House of Commons - Violence Against Women and Girls - International Development Committee

Violence Against Women and Girls - International Development Committee Contents

4 Prioritising violence against women and girls in humanitarian and conflict settings

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56. As part of its increased focus on violence against women and girls, DFID has paid particular attention to gender-based violence within humanitarian and conflict settings. The UK Government has made sexual violence in conflict a key issue during its 2013 presidency of the G8. This chapter will assess both DFID, and wider UK Government, efforts in this area, and will ask how effectively Whitehall departments are collaborating on the issue.

Violence against women and girls in humanitarian contexts

57. There is evidence that rates of violence against women and girls are particularly high in situations of armed conflict and humanitarian crises. Women and girls are at high risk of physical, sexual and emotional violence from regular soldiers, non-regular armed groups and militia, strangers, neighbours and family members. These risks are often compounded by the breakdown in structures of authority, disruption to service delivery, displacement and the rupture of families and communities and their coping strategies. Rape and sexual violence are also used systematically as a tactic of war. Although there is no comprehensive data on the extent of sexual violence in conflict, it is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped during the Bosnian War, and that 200,000 Congolese women have been raped since 1998. Around 400,000 women were raped during the 100-day Rwandan genocide in 1994. Although there is now international legal recognition of rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity, including in the statute of the International Criminal Court, prosecutions remain low. For example, there have only been 30 convictions for the up to 50,000 rapes perpetrated during the Bosnian war.[86]

58. Sexual violence has wide-ranging negative consequences for individual women and girls including physical trauma and disease (including HIV/AIDS), psychological trauma, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion, reduced school attendance, isolation and further abuse. It can also rupture family and community bonds and prevent women and girls from contributing to their families, communities and societies. Finally, where services are available, there are costs associated with providing various services to survivors of violence—healthcare, psychosocial support, shelter, economic support, justice and legal services. Boys and men are also, of course, affected by sexual violence, in some cases because they are direct victims, in other cases because they witness sexual violence against women in their families and communities.[87] As we noted following our visits to DRC (2011) and Afghanistan (2012), high levels of violence against women and girls and the conditions for conflict go together. Recent research has found that countries which have high levels of violence against women and girls (including, for example, domestic violence and female infanticide) are more likely to experience armed conflict than those which do not. In fact, levels of violence of against women were found to be a better predictor of state insecurity than factors such as levels of democracy or national wealth.[88]

59. Since 2000, the UN Security Council has had a Resolution in place on women, peace and security (UNSCR 1325). The UK has recently developed a tri-departmental National Action Plan (NAP) to help support the implementation of UNSCR 1325, and to strengthen the UK's ability to reduce the impact of conflict on women and girls and to promote their inclusion in conflict resolution.[89] Witnesses argued that, whilst the NAP represented significant progress in enshrining international commitments into national policy, accountability mechanisms were weak and there was still a significant implementation gap. Amnesty International told us "The lack of reporting against indicators and a lack of time frames makes it difficult to assess whether the NAP is on course for completion at the end of its three year period".[90] Chitra Nagarajan, Director of Gender Action for Peace and Security, said the NAP must not "remain in a nice document in London" but must be "integrated into the job descriptions of members of staff, performance indicators, and also into the work that is being done in-country".[91]

DFID AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN HUMANITARIAN AND CONFLICT SETTINGS

60. DFID has worked for a number of years to address violence against women and girls in conflict settings and re-stated its commitment to this in the 2011 Humanitarian Emergency Response Review. On 4 March 2013, the Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, delivered a speech pledging a "new focus on girls and women's rights", in which she committed to launch an international Call to Action to address violence against women and girls in humanitarian situations, with a Summit in the autumn of 2013 that would "bring agencies, donors and advocates together to make sure that we up our game".[92]

