What is the root cause of violence against women?

Ending violence against women is one of the key priorities of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women. UN Women recognises that violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights. It also has tremendous costs for individuals and societies, in the realms of health, justice and security, losses in productivity in the workplace, and the impediment of progress in critical areas such as poverty eradication and combatting HIV and Aids.

UN Women is grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the charter of the United Nations. It works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The UN Women Multi Country Office based in Pretoria operates through country level programming presence and covers the five countries: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho. To enhance the programme’s implementation in the best and most cost-effective manner, the programme works in partnership with UN sister agencies, government counterparts, private sector and nongovernmental organisations. This strengthens UN Women’s ability to bring synergy in programming and maximises the impact on women’s lives.

One aspect of UN Women’s wide-ranging work in the area of gender-based violence is the co-ordination role it plays in the UN secretary-general’s global campaign, UNiTE to End Violence against Women. The UNiTE campaign was launched in 2008, aiming to raise public awareness and increase political will and resources for preventing and ending all forms of violence against women and girls, in all parts of the world. Violence against women and girls is not confined to any political or economic system and it cuts across boundaries of wealth, race and culture.  Therefore a truly global campaign was needed to respond effectively to what many have described as a global pandemic.

Each year on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is commemorated. In more recent years, under the umbrella of the UNiTE campaign, this date kicks off 16 days of Global Activism to end violence against women and girls around the world and with the passing of each year, the campaign is gaining prominence in South Africa.  This is evidenced by the Joint Sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces in Parliament on November 21, which debated the 16 Days of Activism under the theme: “Count me in. Together moving a non-violent South Africa forward”.  

The 16 Days of Activism campaign has special significance this year because it coincides with the preparation for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action — the progressive blueprint for advancing women’s rights developed at the Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995.  Almost 20 years later this document remains a powerful source of guidance and inspiration and hence as the anniversary of its development approaches, it is opportune to reflect on the progress and challenges that still lay ahead in delivering its gender equality vision.  Preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls was one of the 12 critical areas of concern in 1995 and yet it is still a key unresolved issue globally. 

Former deputy-president of South Africa and now UN Women executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka used her global message ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the commencement of the 16 Days of Activism to emphasise that the root cause of violence against women is gender inequality. It is widely accepted that the economic empowerment of women is an essential element in addressing the structural and underlying causes of violence against women and girls, particularly in the long term.  

It is for this reason that a key focus of UN Women’s work is investing in women’s economic empowerment, as this sets a direct path towards gender equality.  While violence against women in the workplace takes place in all professions and sectors, it is particularly prevalent in informal labour settings. Helping women to escape poverty and environments where they are more likely to be exposed to exploitation and abuse is critical, as is ensuring that women and girls have freedom of movement and access to education, work and recreation without the fear of violence.

An example of UN Women’s economic empowerment work in South Africa is the global partnership between UN Women and The Coca-Cola Company, which is designed to promote the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs. In South Africa this programme is being rolled out in partnership with local nongovernment organisation Hand in Hand.  The programme aims to identify and address barriers women entrepreneurs are facing and provide them with business skills, leadership training, mentoring, peer networking skills and access to financial assets.  

With an ambitious target of training a total of 25?000 women entrepreneurs over three years, many of whom are running small retail businesses within the Coca-Cola value chain, already nearly 10?000 women entrepreneurs in the Gauteng and North West province have participated in this programme. These women have received training in business skills such as daily record keeping, marketing and budgeting and have also learned how to develop business plans and understand markets.

Initial results indicate these training programmes have begun to stimulate business growth, with many participants being able to make better-informed decisions about their business. Armed with this knowledge and with their businesses becoming more financially sustainable, these women can positively impact their families and communities and begin to recognise the contribution they make and the power they wield as individuals.

A more global example of UN Women’s approach on linking the issues of gender-based violence and women’s economic empowerment is the recently announced partnership with Soko, an ethical fashion-based social enterprise based in Kenya.  Soko uses online technology to bring jewellery to the global market and this year their artisans have created a pair of handmade bracelets to raise awareness and funds for the UN Trust to End Violence Against Women’s programmes.  

These orange bracelets – the colour chosen by the UNiTE campaign to symbolise a brighter future without violence – have been launched for sale to coincide with this year’s 16 Days of Activism campaign. The purchase of these bracelets contributes toward the economic empowerment of under-privileged artisan communities in Kenya, and 20% of funds received will be donated to the UN Trust Fund, to support the funding of programmes to prevent violence against women and girls around the world.  To find out more visit www.unwomen.org or www.shopsoko.com/UNTF

UN Women believes that without economic and social empowerment it may not be possible for women to realise their rights in other dimensions – freedom from gender-based violence being one obvious example.  Economic empowerment can also provide women with greater social status and drive the social consensus for their political empowerment too. It is this kind of fundamental change to the status quo that is required in South Africa if as a country we are going to reach our full potential.