Celebrating Feminists’ Voices, Inspiring Global Peace

Introducing… 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence

24 November 2012

Whether we find ourselves in times of conflict or peace, militarism impacts us all and continues to be a source of violence, particularly for women. This is especially true in regards to domestic violence, which is drastically exacerbated by the proliferation of small arms.

This year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign highlights the linkages between gender-based violence and militarism through our Campaign theme, From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Gender-Based Violence! Coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University, the 16 Days Campaign serves as a global advocacy campaign to increase awareness about gender-based violence and call on governments to respond, protect, and prevent such violence. To date over 4,100 organizations in 172 countries have participated in the Campaign.

16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign logo

Campaign priority areas include: (i) the role of state actors as perpetrators of gender-based violence; (ii) sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings; and (iii) the proliferation of small arms and their role in domestic violence.

Violence from small arms is everywhere and supported by a culture of militarism that makes their presence acceptable. There are approximately 875 million small arms in circulation today, 75% of which are in the hands of private individuals, mostly men, and stored in homes. Small arms are much more likely to be used to intimidate and/or physically injure family members than be used against an outside intruder. In fact, research shows that having a small arm in the home increases the overall risk of murder by 41% and for women in particular the risk nearly triples. Worldwide, approximately 60 percent of all violent deaths are committed with firearms, representing about 245,000 firearms deaths per year.

Moreover, for every woman killed or physically injured by firearms, many more are threatened.  For example, according to a 2007 study from Montenegro, of 1500 women seeking assistance from women’s shelters, 90% were threatened with small arms by their partners.  Similarly, following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Port-au-Prince saw an increase in the number of sexual violence against women and girls at gunpoint.

This year’s 16 Days Campaign provides us the opportunity to take action to dismantle the systems that support the proliferation of small arms and the violence they perpetuate:

  • Advocate: Disarm perpetrators of domestic violence, and advocate for domestic violence laws that require the removal of guns.
  • Treat domestic violence as a serious crime, and protect and support women who report it.
  • Train law enforcement officials to address armed intimate partner and family violence sensitively, effectively and lawfully.

For the 2012 16 Days Campaign, CWGL joins WILPF—and women’s and peace groups across the globe—in challenging militarism, ending gender-based violence, and promoting a culture of peace.

WILPF International will be bringing 16 journals to you – a new one every day of the campaign, beginning tomorrow.

By Julie Ann Salthouse, Program Coordinator on Violence Against Women, Center for Women’s Global Leadership

Check out the WILPF International website daily for the chance to read a journal entry. These will be from a variety of sources, ranging from our Sections around the world, to our programmes Reaching Critical Will and PeaceWomen, and experts in the field of gender based violence.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

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