61. Witnesses to this inquiry welcomed this announcement.[93] However, they stressed that it would be important for DFID to work on all forms of violence that women and girls suffer in conflict and humanitarian situations, rather than solely focusing on sexual violence.[94] There is evidence to suggest that intimate partner violence, child abuse, and rates of child marriage often increase in humanitarian and conflict-affected situations.[95] A recent International Rescue Committee report on Syria notes that—as well as sexual violence—there have been accounts of women trading sex for food and desperate families selling their girls into early marriage to reduce household numbers or pay rent, and that domestic violence in refugee communities is also often exacerbated by the economic stress and poor living conditions.[96] Accordingly, experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that DFID should "broaden its focus from conflict-related sexual violence to include the full range of gender-based abuses that displaced women and women in conflict experience".[97]

62. It has also been suggested that the high-level focus on sexual violence in conflict areas can result in inadequate funding for addressing violence against women and girls elsewhere. For example, it has been argued that, in the DRC, the dominant focus on sexual violence in the conflict-affected East has led to a lack of policies and resources focused on the high levels of violence against women and girls perpetrated in the rest of the country.[98] Witnesses also said that more of DFID's funding should be targeted towards tackling the root causes of violence against women and girls in humanitarian and conflict settings—notably gender inequality and discriminatory social norms—as well as on responding to survivor needs.[99] It was also stressed that integrating programming to address violence against women and girls into the response to humanitarian emergencies had the added benefit of helping to empower women to be part of efforts to rebuild their communities.[100]

63. We welcome the Secretary of State for International Development's Call to Action to address violence against women and girls in humanitarian situations, and her decision to hold a summit in Autumn 2013. There is emerging evidence that tolerance of violence against women and girls makes countries more prone to conflict. This makes tackling the acceptance of violence against women and girls all the more important. We repeat our earlier recommendation that DFID significantly increase its focus on social norms. Further, whilst the focus on sexual violence in conflict is important, it must also be recognised that women and girls also suffer from many other forms of violence in conflict and humanitarian settings—including higher rates of intimate partner violence, child abuse, and child marriage. DFID should ensure that any new programming resulting from its Call to Action is sufficiently broad to include the full range of abuses that women and girls experience in crisis settings and that it addresses prevention in addition to response, by tackling the root causes of violence—including underlying gender inequalities and discriminatory social norms.

LIFESAVING SERVICES FOR WOMEN

64. Despite knowledge that levels of violence against women and girls are high in emergency situations, and the existence of international guidelines stating that it is a core protection issue, several witnesses stressed that violence against women and girls was generally not prioritised as part of lifesaving humanitarian response in emergencies.[101] Following rape, women need a range of specific and immediate responses including treatment for injuries, HIV prevention drugs, emergency contraception and counselling. They also need specialist support to access justice and economic support.[102]

65. Furthermore, where populations have been displaced, it is important to engage in early preventative work (for example, location of water and sanitation facilities, firewood patrols, distributing stoves, creating safe spaces), which can make a big difference to the security risks faced by women and girls. The International Rescue Committee told us that its research across five emergencies found that violence against women and girls accounted for only 1-4% of requested funding in each.[103] We were especially shocked to hear that refugee camps recently constructed by UN agencies in Mali fell short of very basic benchmarks for safeguarding women, such as lockable latrines and safe access to firewood.[104] It is therefore a positive first step that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has committed to comprehensive gender-based violence programmes in 24 situations by 2014.[105]

66. Marie Stopes International agreed that ensuring an effective, integrated response to violence against women and girls and providing effective sexual and reproductive health rights services were key neglected areas in emergency contexts. They, along with several other witnesses, urged DFID urgently to take action in this area. For example, Kerry Smith of Plan UK told us

What we would like to see is a real commitment from [DFID], saying, "Along with those shelter, health and food specialists on that first plane, there will also be gender-based violence specialists and child protection specialists. We value it at that level; we see it as a lifesaving intervention." That message coming from DFID, as such a significant donor in the humanitarian setting, would be very useful.[106]

However, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) commented that understanding of why and how responses to and prevention of violence against women and girls needed to be prioritised as a lifesaving measure in emergencies was still weak across DFID—including at the country level and with humanitarian advisers.[107] They said that this should be a priority area for change for DFID.

