Statistics Gathering

• States should collect gender-disaggregated data on the maltreatment of widows, including laws and practices on inheritance, property, widow inheritance, levirate and sororate marriages, forced evictions and property grabbing, on a domestic, regional and international level and cross-compare them to other statistics on crime, gender equality and migration. An important part of gathering statistics for the maltreatment of widows requires the establishment of registration systems for births, deaths and marriages. (See: Registration of Marriage and Births) Also, drafters should establish a system for the registration of widow inheritances, forced evictions, property grabbing and forced marriage cases by all agencies, neighborhood, local and regional authorities, public service providers and non-governmental organizations working on the issue.

• Reliable statistics on the prevalence of violence against women are essential to developing effective legislation and to developing strategies and protocols for the implementation of the legislation. Legislation should require the state to develop a methodology to obtain statistics on each of the types of violence against women. (See: Researching Violence Against Women: A Practical Guide for Researchers and Activists)

• Statistics on the frequency of acts of violence against women should be obtained from relevant government ministries, law enforcement, the judiciary, health professionals, land title and registration offices, and non-governmental organizations which serve survivors of violence against women. These acts should be disaggregated by gender, age, relationship between offender and survivor, race, ethnicity, and any other relevant characteristics. Monitors should note whether or not such data is publicly available and easily accessed. See: Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Erturk, Indicators on violence against women and state response, A/HRC/7/6/Add.5, p. 19, CENWOR in Sri Lanka, and CORE GAD in Philippines (ESCAP paper, p. 6)

• Statistics should also be gathered on the causes and consequences of the acts of violence against women. See: UN Handbook, 3.3.2, Guatemala’s Law against Femicide and other Forms of Violence against Women (2008), Mexico, Law on Access of Women to a Life Free of Violence (2007). Data should also be collected on offenders, including whether and when an abuser re-offends. See: UN Handbook 3.3.2. 

• Monitors should also determine the number (per population statistics), geographic distribution and use statistics for hotlines, shelters and crisis centers. See:  Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Erturk, Indicators on violence against women and state response, A/HRC/7/6, p. 28, and Raising Voices (Uganda);  see also: We Can End VAW.

• Monitors must also determine the numbers of cases of all forms of violence against women and girls that are reported to law enforcement officials, and whether or not they are charged, if they go to trial, and how many convictions result.

• In some states, statistics on many of these issues will be readily available in administrative offices or national statistics or crime bureaus; in others, monitors will need to pose exact and strategic questions to government officials in law enforcement administration who are in a position to provide the information that is required.  This may involve a multi-step process of formal interview requests but it can be well worthwhile.

• For an analysis of national surveys carried out by the countries at the conference of European statisticians to measure violence against women, see the Economic Commission for Europe, Work session on gender statistics, http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/2006.09.gender.htm

See: Monitoring of Laws on Violence against Women and Girls.

Monitoring

Legislation on violence against women should include a provision which creates a specific body to monitor the implementation of legislation on violence against women.  This body should include members of parliament, national statistics offices, law enforcement administration and ministries for women and health.  It should gather and analyze information on the implementation of the legislation, respond to parliament, and provide a public report of its efforts. The legislation should mandate adequate funding for regular review of the implementation of the legislation on violence against women.
(See: Monitoring of Laws)

Public awareness and education

Legislation should mandate government support and funding for public awareness-raising campaigns on violence against women, including widows, such as:

• general campaigns sensitizing the population about violence against women as a manifestation of inequality and a violation of women’s human rights; and
• specific awareness-raising campaigns designed to heighten knowledge of laws enacted to address violence against women, in particular inheritance and property rights, and the remedies they contain.
• public information campaigns aimed at educating women and girls about available resources.
• trainings and workshops on estate planning for the public that emphasizes the rights of women in inheritance.
• education on HIV/AIDS and its prevention in consultation with HIV/AIDS organizations and advocates. Such education should address the interconnection between HIV/AIDS and women’s human rights.

• Outreach should target and engage religious and community leaders to increase their awareness about women’s human rights, maltreatment of widows and the law. Public education programs should encourage them to emphasize to their communities that widows’ rights must be protected. It is essential that religious and traditional leaders understand domestic laws related to the maltreatment of widows and how certain practices violate women and girls’ human rights.

• Legislation should encourage the sensitization of journalists and other media personnel regarding violence against women.

See: Implementation of Laws on Violence against Women and Girls; UN Handbook, 3.5.2, 3.5.4.