The SI Virtual Library

As we approach the UN's Commission on the Status of Women and International Women's Day, both of which will focus on violence against women this year, here are some of the best resources on the issue. 

A Soroptimist Recommends...

Nisha Ghosh of SI Pune Metro East (India) recommends No Shortcuts on Rape by Flavia Agnes, an article on the implications of the Delhi gang rape by . Nisha has also written a blog about the inspirational women's-rights lawyer.

Soon-Young’s Reading Picks for CSW57

(from the NGO Committee on the Status of Women)

Best overview:
Commission on the Status of Women: Report on the fifty-first session (26 February – 9 March 2007) ECOSOC official records, 2007, Supplement No. 7 (E/2007/27, E/CN.6/2007/9)

This was a report completed almost 5 years ago, but it beats a lot that has been written since then. This is a good set of UN recommendations even though the focus was on the girl child. Issues of law enforcement, gender stereotypes, health, armed groups, trafficking, migration and participation are covered. Just switch the face of a child with that of an adult woman and you will see the life cycle unfold.

Best paper you will actually remember:
Yasmeen Hassan: Laws and legal systems as an essential strategy to prevent violence against women and girls
Don’t be deceived by the stiff and stuffy sounding title. The paper gives personal stories and mixes them with case analysis. Hassan argues for the importance of a well-functioning legal systems that addresses customary as well as state law.

Worth a Glance–
Dubravka Simonovic: International framework on violence against women with focus on CEDAW
This paper has excellent insights by a CEDAW expert who was personally engaged in shaping Europe’s legal instruments to prevent violence against women.

WHO: the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women
This is one of the few large-scale studies that includes data from middle and low-income countries. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds, it could not be extended to include men and boys—a major gap in data. Let’s hope governments step up and give the World Health Organization what it needs to finish the job.

Dean Peacock: Working with men and boys to promote gender equality: a review of the field and emerging approaches
This is a simple, insightful paper sprinkled with survey data about men and boys related to behavior of perpetrators. Some of the findings may surprise you.

CEDAW: Statement of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the need for a gender perspective in the text of the Arms Trade Treaty
Sometimes the short and simple is more forceful than long documents. This statement was critical because it appeared during the negotiations of the UN Arms Trade Treaty negotiations in 2012. Who can deny that the proliferation of small arms and ammunitions affects women disproportionately? The CEDAW statement notes that arms control can help curb atrocities committed against women in both non-conflict and conflict situations.