Ipas observes "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence"

Every 18 seconds, a woman somewhere in the world suffers abuse or maltreatment. Photo courtesy of IndexOpen.

This stunning statistic was pointed out recently by Spain’s Elena Salgado, president of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual health assembly. And, according to WHO’s first multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence, one in six women worldwide has been abused in the place where she should be safest: her own home.

Ipas knows that gender-based violence can have deep impacts on a woman’s reproductive health. Pregnant women are often battered; a woman who’s abused by her partner may not be allowed to use contraceptive methods, such as condoms; and she may be forced into unwanted pregnancies and therefore be more likely to consider unsafe abortion.

Ipas and nongovernmental organizations worldwide are observing the global campaign, “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.” The campaign began Nov. 25, also the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and will end on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day.

Sexual violence against women and adolescent girls is a particular priority for Ipas’s offices in Latin America. There, violence from an intimate partner is common yet the victims often have little legal recourse. In Bolivia, for instance, a rapist can escape prosecution if he marries his victim.

As part of Ipas’s 16 Days activities, Ipas President Elizabeth Maguire, Ipas Brazil Director Leila Adesse and Virginia Chambers, director of Ipas’s Latin American and Caribbean programs attended the Interprofessional Forum on Violence Against Women and the Implementation of Legal Abortion Services in Rio de Janiero. As part of the forum, they joined dialogue about expansion of services for sexual-violence survivors and how to support a bill to liberalize abortion laws in Brazil.

Other events in which Ipas’s Latin American and Caribbean staff played a role include:

• the launch in Bolivia of the Vice-Ministry of Women’s Affairs new care protocols for sexual violence.
• in Nicaragua, a march to the National Assembly; a national forum on HIV/AIDS and violence; and a neighborhood dialogue about violence in the home and media.
• presentations of the Comprehensive Model of Care for Intra-Family and Sexual Violence in three states in Mexico.

For Ipas, this campaign presents the opportunity to reflect on both our accomplishments and the path we face to ensure women of the region — and the world — can truly exercise their sexual and reproductive rights in an environment that is free of violence.


---

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258

---