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Goddess Amani

16-Day Campaign Strategy Against Sexual Violence

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign is one of the longest and most impactful global campaigns for women’s human rights. It was launched in 1991 by 23 feminists from Northern countries (America, Canada, and Europe) and Southern countries (countries from three continents: Asia, Africa, and Latin America) under the leadership of the Global Women’s Leadership Institute, based at Radcliffe College in the United States. The start and end of the 16 Days of Global Activism Against Gender-Based Violence were intended to highlight violence against women as a violation of women’s human rights. The campaign begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ends on December 10, International Human Rights Day. During these 16 days, there are also other global events focused on women’s human rights and combating violence against women, including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and

Over the past 27 years, the aggressor has been present in this campaign from 6,000 women’s organizations and civil institutions, and commendable cultural work has been done at the national and international levels in the field of violence against women. Women’s rights activists and feminists have translated the literature provided by non-governmental organizations and the United Nations in 197 countries during these 27 years into their local languages, and in recent decades, with the help of communication technology and social media, the dimensions of information dissemination on selected topics of this campaign have expanded significantly. I myself have had the opportunity to participate in this campaign every year since 1991 as the manager of the Women’s Coalition Network for Asia and the Middle East, and then as a consultant with the United Nations for the Women’s Cultural Foundation Network, and have witnessed its growth and development up close.

The slogan “Women’s rights are human rights” which today few openly oppose – at least in words – is the result of decades of feminist and women’s human rights activists’ efforts. The 16 Days Campaign, launched two years before the 1993 UN Human Rights Conference in Vienna, aimed to raise public awareness about the connection between violence against women and human rights, which is one of the foundations of international laws. The campaign sought to make it a part of international laws that governments are obligated to address at the Vienna Conference.

A collection of signatures in 23 languages from 124 countries around the world was gathered. In Los Angeles, we were also actively involved in collecting signatures. This collection, along with the groundwork that had been laid for 2 years on a global level, ultimately led to the recognition of violence against women as a violation of women’s human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Conference in Vienna in 1993. It is worth noting that this collection was gathered before the use of email and social media, and many activists were involved in it.

The relentless struggles of feminists and human rights activists, and the process of the Vienna Conference, placed violence against women in the private sphere, which was an issue that governments were not obligated to address, under the umbrella of international conventions and declarations of human rights. The responsibility for addressing this issue was also delegated to governments. One year after the Vienna Conference, the United Nations also established a Special Rapporteur on violence against women.

Evaluation of the Performance of the Achievements of the 16-Day Global Campaign Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

In 2015, 24 years after the start of this campaign, the Global Leadership Center at Ratgers University evaluated this campaign to assess its achievements, experiences, strengths, and weaknesses. During this evaluation process, many activists who have been involved in this campaign for the past 25 years or have collaborated with it were consulted, and questionnaires were completed by numerous active women around the world. This process revealed a fact: despite the positive processes of this campaign in promoting awareness and information about various forms of violence against women, and the important themes that this campaign has prioritized every year, despite the rich literature on the cycle of violence that women experience from childhood to old age, and despite the statistics collected by researchers in various countries during these years and the costs paid by feminists and advocates of gender equality, this campaign has not been able to achieve sustainable and fundamental changes in the field of violence against women. In fact, the radical change that activists hoped for has not been fully realized and, in

New strategies

Over the past 27 years, the 16-day campaign has provided its tools in various languages to activists and their hands have been open to implementing the annual theme of this campaign. This collective movement has been full of power and energy, and the desire of active women for a collective and practical activity with a specific goal for creating change is stronger than ever before.

The 16-day campaign, although it has brought the global issue of violence against women to the forefront alongside other international activities, and today sexual and gender-based violence is accepted as a form of injustice towards women, the impact and track record of change in the field of policies and actions of governments and holders of political and economic power is not significant and they have not been held accountable.

Therefore, the Global Women’s Leadership Center, under the leadership of Krishanti Dharmaraj, in 2018, at the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, announced that the goal of this campaign is to shift the focus from “awareness” to “accountability” of those in positions of power, and in collaboration with the International Labor Organization, intends to draft a new convention on violence against women in the workplace. This convention will be finalized in June 2019 and a campaign will be launched to encourage governments to sign and implement its provisions in various countries around the world.

If the achievement of the first 25 years of the campaign to eliminate violence against women is accepted as a violation of human rights at the Vienna Conference and the promotion of global awareness and education on the dimensions and aspects of violence against women in both private and public spheres, in the real and virtual world, with the drafting of the Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the workplace, those in power, multinational companies, and owners of capital will be held accountable for cases of violence against women in the workplace.

It should be noted that in 2015, the International Labour Organization, an institution that benefits from the tripartite cooperation and participation of governments, employers, and workers’ representatives, focused on developing standards for harassment, abuse, and violence in the workplace.

