08.03.04
Urgent Interventions
Press Release - OMCT observes International Women's Day
PRESS RELEASE
OMCT observes the International Women’s Day
March 8, 2004
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, OMCT expresses its concern that despite advances towards gender equality throughout the world, much work remains to be done to ensure that women enjoy all human rights on an equal footing with men. Persistent discrimination against women still exists in every country of the world and one of its most severe manifestations is violence perpetrated against women. Violence against women occurs in a variety of different contexts, including in the family, in the community and perpetrated by State agents. OMCT’s work has highlighted sexual violence, in particular rape, as a particularly common form of violence against women.
As the world’s largest network of NGOs fighting against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, OMCT notes that gender has a significant impact on the form that torture takes, its circumstances, consequences, and the accessibility of remedies. In this respect, OMCT is extremely concerned by gender-based violence perpetrated by state agents, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and strip searches of female detainees by male guards. The use of sexual violence by government agents is particularly concerning in Nepal. OMCT has issued several urgent appeals expressing its deep concern about rapes of women and girls by State agents and the lack of due diligence by the State to hold the perpetrators accountable. Nepal presents only one example of the extreme sexual violence that women suffer at the hands of State agents. OMCT country reports reveal torture of women in many other countries, including Turkey, Cameroon and Bangladesh.
In some countries, the crime of rape is legitimized by the fact of marriage. For example, in many countries, marital rape is still not criminalized and consent to sexual intercourse is implied by the fact of being married. This is the case in Kenya, just to mention one example. In some countries, when a woman or a girl is raped, the perpetrator will not be prosecuted if he agrees to marry the victim. This sort of reparatory marriage provision exists in Brazilian legislation, among other countries. These types of laws, which justify rape in the context of marriage, are fundamental violations of women’s human rights.
Reports to OMCT indicate that police rarely exercise due diligence to investigate, prosecute and punish the crime of rape, allowing the perpetrators to enjoy impunity. Additionally, in many instances, women victims of rape are very hesitant to report the crime because of the social stigma attached to crime of rape. In some societies, women who have been raped may be rejected by their families and communities, or even run the risk of being charged with adultery (for having had sex outside of marriage, regardless of its nonconsensual nature). Even in cases where the police do open up an investigation, there is frequently a lack of sensitivity to the trauma suffered by rape victims and the difficulties they face in pursuing a complaint against the perpetrator. In general, it can be observed that most crimes of rape are suffered in silence by the victims because of these enormous obstacles in accessing justice.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women recognized in its General Recommendation # 19 that violence against women constitutes a form of discrimination against women and that gender-based violence severely impairs women’s ability to enjoy their fundamental human rights. In light of the widespread continuation of violence against women in every country of the world, OMCT takes this opportunity to firmly condemn such violence and encourage governments and non-governmental organizations to take action against violence against women in all of its forms.
For more information about OMCT’s Violence Against Women Programme, please contact Carin Benninger-Budel at cbb@omct.org or Lucinda O’Hanlon at loh@omct.org.
OMCT observes the International Women’s Day
March 8, 2004
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, OMCT expresses its concern that despite advances towards gender equality throughout the world, much work remains to be done to ensure that women enjoy all human rights on an equal footing with men. Persistent discrimination against women still exists in every country of the world and one of its most severe manifestations is violence perpetrated against women. Violence against women occurs in a variety of different contexts, including in the family, in the community and perpetrated by State agents. OMCT’s work has highlighted sexual violence, in particular rape, as a particularly common form of violence against women.
As the world’s largest network of NGOs fighting against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, OMCT notes that gender has a significant impact on the form that torture takes, its circumstances, consequences, and the accessibility of remedies. In this respect, OMCT is extremely concerned by gender-based violence perpetrated by state agents, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and strip searches of female detainees by male guards. The use of sexual violence by government agents is particularly concerning in Nepal. OMCT has issued several urgent appeals expressing its deep concern about rapes of women and girls by State agents and the lack of due diligence by the State to hold the perpetrators accountable. Nepal presents only one example of the extreme sexual violence that women suffer at the hands of State agents. OMCT country reports reveal torture of women in many other countries, including Turkey, Cameroon and Bangladesh.
In some countries, the crime of rape is legitimized by the fact of marriage. For example, in many countries, marital rape is still not criminalized and consent to sexual intercourse is implied by the fact of being married. This is the case in Kenya, just to mention one example. In some countries, when a woman or a girl is raped, the perpetrator will not be prosecuted if he agrees to marry the victim. This sort of reparatory marriage provision exists in Brazilian legislation, among other countries. These types of laws, which justify rape in the context of marriage, are fundamental violations of women’s human rights.
Reports to OMCT indicate that police rarely exercise due diligence to investigate, prosecute and punish the crime of rape, allowing the perpetrators to enjoy impunity. Additionally, in many instances, women victims of rape are very hesitant to report the crime because of the social stigma attached to crime of rape. In some societies, women who have been raped may be rejected by their families and communities, or even run the risk of being charged with adultery (for having had sex outside of marriage, regardless of its nonconsensual nature). Even in cases where the police do open up an investigation, there is frequently a lack of sensitivity to the trauma suffered by rape victims and the difficulties they face in pursuing a complaint against the perpetrator. In general, it can be observed that most crimes of rape are suffered in silence by the victims because of these enormous obstacles in accessing justice.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women recognized in its General Recommendation # 19 that violence against women constitutes a form of discrimination against women and that gender-based violence severely impairs women’s ability to enjoy their fundamental human rights. In light of the widespread continuation of violence against women in every country of the world, OMCT takes this opportunity to firmly condemn such violence and encourage governments and non-governmental organizations to take action against violence against women in all of its forms.
For more information about OMCT’s Violence Against Women Programme, please contact Carin Benninger-Budel at cbb@omct.org or Lucinda O’Hanlon at loh@omct.org.