67. Sir John Holmes, ex-UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and IRC Board Member, told us that DFID should use its leverage with multilateral aid agencies—particularly UNHCR, the World Food Programme and UNICEF—to change their approach to violence against women and girls:[108]

He who pays the piper calls the tune. If donors come and say to an agency, "This is what we want you to do", and implicitly or explicitly say, "and if you do not do it, you will not get as much money as you did before", that works. […] If there was one single thing that DFID should do […] it is to insist, when they are dealing with UN agencies, NGOs and so on in their funding decisions, that they will not fund unless [violence against women and girls], is a priority in their programmes […] there should be reporting on what they have done to address this.[109]

Similarly, in written evidence the IRC recommended that the UK Government should "routinely ask multilaterals to report back on how they are tackling violence against women and girls as part of their monitoring frameworks".[110] They said that under DFID's 2011 Multilateral Aid Review (MAR), "very few" partners were assessed on gender, "let alone their commitment to preventing and responding to violence against women and girls".[111] When we put this to DFID, it agreed that violence against women and girls had not been assessed in the 2011 MAR, but said it would be included in the next review.[112]

68. The IRC recommended that DFID should make gender and violence against women and girls priority issues in the reform of several UN agencies. They further recommended that addressing violence against women and girls and accountability to gender-based violence guidelines should be key criteria for DFID when channelling and disbursing humanitarian funds, including via pooled funds.[113]Similarly, Marie Stopes recommended that the UK work with the UN humanitarian coordination system, including the Consolidated Appeals Process, to ensure greater priority was given to humanitarian programmes that enabled the provision of sexual and reproductive health services.[114]

69. Levels of violence against women and girls, especially sexual violence, are particularly high during humanitarian emergencies. Yet the evidence shows that—despite international guidelines—vital preventative and emergency responses to violence against women and girls are not accorded enough priority by donors at the onset of humanitarian crises. DFID must make tackling violence against women and girls a central part of its humanitarian programming, highlighting the importance of focusing on violence against women and girls in the immediate onset of an emergency, and advocating the delivery of lifesaving services (such as sexual and reproductive healthcare) to survivors of violence as well as preventative measures such as safely situated water and sanitation facilities, firewood patrols, distributing stoves and the creation of safe spaces.

70. DFID must also get tough with multilateral aid agencies which, we hear, continue to ignore basic measures for safeguarding women in refugee camps and other displacement sites. DFID must send a clear message to the major relief agencies that its funding of them is contingent on violence against women and girls being pushed to the top of the list of emergency measures in crisis response. DFID should also include gender and violence against women and girls as key strategic priorities for the reform processes of UN humanitarian and relief agencies. We recommend that accountability to gender-based violence guidelines should be key criteria for DFID when channelling and disbursing humanitarian funds, including via pooled funds. We recommend that DFID include violence against women and girls in its next multilateral aid review.

THE PREVENTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE INITIATIVE

71.  The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) was announced by Foreign Secretary Rt Hon William Hague MP in 2012 (for details see Box 4). The Initiative aims to increase the number of perpetrators brought to justice, and support states' capacity to prosecute acts of sexual violence committed during conflict. Its activities include the deployment of 73 multi-disciplinary experts overseas to support efforts to gather evidence and testimony that can be used in investigations and prosecutions. The first deployment—to Syria's borders to train local health professionals in how to respond to reports of sexual violence—took place in December 2012. So far, deployments have also been made to Bosnia-Herzegovina and to Libya. Further deployments are planned to eastern DRC, to Mali, and South Sudan.[115] The PSVI is part of wider engagement on sexual violence in conflict during the UK Presidency of the G8. This includes a proposed new international protocol on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in conflict—aimed at improving the evidence base for prosecutions—which we understand the UK hopes to raise at the UN Security Council in June (when it holds the presidency of the Council), and at the UN General Assembly in September.

