ENDING THE CRISIS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES AROUND THE WORLD - AFRIHEALTH OPTONET ASSOCIATION (AHOA)

 ENDING THE CRISIS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES AROUND THE WORLD 

a media briefing by Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA) – CSOs global Network and Think-tank for Health and Development 

Excellencies and Gentlemen, 

Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA) is a global and community-focused CSOs global Network and Think-tank of over 2,200 organizations in 101 (One Hundred and One) countries, for the promotion of Development Work, the SDGs, and Health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being; using partnership/collaboration, advocacy, communication, research/evidence-generation, capacity development, outreaches, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as strategies; to benefit rural and poor urban dwellers, marginalized, vulnerable and disadvantaged populations of women, girls, children, youth, adolescents, people with disability, orphans and elderly; while exploring the nexus between Health - PHC, HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, NCDs, Vaccines and COVID-19; Energy and Environment - biodiversity, environment, ecosystems, renewable energy, energy efficiency, conservation and climate change; Nutrition/micronutrients and Food Security; Gender, Democracy, Good Governance and Human Rights; with Consultative Status at United Nations ECOSOC; and an Accredited Observer status at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

Women and girls with disabilities face a particular kind of violence. We are targets of violence because we are women and because we are disabled. Due to this, levels of violence against us are exceedingly high. Global data is hard to come by, but one study estimated that 40 to 68 percent of young women with disabilities experience sexual violence before the age of eighteen. A study in Australia found that 62 percent of women with disabilities under 50 had experienced violence since the age of 15. In Nepal, 31 percent of women with disabilities responding to a survey reported experiencing violence. 

Because of our disabilities, perpetrators have the advantage. A blind woman cannot see who is harming her or where she is being taken. A woman in a wheelchair has no choice but to go where the person pushing her insists. Perpetrators know that a woman with an intellectual disability or a woman with multiple disabilities will not be able to report what happens to them, making rape and other forms of violence easier to do. 

Your Excellencies António Guterres, UN General-Secretary; Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General; Dr. Sima Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women; Dr. Natalia Kanem Executive Director, UNFPA; All Presidents/Heads of States and Governments within the United Nations; as UN leaders, you are aware of the data and the problem. We are writing to urge you to support a solution we believe in: a treaty in the form of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. 

The scope and complexity of the problem is one reason a treaty is essential. The other reason is the legal gaps. An Optional Protocol to CEDAW will be binding on states, closing a gap in the framework on violence against women and girls. 

An Optional Protocol would also close the geographic gap left by the regional instruments on violence against women and girls — the Convention of Belém do Pará in the Americas, the Maputo Protocol in Africa, and the Istanbul Convention in Europe. Collectively, these only cover about 25 percent of women, leaving nearly 75 percent of the world’s women without protection from a binding instrument specific to ending violence against women and girls.

An Optional Protocol would provide that specificity, and address barriers to justice. It would send a message to the entire globe that certain behaviors are unacceptable and will be treated with zero tolerance. We envision a new instrument’s implementation system as metrics-based, modeled after the Tobacco Treaty’s MPOWER framework. A metrics-based scorecard would track State party’s efforts to eradicate violence against women and girls against a set of standard benchmarks, providing clear and actionable monitoring and accountability.

With a treaty, we have it within us to change the course of human history to one where every woman and girl lives a life free violence. This is our common goal and shared vision. As leaders of the United Nations, your voices and leadership can help create the political will necessary to spur action. As a community of people — at the UN, in civil society, in the private sector and in governments — united against this scourge, we have the power to better the lives of every community in the world. 

We urge you to make a public statement in support of an Optional Protocol to CEDAW dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. 

Thank you for your consideration and for your leadership. 

Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje

CEO and Main Representative to the United Nations

Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA) - CSOs Global Movement and Think-tank for Health and Development  

(Winner of the SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing Champion Award)

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