon of warfare has become a defining characteristic of the long-standing conflict in the east. Rape is used to destroy communities and to instill a sense of despair and hopelessness within a population. Hundreds of thousands of women have been raped; in some villages, as many as 90% of the women have been raped. Patrick Cammaert, who served as UN force commander in the DRC, has said that it is ‘more dangerous to be a woman than to be a solder.’”
“Last year, a number of survivors of rape in DRC broke through the silence and came forward, through UNICEF, to talk about what they have faced. One woman, Lumo Furaha, told about being gang raped by over 50 armed men. After nine surgeries, she has still not physically recovered, but she says she is hoping that telling her story will help her find what she calls ‘a brighter future.’”
“Even after the horror of the initial attack, many women who survive sexual violence face further abuse from their own families and communities. Too often, the victim herself is blamed for the violent crime perpetrated against her. Even when not explicitly blamed, many women who survive rape and other sexual crimes are shunned by their families and cast out of their villages. Other women are too afraid to tell their stories, hiding the truth about their attack for fear of being stigmatized. Fear and cultural taboos against speaking about sexual violence often prevent women from seeking desperately needed medical treatment in the aftermath of an attack.”
“Mr. Chairman, violence against women affects us all. As co-chair of the Women’s Caucus I strongly feel that we must do more to help the women, throughout the world, whose lives have been forever altered by violence, and the families, communities, countries, even entire regions of the world that will never be stable, open, and prosperous so long as violence against women is perpetuated.”
“The violence against women and girls that we’re currently seeing is a global pandemic. It cuts across ethnicity, race, class, religion, education level, and international borders. It affects girls and women at every point in their lives, from sex-selective abortion and infanticide, to inadequate healthcare and nutrition given to girls, to genital mutilation, child marriage, rape as a weapon of war, trafficking, so-called ‘honor’ killings, dowry -related murder, and the neglect and ostracism of widows – and this is not an exhaustive list. This violence is not ‘cultural,’ it is criminal. It is every nation’s problem and it is the cause of mass destruction around the globe. We need a response that is commensurate with the seriousness of these crimes.”
“The United Nations estimates that two to three million girls and women each year are subjected to genital mutilation (FGM). Worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, that means that an estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women are currently living with the devastating physical and psychological consequences of this custom. The cutting is often performed in unsanitary conditions, without anesthesia. Girls who do not die of infection face a lifetime of medical complications and increased risk of maternal mortality. Stories such as Waris Dirie’s are typical: She underwent FGM when she was 5 and survived, although two of her sisters and cousins died from the procedure. Less typically, she fled her Somali home at age 13 to escape a marriage to a 60 year-old man. She went on to become a supermodel and actress and now campaigns as an FGM activist. Through her role as UN Special Envoy on FGM issues, she hopes to educate the world about the violence to which so many girls are subjected.”
“In November, 2008, Shamsia Husseini and her sister were walking to their school in Kandahar province in Afghanistan, when a man pulled alongside them on a motorcycle and asked whether they were going to school. He then pulled Shamsia’s scarf from her head and sprayed her face with acid. After she recovered from the immediate attack, Shamsia was left with scars across her eyelids and most of her left cheek, where the acid ate away her skin. Her vision is now blurry, making it hard for her to read. But the acid attack against Shamsia and 14 others – students and teachers – failed to deter her or others from getting their education: the school now has 1,300 girls in attendance.”
“In Yemen, eight-year-old Najoud Ali was given in marriage in February, 2008, to a much older man. When she ran crying from the bedroom on her wedding night, her husband caught her, brought her back, and raped and beat her. Two months later, Najoud walked out of the house and found her way to the city’s courtroom. When she was finally noticed by a lawyer and Nujoud told her she’d come for a divorce, the lawyer took the child to her house to play with her 8-year-old daughter, and secured the divorce two days later. Since then, the lawyer has won divorce cases for two other girls in Sanaa – one age nine, the other 12 – who came forward after being inspired by Nujoud’s bravery. Yemen has subsequently passed a law raising its minimum age for marriage.”
