Press Center Hot Topic
Worldwide, women and girls are at increased risk of certain forms of violent oppression because of their gender. Despite laws against trafficking, rape and illegal property seizure, women are disproportionately victimized by these crimes and often find little recourse in the devastating aftermath. But when women can rely on their local justice systems for protection of the law, their vulnerability to gender-based violence is dramatically reduced. Read on to learn how IJM’s mission to make public justice systems work for the poor combats gender-based violence.
Q: What is gender-based violence? HB: Gender-based violence is the term used to encompass a whole category of crimes that are often committed against women and girls. Sexual violence is the most important category of these crimes, but these crimes are not limited to sexual violence. For example, property expropriation from widows in countries where women’s right to inherit is not secure – it’s a crime based on their powerlessness because of their gender. Q: So why does gender-based violence persist in the face of laws that make these crimes illegal?  Trafficked women and girls exit a brothel in India during an IJM operation in collaboration with local government officials. In 2007, IJM facilitated the rescue of over 200 girls and trafficked women. Right now, in much of the world, you just don’t have the numbers of predictable consequence with a serious punishment and penalty for these violent crimes against women and girls to deter it, in spite of laws on the books. Q: What can be done to protect women and girls who are particularly vulnerable to oppression? HB: At IJM, we are working to begin to change the calculation for perpetrators. We are working with local officials to create predictable prosecutions, convictions and jail time for sexual violence, for sex trafficking, for illegal property seizure – all of which are forms of gender-based violence. We hope to see a new calculation that has to be taken into consideration by would-be perpetrators – the very real possibility of going to jail for something that is so common now that it barely elicits a response. Q: Aside from a strong record of persecutor prosecution, what else is necessary to combat these types of crimes? HB: There is also a huge need for enhanced police training, prosecutor training, and, very importantly, growth in forensic capacity, so that you have trained medical doctors, nurses and technicians as well as police doctors who have the information and the supplies needed to get a proper forensic diagnosis of sexual violence against women and children. Q: What does a lack of forensic capacity look like as it relates to actual cases?  12-year-old Rhonda* was raped at knifepoint while walking through a field to her grandmother’s house. Her grandmother pleaded with police to investigate but received no response. In Kenya’s overburdened legal system, victims of sexual violence like Rhonda face major systemic obstacles to justice. Through an IJM intervention, Rhonda’s rapist was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Today, Rhonda is doing well in school and working hard to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. Take the case of Kenya. In Kenya about 70 percent of our lawyers’ casework is devoted to child victims of sexual violence and rape. Successful prosecution of these cases is very much dependent — not 100 percent, but very much dependent — on a proper medical documentation that the rape has occurred. And there is exactly one medical official who has been designated by the Kenyan authorities to be the proper person to do an examination and fill out a form, about not just rape cases but any violent crime in the city of Nairobi – a city of three million people. Understandably, this person is overloaded and can’t possibly meet these demands. And we have seen the lack of capacity in that office has actually affected negatively a number of our cases. That’s something that doesn’t have to be that way, it could be changed, but the government of Kenya has to demonstrate the political will to do so and simply designate more qualified doctors to serve in this role. Q: Is there anything else vital to combating these types of crime? HB: A third component that is necessary, in addition to building the expectation of perpetrator prosecution and building capacity, is building social demand for proper policing and a robust public justice system that both protects and defends victims of sexual violence. IJM conducts community trainings on sexual violence and illegal property seizure in order to foster this social demand and educate vulnerable populations on their own rights. Q: How does gender-based violence relate to other key issues affecting the global poor today?  When Enela’s* husband died, she was left with no source of income other than a small plot of land, which her father-in-law attempted to seize. Through IJM intervention, Enela’s rights were protected by the courts, and her father-in-law’s intimidation ceased. Enela now raises chickens on land she bought with the proceeds from the sale of her property and has built a new home, in which she lives peacefully. The AIDS pandemic makes visible the challenge of finally addressing crimes against women and girls. But it also provides unique opportunities because governments are putting new money towards building health systems. I think that we need to be thinking very creatively and our policymakers and our leaders in the health field need to be thinking very creatively about at last considering judicial capacity and access to justice for rape victims part of a health response. Q: What can people do to combat gender-based violence? HB: Possibly the best way we can make our concerns known is to appeal to our representatives in Washington, the members and senators who are answerable to us in this democracy of ours, to say that this is really a role for US foreign assistance. Money can’t buy everything, but without funding to help build capacity, very, very poor countries are going to have a rough time making this a priority. And the US has its own experience in responding to domestic violence and rape and even child trafficking that we can share. We have state-of-the-art prosecutorial, forensic and police practice that would be a real gift to the countries struggling to respond to these issues. I would also encourage people to join IJM in our work to combat gender violence. We have an enormous need both for people to serve as advocates by educating and mobilizing their communities – their workplaces, their schools, their places of worship – and for professionals to join us as staff. There is a place for everyone in this work. Learn how to get involved in IJM’s work today, or browse career opportunities. * In order to protect the individuals IJM serves and those who carry out the work, faces of certain victims and IJM investigators have been blurred. To further conceal the identities of victims and safeguard ongoing IJM casework, pseudonyms (marked by an asterisk) have been used, though the accounts are real. Actual names and casework documentation are on file with IJM. |
Holly Burkhalter is IJM’s vice president of government relations. Ms. Burkhalter serves as IJM’s liaison with Congress and the executive branch of the U.S. government. She is a source of expertise about human rights abuses suffered by IJM’s clients in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and advises policy makers about strategies to bring U.S. influence to bear on behalf of victims of these crimes.