Box 4: The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI)

-  The PSVI was launched by the Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon William Hague MP, in May 2012.
-  It aims to increase the number of perpetrators brought to justice, and support states' capacity to prosecute acts of sexual violence committed during conflict.
-  Its activities include the deployment of 73 multi-disciplinary experts overseas to support efforts to gather evidence and testimony that can be used in investigations and prosecutions.
-  The experts include police, lawyers, psychologists, doctors, forensic experts, gender-based violence experts and experts in the care and protection of survivors and witnesses. They will also provide training and mentoring to national authorities and work with grassroots and human rights organisations.
-  The PSVI has been a part of the G8 Agenda for 2013. A 'Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict' was adopted by G8 Foreign Ministers on 11 April 2013.

72. On 10-11 April 2013, G8 foreign ministers endorsed the declaration on preventing sexual violence in conflict. They confirmed that rape and other forms of serious sexual violence in armed conflict were war crimes and constituted "grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions". The UK Government announced a further £10 million (£5 million each from FCO and DFID). The DFID allocation was part of the Research and Innovation Fund on violence against women and girls. DFID said the money would "fund work in up to five countries, looking at what drives and causes violence against women and girls in emergency and conflict settings".[116]

Scope of the PSVI

73. Evidence to the inquiry broadly welcomed the PSVI as an opportunity for the UK Government to put violence against women and girls high on the G8 agenda. However, many organisations expressed concerns about its narrow focus. First, there was a concern that (despite the title), the main focus of efforts was on response not prevention.[117] Secondly, in terms of response, Christian Aid questioned the emphasis on increasing investigations and prosecutions through the formal system, rather than on delivering comprehensive services to support survivors and women's access to justice more widely (including through informal systems).[118] The Gender and Development Network pointed to evidence that unless women have sustained support (legal, economic and psychosocial)—and protection from potential backlash—cases will be dropped.[119] Thirdly, there is a concern that the initiative might compound the growing disconnect between work on sexual violence in conflict and work on violence against women and girls more generally—including tackling the root causes of violence, recognising diverse forms of violence against women and girls in conflict settings, and understanding the links between violence against women and girls in pre-, post- and non-conflict settings.[120]

74. When we put these concerns to DFID Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lynne Featherstone MP, she said that the PSVI was "upping the ante" on violence against women and girls generally, and that the discussions it generated with developing country governments went beyond sexual violence in conflict to encompass wider concerns relating to violence against women and girls.[121]

75. We welcome the Foreign Secretary's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative. As the Initiative progresses from its initial inception phase, we recommend a broadening in scope to include: first, more emphasis on prevention (rather than response); secondly, a greater focus on survivor support services in addition to work on formal investigations and prosecutions; and finally, ensuring a link to wider work on different forms of violence against women and girls, addressing root causes of violence. We recommend that, in the Government's Response to this report, it sets out how it might broaden the Initiative in the future to include these points.

ACCESS TO JUSTICE

76. Access to justice is not just about prosecutions but about supporting women to access justice. If the PSVI is to be successful, it will be necessary for it to provide this support and help build confidence in the justice system. If victims do not have confidence that the justice system will provide them with support, safety and justice then they are unlikely to make the decision to report an offence.[122] DFID has pledged to provide access for 10 million women by 2015.[123] DFID supports projects such as the UN Women-run Security and Justice for Women programme (US$3.4m, 2011-14) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The project supports Palestinian women's victims' access to justice by setting up a system of specialised professionals, including from the judicial and security sectors, capable of dealing with violence against women and girls from a gender perspective and in accordance with rule of law.[124] ActionAid suggested that the work of the PSVI could help with DFID's work on justice, as could the forthcoming DFID publication of a Theory of Change on using security and justice programming to tackle violence against women and girls.[125] Access to justice is vital for women and girls suffering violence, including access to legal advice. We credit DFID for seeking to provide access to justice for 10 million women by 2015. The PSVI has concentrated on prosecutions, but in addition it is important to talk about ways of facilitating women's access to justice. We urge the UK Government to ensure that the PSVI supports women to access justice as well as increasing prosecutions. We look forward to the forthcoming publication of DFID's Theory of Change on using security and justice programming to tackle violence against women and girls, and recommend this document spells out in detail DFID's approach to this crucial workstream.