In June 2018, the International Labour Organization formed a committee to work on drafting the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women in the Workplace through exchange of ideas and consultations at various levels. Women’s rights activists, feminists, and global women’s leadership institutions also actively strive to ensure that discriminatory behaviors and unequal power dynamics, which are the root causes of sexual and gender-based violence, are prominently reflected in the provisions of this convention.

In fact, the majority of efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence in the workplace have been carried out by labor unions and the women’s movement and its pioneers, namely feminists, have not played a key and noticeable role in this area. Now is the time to close this gap and the Global Women’s Leadership Institute intends to take a step towards closing this gap by emphasizing on the human capital of more than 6,000 civil society and women’s organizations around the world, in order to address the issue of sexual and gender-based violence in the workplace.

Some statistics on sexual and gender-based violence in the workplace in America.

• Women are primarily more subjected to violence and murder in the workplace than men. During the years 2007-1997, 321 women were killed by their spouse, boyfriend, or life partner in the workplace. This statistic is in contrast to 39 men who lost their lives at the hands of their spouse, girlfriend, or life partner.

• Violence against women spills over from the private sphere into the public sphere. Workplace injuries also include those caused by violence that has found its way from the private sphere and personal relationships of employed individuals, as well as psychological and emotional injuries and processes of workplace harassment and abuse.

• In 2015, complaints of sexual and gender-based harassment were brought to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), resulting in a cost of $46 million for organizations where the complainants were employed. This amount does not include any payments made to the complainant by court order for sexual harassment.

• The cost for a company (on average) to ignore and neglect cases of sexual harassment is close to 7 million dollars, which includes a decrease in productivity, an unhealthy work environment, employee turnover, absenteeism, and other related issues that result from this indirect process.

• Although there is a lot of coverage in regards to sexual harassment and discrimination in Hollywood and other famous individuals, there are millions of other cases that either go unreported or are not even acknowledged in their workplace. A person whose rights have been violated, especially if they do not hold a high position, can easily be fired or isolated in their workplace. Despite protective laws, these laws are not taken seriously – especially in the private sector and in smaller units.

Therefore, this year, alongside the #MeToo movement, the slogan #HearMeToo has also been raised in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, led by the United Nations with the slogan “Orange the World”, to hear the voices of women who are not in positions of power but are still subjected to discrimination.

Iran

The Iranian government has not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and there is no specific law in Iran regarding sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. As a result, there are numerous challenges in Iran for seeking justice for sexual and gender-based harassment and violence in the workplace.

Those who face harassment and abuse in the workplace could file a complaint with the court based on Article 637 of the old Islamic Penal Code. According to this article, “if there is no adultery, the punishment for the offender is 99 lashes, which is purchasable because it is not a fixed punishment.” In addition, the punishment for sexual assault was execution.

In the drafting of the new Islamic Penal Code, although the definition of sexual assault has been expanded, there has still been no amendment to the classification of crimes. According to the second clause of Article 225 of the new Islamic Penal Code, “if a person has sexual intercourse with a woman who is not willing to commit adultery with him, while she is unconscious, asleep, or intoxicated, his behavior is considered as rape. In cases of rape through deception and seduction of a minor girl, or through abduction, threat, or intimidation of a woman, even if it results in her submission, the above-mentioned ruling still applies.”

One point that is not mentioned in these two laws is violence, harassment, and abuse of women in the workplace. In Iranian laws, there is no provision for occupational protection of victims of sexual and gender-based harassment. On the other hand, if a woman is unable to prove her claim, she is also considered a criminal and is likely to be at risk of job security.

In addition, there is no comprehensive research in Iran on sexual harassment in the workplace. The only limited study that can be mentioned is one conducted on 82 employed women in Tehran, which showed a prevalence of 75% for sexual harassment.

Female workers, especially those who work in small workshops with less than 10 employees and are not under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor, are the most vulnerable victims of sexual harassment and abuse due to their economic and social status. Additionally, the dominant culture in Iranian society often punishes women who speak out, causing them to face even more harassment and abuse, which can affect their lives even outside of the workplace.

Furthermore, in line with other countries in the world and the overall trend in the global community, sexual and gender-based harassment and violence in the private sector is more prevalent than in government sectors; although in Iran, as long as those in power are involved, everything will be kept silent.

With hope for a world where justice, dignity, and human rights are respected for women.

Notes:

1. Mahvash, Fathi, Women and the New Islamic Punishment Law, Mehrkhaneh, 21 Ordibehesht 1392 (May 11, 2013)

2. Abuzari, Mehrnoush and Fazeli, Marjan, a look at the existing laws on sexual harassment, Sepideh Danayi Magazine, 1394 (2015).

3. For more information, go to: Kinderab, Caroline, Ending Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Requires a Global Convention.

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   World Economic Forum, December 6, 2018

4. روابط جنسی

   For more information, refer to: Violence, Harassment, and Sexual Abuse, Sexual Relationships.

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   Workplace reaction