Almost 70% of women suffer from domestic violence in Ukraine

According to the Kyiv Health Center, 35-50% of women get to hospitals with physical injuries as victims of domestic tyranny.68% of Ukrainian women are subject to bullying in the family. They suffer from domestic violence more often than from robberies, rapes and car accidents. combined.

According to the City State Administration, over nine months of the year, 5,123 women, victims of domestic violence, approached various bodies and establishments of Kyiv for help. At the same time, a part of the affected women does not apply to the police due to the fear of publicity and revenge. 

See http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=148&listid=134198 for more information. 

16-day campaign against gender violence kicks off in Ukraine

The annual All-Ukrainian Campaign ‘16 Days against Gender Violence’ kicks off today to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

 

A press release from the EU Delegation to Ukraine said the campaign would continue for the next ten days until December 10, following a yearly tradition.  

 

As part of the campaign, the EU-funded ‘Equal Opportunities and Women’s Rights in Ukraine Programme’ is organising a number of activities in the Ukrainian media, including a wide-scale information campaign with day TV shows series Easy To Be A Woman.

A press conference with the Minister of Family, Youth and Sports earlier this week highlighted the joint activity of the Government of Ukraineand international organizations, including the EU Delegation and the UN Office in Ukraine,on the elimination of this problem, as well as about specific activities of the Campaign in 2010.

 

A series of TV shows on domestic violence and its elimination have been organised jointly with the National TV Company of Ukraine and are being aired between 22 and 26 November on the First National Channel, the press release said, including a programme list for the shows.

 

The EU is at the forefront of the struggle to end violence against women, supporting third countries in their efforts to counter what is “probably the most widespread human rights violation of our time”, High Representative Catherine Ashton said today in a statement marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

 

Promotion and protection of women’s rights figures highly in EU external policy, an EC press release said. It is systematically discussed between the EU and its partner countries, in particular in the context of EU human rights dialogues and consultations, and dedicated Sub-Committees on democracy and human rights. EU Guidelines prioritise women's rights in EU human rights policy in third countries and provide guidance on the way the EU reacts to specific individual cases of human rights violations. (ENPI Info Centre)

 

see http://enpi-info.eu/maineast.php?id=23310&id_type=1&lang_id=450 for more information.

United Nations Elects Executive Board of New Agency for Women’s Empowerment

Member States today took the next step in enabling the newly-created United Nations agency on gender equality and women’s empowerment to begin its work by electing countries to serve on its Executive Board.

The elections, held in the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), will enable the new Board to come together prior to the official establishment on 1 January 2011 of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

The 41 board members were selected on the following basis: 10 from Africa, 10 from Asia, 4 from Eastern Europe, 6 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 5 from Western Europe and 6 from contributing countries.

Elected from the African Group were Angola, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Lesotho, Libya, Nigeria and Tanzania.

Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Republic of Korea and Timor-Leste were elected from among the Asian States.

Estonia, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine were elected from among the Eastern European States, while Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Sweden were elected from the Western European and Other States.

In addition, the Council elected Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada and Peru from the group of Latin American and Caribbean States.

The Council also elected Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Kingdom and United States from among the “contributing countries,” for three-year terms beginning today.

The 35 members elected from the regional groups will serve two-year and three-years, beginning today, as determined by the drawing of lots.

Chosen to serve two-year terms were Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, El Salvador, Estonia, France, India, Italy, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Tanzania and Timor-Leste.

Angola, Cape Verde, China, Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Grenada, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Korea, Sweden and Ukraine were selected to serve three-year terms.

Headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, UN Women is the merger of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI), and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).

The new agency was established on 2 July by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly to oversee all of the world body’s programmes aimed at promoting women’s rights and their full participation in global affairs. One of its goals will be to support the Commission on the Status of Women and other inter-governmental bodies in devising policies.

It will also aim to help Member States implement standards, provide technical and financial support to countries which request it, and forge partnerships with civil society. Within the UN, it will hold the world body accountable for its own commitments on gender equality.

In carrying out its functions, UN Women will be working with an annual budget of at least $500 million — double the current combined resources of the four agencies it comprises.

Reprinted from UN News.