Cross-departmental co-ordination on the PSVI

77. Ministers have stated that DFID has an important role to play in the PSVI.[126] A DFID member of staff has been seconded to the PSVI team since August 2012. The project team is supported by a cross-Whitehall working group that meets monthly, which is in turn overseen by an external Steering Group which pulls together what the FCO terms a "broad base of expertise" on preventing sexual violence in conflict.[127] However, the Associate Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security stated that, "it remains unclear how DFID fits into the initiative".[128] Womankind said it was uncertain how communication and joint-working between the departments "is happening in practice".[129] Witnesses felt it was important for the Government to articulate DFID's role so that the initiative capitalised on DFID's expertise on tackling violence against women and girls. They stressed that this was especially important if a holistic approach to addressing violence—addressing root causes and social norms—was to be achieved.[130] Also, as Sir John Holmes highlighted, it is DFID that is responsible for providing services on the ground:

The Foreign Office can highlight or spearhead this kind of initiative, but the services on the ground are not their job, and will not be their job. […] DFID will have to run with the consequence of it, and run with the practical projects, programming and funding on the ground over the long term.[131]

In order to assist co-ordination, Amnesty International recommended that DFID "adequately resource [PSVI work] it in all its operational plans and strategies for countries affected by violent conflict".[132] Save the Children suggested that it would be helpful if DFID could take the lead on convening a donor meeting on sexual violence as a follow-up to the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in April.[133] We asked the FCO Senior Minister of State, Baroness Warsi, about cross-departmental co-ordination on the PSVI. She said she was confident that there was sufficient "buy-in" to the PSVI from across UK Government departments to ensure it was a priority "right to the end of this Government".[134]

78. It is imperative that the UK Government stands by its commitment to sustain momentum on the PSVI beyond the 2013 G8 Presidency. However, to be taken forward effectively, the Initiative must include a clearer articulation of DFID's role so that the Department's expertise is fully utilised. The FCO, whilst providing admirable leadership, does not have the mandate or knowledge to undertake programming to address violence against women and girls and delivery of women's services on the ground—it is DFID that possesses this expertise. We anticipate that the DFID Secretary of State's recent 'Call to Action' and her planned autumn summit on violence against women and girls in humanitarian settings will provide opportunities for embedding the PSVI within DFID's work. We recommend that, in its response, the Government spell out specific details of DFID's future involvement in the PSVI, including details of budgets and staffing.

THE ROLE OF PEACEKEEPERS

79. Tackling violence against women and girls via peacekeeping operations is an important route to addressing gender-based violence in conflict settings.[135] Evidence we received recommended that the UK Government should continue to lobby at the UN for peacekeepers to be properly trained in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls,[136] and for any peacekeepers that commit abuses to be held to account.[137] Tearfund recommended that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) should strengthen the training provided to British personnel on violence against women and girls.[138] Chitra Nagarajan of Gender Action on Peace and Security (GAPS) recommended that peacekeepers consult with women in communities about the nature of threats. She said the deployment of an all-female contingent of peacekeepers in Liberia had worked well because women felt more able to come and talk to them about threats to their personal security.[139] Baroness Warsi said that the proper training of peacekeeping missions had been emphasised by the PSVI. She agreed that it would be "positive" for the UK to be involved in training peacekeeping troops.[140] We recommend that the UK Government continue to lobby at the UN for peacekeepers to be properly trained in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, and for any peacekeepers that commit abuses to be held to account. Further, we believe that the UK should also strengthen the training on violence against women and girls it provides its own troops, and to the peacekeeping forces that the MOD helps train. In the reply to this report, the Government should state what steps the Secretary of State for Defence is taking to deliver effective training in respect of violence against women and girls.

