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Advocacy News
Combating Violence Against Girls - Report from the International Conference on Violence Against the Girl Child
Catherine E. Moore, Coordinator of IFUW UN Team Coordinator in New York, represented IFUW at the International Conference on Violence Against the Girl Child in The Hague, Netherlands, 9-10 March 2009. Catherine's full reports on the conference is available here.
Background
The UN Secretary-General’s study on Violence against Children (2006), by Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, served as a reference for the conference. The aim of the conference was a practical follow-up to the report by demonstrating how its recommendations can be effectively implemented. The studies showed that girls are especially vulnerable to all forms of violence. Every year, millions of girls are aborted or killed shortly after birth simply because their families are unable to pay for their upbringing and dowry. Often, girls do not go to school but are made to contribute to the household budget. They are more likely than boys to be sold or married off at a young age. Where money is available for health care, it is more often spent on boys than on girls. More background information can be found on the conference website.
Action
The conference called all governments to take a leading role in combating violence against girls suggesting multi-stakeholder partnerships with government, civil society, international organisations, media and corporate businesses working together. Best practices were discussed with innovative ideas, such as creating child help lines and safe spaces where girls can learn about their rights. The conference “poster-child”, Nujood Mohammed Ali ,was taken as an example. Ten years of age, aware of her rights, she went to court and filed for divorce after years of abuse and rape by her husband.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen urged for the timely appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Children (VAC), an request which was already included in Professor Pinheiro’s Report, 2006. In addition, a
contribution of 700,000 Euros was made by the Netherlands for the purpose of establishing a
database within the United Nations (New York) containing information on Violence Against Women (VAW) and examples from all over the world of best practices in tackling it. For more actions, read Catherine's report or check out outcomes document on Wunrn.org.
IFUW and the Girl Child
IFUW has created a Working Group on the Girl Child which is preparing an inventory of NFA best practices that empower girls and lead them to higher education. It is also looking at strategies to encourage and assist NFAs in promoting the ratification and implementation of UN conventions and optional protocols dealing with the Girl Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). For more information, please email the
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