“The stories outlined in this testimony represent a humanitarian tragedy. The abuses not only destroy the lives of individual girls and women, families, and communities, but also rob the world of the talent it urgently needs. There is a powerful connection between violence against women and the unending cycle of women in poverty. Women who are abused or who fear violence are unable to realize their full potential and contribute to their countries’ development. There are enormous economic costs that come with violence against women. A 2003 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, in the United States alone, $1.8 billion each year is lost in productivity and earnings due to gender-based violence. These types of losses are repeated around the world.”
“For the past decade, I have focused my efforts on challenging violence against women in India through the work of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization that uses multi-media tools and community mobilization efforts to change cultural norms and social practices that violate human dignity. I would like to share with you our most recent campaign, Bell Bajao (Ring the Bell) to demonstrate how a bottom-up approach that partners with local initiatives can be creative and effective in challenging gender-based violence.”
“Bell Bajao is a multi-media campaign that calls on men and boys to take a stand against domestic violence. Launched last year with support from the UNIFEM managed – UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, Breakthrough created Bell Bajao in a pro bono partnership with the advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather. The Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development joined Breakthrough as a dissemination partner, and since September 2008, the campaign, which includes TV, radio and print advertisements, has reached approximately 120 million people.”
“Christina Lobo from Mumbai wrote this on the blog, ‘There is a woman in my building who goes to hell and back once a week while all the neighbors sit quietly in their flats, pretending to have heard nothing. Last week, the screaming and crying started at 8 am. It stopped when her husband left for work. Come 8 pm, the husband was home again and it started again. By 1 am, the screams were louder than ever. I couldn’t take it anymore and marched upstairs with my dog, Kelly, and I rang the bell! Her husband shooed my dog out and told me not to interfere, but I haven’t heard any more screams since then. I hope it stays that way. I won’t hesitate to ring the bell again … and call the cops, too.’”
“As you consider the provisions of I-VAWA, I urge you to keep in mind the following recommendations:
- Invest in partnerships with local organizations and encourage bottom-up initiatives that can work effectively in their own contexts and create long-term sustainable change.
- Maintain a focus on women’s empowerment while partnering with multiple stakeholders including men and boys, community leaders, religious institutions, and business heads.
- Make youth outreach and participation a key priority in order to transform cultural norms that permit violence against women and build the next generation of human rights leaders.”
“A year ago I was honoured to talk with Marie Nyombo Zaina from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Like your next speaker, Mallika Dutt, Maire’s work on the ground merited a grant from the UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. Through contributions — including essential funding from the United States for which UNIFEM is very grateful — the Fund promotes the implementation of existing commitments. There are laws in many countries to end discrimination against women, to punish rape, outlaw spousal abuse, child marriage and more. But in the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm.”
“Another time in Kosovo, I met and listened to women sharing experiences. One told me how she had been repeatedly raped and abused by soldiers leaving her with lasting physical and psychological scars, and pregnant. In her community, this child brands her forever as an outcast. Yet, she did not remain silent. Together with other women’s rights advocates, she bravely took her testimony of how mass rapes shatter lives and communities to the International Tribunal for Yugoslavia, a legal landmark for prosecuting rape in wartime as a crime against humanity.”
“These champions need and deserve our support. Not with a box of band aids, but with a comprehensive well-funded approach that acknowledges that women’s rights are human rights. It is time for policies that intentionally involve society’s key communities—from health and education departments, to the police and judiciary—to deliver on that commitment. The plan must build strong alliances with men and collaborate with faith-based and traditional leaders. To succeed, it requires political will at the highest levels.”
“My friends at UNIFEM and I believe that IVAWA, when passed, will be a beacon, lighting the way forward for other countries. My stories illustrate the impact of violence against women on individuals, families and communities. But IVAWA rightfully links the consequences of violence against women to global goals: economic development, stability and peace, improving health and reducing HIV/AIDs.”
“Violence against women is not prosecuted because it is not a top government and urgent social priority. We can change this by exerting leadership, making wise investments and building local partnerships. Based on UNIFEM’s and the Trust Fund’s “lessons learned”, IVAWA represents an effective cross-cutting approach that elevates the issue so it will count and be counted.”
