MIGIRO WARNS THAT ECONOMIC TURMOIL HAS EXACERBATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The scourge of violence against women has worsened as a result of the global financial downturn over the past year, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today as she urged some of the world's richest countries to lead the way in turning the many international pledges to support women and girls into concrete results.

In a keynote address in Rome to a ministerial-level conference on violence against women, being held under the auspices of the Italian presidency of the Group of Eight (G8), Ms. Migiro said there is evidence that women and girls are exposed to a greater risk of violence during times of hardship.

"We have seen rising levels of despair and frustration in families and communities around the world, exacerbating violence against women," she said.

"In a recent survey of more than 630 domestic violence shelters in the United States, 75 per cent reported an increase in women seeking help for abuse since September 2008, coinciding with a major downturn in the US economy. We must remain especially vigilant through these tough times."

Ms. Migiro detailed to the conference some of the steps taken by the UN to end violence against women and girls, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE campaign, which calls on world leaders to launch national campaigns aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.

She noted that the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, which is nearing the thirtieth anniversary of its adoption, and several landmark Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security indicated that the international community has taken "significant" steps towards protecting women from violence.

However, "we still have a long road to walk before the full meaning of these international agreements is fully transformed from words on paper to reality on the ground."

Ms. Migiro urged participants at today's conference to put into practice two earlier recommendations calling on G8 members to enhance the rights of women.

The first calls on G8 members to back programmes that promote women's rights and make information about sexual and reproductive health widely accessible, while the second calls for support for peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations worldwide so as to emphasize security, the protection of civilians and action against sexual and gender-based violence.

"Ending violence against women will not be easy. It will require sustained dedication and collaboration," she said.

While in Rome Ms. Migiro is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican and to hold bilateral discussions with Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and its Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna.

She is also expected to meet with staff from the UN's Rome-based agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO), the World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (<"http://www.ifad.org/">IFAD).

MIGIRO WARNS THAT ECONOMIC TURMOIL HAS EXACERBATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The scourge of violence against women has worsened as a result of the global financial downturn over the past year, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today as she urged some of the world's richest countries to lead the way in turning the many international pledges to support women and girls into concrete results.

In a keynote address in Rome to a ministerial-level conference on violence against women, being held under the auspices of the Italian presidency of the Group of Eight (G8), Ms. Migiro said evidence women and girls are exposed to a greater risk of violence during times of hardship.

"We have seen rising levels of despair and frustration in families and communities around the world, exacerbating violence against women," she said.

"In a recent survey of more than 630 domestic violence shelters in the United States, 75 per cent reported an increase in women seeking help for abuse since September 2008, coinciding with a major downturn in the US economy. We must remain especially vigilant through these tough times."

Ms. Migiro detailed to the conference some of the steps taken by the UN to end violence against women and girls, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE campaign, which calls on world leaders to launch national campaigns aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.

She noted that the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, which is nearing the thirtieth anniversary of its adoption, and several landmark Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security indicated that the international community has taken "significant" steps towards protecting women from violence.

However, "we still have a long road to walk before the full meaning of these international agreements is fully transformed from words on paper to reality on the ground"

Ms. Migiro urged participants at today's conference to put into practice two earlier recommendations calling on G8 members to enhance the rights of women.

The first calls on G8 members to back programmes that promote women's rights and make information about sexual and reproductive health widely accessible, while the second calls for support for peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations worldwide so as to emphasize security, the protection of civilians and action against sexual and gender-based violence.

"Ending violence against women will not be easy. It will require sustained dedication and collaboration," she said.

While in Rome Ms. Migiro is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican and to hold bilateral discussions with Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and its Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna.

She is also expected to meet with staff from the UN's Rome-based agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Prog ramme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

MIGIRO URGES GREATER EFFORTS TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has pledged the support of the United Nations in ending violence against women, which she said will require adopting new laws, enforcing the ones that exist and working to change the backward mindsets that contribute to this scourge.

"There is still an enormous amount of work ahead," she said, noting that violence against women is everywhere, on every continent, in poor slums and in rich suburbs.

"But if the challenge of ending violence against women remains monumental, it is at least no longer a lonely task," she told European justice ministers yesterday at their meeting in Tromsø, Norway, which focused on breaking the silence of domestic violence.

"More and more leaders around the world are joining the struggle. More and more individuals understand that any abuse of any woman is intolerable," she said.

Ms. Migiro stressed that domestic violence is "especially evil." Surveys from around the world show that half of the women who die from homicides are killed by their current or former husbands or partners.

"They lose their lives to gunshots, beatings, burns and other horrendous forms of abuse," she stated. "This violence is pervasive and its effects are widespread. Not only are individual women victimized, but whole societies suffer major setbacks."

Breaking the silence that contributes to a culture of impunity, and protecting women and girls, will require "adopting new laws, enforcing the ones we have and working tirelessly to change the backward mindsets that condone, excuse or ignore violence committed against women."

She highlighted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE Campaign, which calls on world leaders to spur action through national campaigns and to achieve five key outcomes by 2015.

"By then, we want all countries to have strong laws, action plans, preventive measures and data collection systems. These are the essential elements for stopping and defeating all forms of domestic violence," she stated.

Ms. Migiro added that the Secretary-General had made a personal commitment to this cause since the launching of the campaign, and since then has been using the power of his office to denounce violence against women and children.

She recalled in particular Mr. Ban's recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he spoke to young victims of horrific crimes.

The Deputy Secretary-General also met with a number of ministers and officials in Oslo during her five-day visit to Norway which wrapped up today.
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MEN AND BOYS MUST PLAY THEIR PART IN ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN – BAN

Greater efforts are required worldwide to end violence against women and girls, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, stressing that men and boys in particular must play their part.

"In too many countries, women are still not seen as equals in the eye of the law or the minds of men and boys," Mr. Ban said in a video message to the Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality, held in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. "No country and no culture has fully escaped this prejudice."

"Men must teach each other that real men do not violate or oppress women – and that a woman's place is not just in the home or the field, but in schools and offices and boardrooms," he added.

In February 2008, the Secretary-General kicked off his "UNite to End Violence against Women" campaign – a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.

Stretching from 2008 to 2015, the campaign calls on governments, civil society, women's organizations, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire UN system to work to end this global scourge.

Mr. Ban noted that violence against women is the most obvious and hateful expression of the discrimination they face. But it is not the only one. Inequality exists in the home, in schools, in the workplace and in the halls of power.

"Governments must tell other governments that institutionalized discrimination has no place in our modern world," he stated. "Around the world we need to make a greater effort. And men and boys must play their part.

"Only by working together as men and women can we create more equal and peaceful societies," he added. "Only by being prepared to stand up for fundamental rights can we expect to achieve lasting change."
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