ABORTIONS FOR WOMEN RAPED IN CONFLICT

80. Girls and women raped in situations of armed conflict are considered the "wounded and sick" with inalienable rights to non-discriminatory medical care under the Geneva Conventions. However, because the restrictions placed on the use of aid for purposes of abortion by a number of major donors—most notably the US—humanitarian services often exclude providing abortions to girls and women raped in armed conflict.

81. In a recent debate in the House of Lords, Baroness Northover, Lead Spokesperson for DFID in the House of Lords, stated:

Parties to an armed conflict are obliged to provide all wounded and sick victims of armed conflict with humane treatment. To the extent practicable and with the least possible delay, they are obliged to provide the medical care and attention required by the given condition without discrimination except on medical grounds. This includes appropriate life-saving medical care which, in our view, may include the provision of abortion to women raped in conflict if it is deemed medically necessary.[141]

However, the NGO Global Justice Center (GJC) told us that this statement recognising the special rights of women raped in war under humanitarian law has yet to be incorporated into the relevant DFID policies. It told us this included the "Safe and unsafe abortion" Practice Paper, which limits the provision of DFID support for abortion services strictly to situations where abortion is legal under national law.[142] GJC said:

In order better to support programming to address violence against women and girls in humanitarian aid, DFID should issue a clear policy statement on abortion and war victims to supplement existing policy statements, which makes clear that the right to abortion for girls and women raped in armed conflict is protected under international humanitarian law (IHL) and is not subject to national laws on abortions. Such a policy should require that DFID-funded medical programs in humanitarian settings inform girls and women raped and impregnated in armed conflict of their rights under IHL including their right to abortion as a component of non-discriminatory medical care.[143]

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) focused their appeal on the US Government, who they said must "treat women and girls impregnated by war rape without discrimination and provide them with complete medical services including safe abortion when medically necessary".[144]

82. Certain donor agencies continue to restrict the use of their funds for the purposes of abortions for women raped during conflict. DFID has stated that the lifesaving care promised under the Geneva Conventions may sometimes include the provision of abortions to women raped in conflict if deemed medically necessary. However, this position has yet to be incorporated into the relevant DFID policies. We recommend that DFID issue a clear policy statement spelling out the extent and limits of its support for abortion for women raped in war. We also recommend that DFID engage in serious dialogue with donors that restrict the use of their funds for abortion—notably the US Government—to ensure that women raped in humanitarian conflict settings can access the services they need, including abortion. DFID should work with its counterparts in the US, and with agencies affected by the US ban, such as the ICRC, to ensure that women raped in humanitarian conflict settings can access the services they need, including abortion.

86 https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/a-new-focus-on-girls-and-womens-rights Back

87 Carpenter (2006). 'Recognizing Gender-Based Violence Against Civilian Men and Boys in Conflict Situations', Security Dialogue, 83-103. Back

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89 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is a landmark international legal framework, agreed in 2000, that recognised the gendered dimensions of conflict-that women and men, boys and girls experience different impacts from conflict and have different needs, and that this had implications for global peace and security. In 2004, the Secretary-General called on Member States to develop National Action Plans to ensure implementation of the Resolution. Twenty-two countries have now done this, including the UK. The FCO, DFID and MOD are equal partners in developing and implementing the National Action Plan. The UK NAP is being reviewed during 2013. Back

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92 Justine Greening, 'A new focus on girls and women's rights', speech at Amnesty International, 4 March 2013 Back

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