“After witnessing the sex trafficking in Mumbai, I was compelled to organize Shared Hope International to provide a response to their desperate circumstances. Eleven years later, Shared Hope International has provided the resources and assistance to found seven holistic Villages of Hope, providing a substitute family and home to the victims of sex trafficking in India, Nepal, Fiji, Jamaica, the Netherlands, South Africa and the Dominican Republic. Currently, five of the seven Villages of Hope continue this critical restoration work abroad. These safe homes include the Women’s Investment Network (WIN) which brings training and education to the women living in the Villages of Hope and other women living on the margins of their communities. Once defiled, many women no longer have a home to return to and become permanent members of the Village of Hope families.”
“We’ve found common forces throughout the world destroying the lives of these children, like Renu in Nepal. Renu spent four years in sexual slavery in India, a country who has passed extensive trafficking laws making the buying and selling of trafficking victims a crime. Her story shows that even though India has a law against sex slavery that it did not in any way hinder her sale each and every day of the four years she was captive. Why? Because there is an active local sex market with a demand for young girls by the local men. This cultural tolerance towards men buying sex has created a market that puts young Indian and Nepalese girls in constant danger of kidnap and sexual violence as traffickers shop to meet the demand for more product.”
“An equally disturbing finding related to the look into America. Expecting to find large numbers of foreign national women trafficked to the United States for commercial sexual exploitation, we were stunned to discover much larger numbers of U.S. citizen and lawful permanent resident minors being exploited through the commercial sex industry. American girls of all colors and ages were found stripping and being prostituted in the VIP rooms of gentleman’s clubs, prostituted through escort agencies and Internet erotic websites, and controlled by pimps in the streets of Atlanta, Las Vegas and the Washington, DC-Baltimore corridor. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) these girls are trafficking victims and anyone who has worked to restore their bodies, minds and souls from the trauma they have suffered can tell you they are victims of extreme forms of violence.”
“Shared Hope International compiled the eleven reports into The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children. The report reveals the startling facts that at least 100,000 children are used in prostitution every year in the United States and the average age of entry into prostitution is 13 years old. We learned through our research that in Las Vegas, 226 juveniles came before the Juvenile Court judge in just 20 months; in Miami, 21 girls were prosecuted for prostitution in one year; and in Dallas, 165 juveniles were detained on prostitution and related charges in 2007. These are just the children that were discovered and the cases documented – the real numbers are certainly much larger. In nearly every case the child rather than the buyer is arrested. The minor, though defined by the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) as a victim, is arrested for the crime committed against her. This arrest and treatment of the victim as a criminal is a secondary violence committed against her, compounding the trauma of the sexual violence she has already endured at the hands of the trafficker and the multitude of buyers who have used her.”
“What can Congress do? There are two actions Congress can take to fight this form of violence against women and girls in our country. First, Congress can reaffirm the intent of the TVPA 2000 to protect all women and children from commercial sexual exploitation, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Second, Congress has the opportunity and obligation to send a strong message to the fifty states that Congress intends for these children to be treated as victims and be given all of the services and justice which the TVPA provides. Congress must appropriate the federal funds authorized in the TVPRA 2005 for services and pilot shelters. The lack of appropriate shelter is cited as the biggest problem first responders face in protecting the child victims of sex trafficking. There is no place for these children to receive adequate protection and specialized services that will break the cycle of violence and victimization. The first responders who want to help are currently limited to placing the victim in a runaway youth shelter or juvenile detention in the absence of a safe, secure facility to protect these children. The dichotomy between the funded and provided services and shelter for foreign victims and those mandated but not funded for domestic victims must be cured.”
You can find the complete prepared remarks of each witness here.
You can also find more information about the International Violence Against Women Act at the Amnesty International USA website.
The following organizations have been involved in, and support, the International Violence Against Women Act:
Please consider donating to one or more of the organizations listed above and also consider donating here to support independent journalism.
Shawn Duffy is a freelance commercial photographer and photojournalist based in the Washington, DC Metro area. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, he is a self-taught photographer who has decided to merge his passion for photography with his intense interest in the world around him. From the bustling streets of Bangalore, India, to the refugee camps of occupied Palestine, Shawn strives to create images and tell stories that compel others to act.
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