Why Does More 'Security' Keep Leading to More Violence Against Women? Laura Carlsen - CIP Americas
go to original March 11, 2014

In spite of efforts to commercialize it, March 8 International Women’s Day is the day we recognize women’s movements for gender equality. It goes back to the early 20th century movements of U.S. women workers for fair treatment in the sweatshops. Not coincidentally, the United States is one of the few countries not to recognize the date that emanated from its own history, but from the repressed underside of it.

Feminist lawyer Alda Facio notes that “equality” is a universal human right. She points out that equality doesn’t mean being exactly the same, but rather implies the elimination of all forms of discrimination  and above all of the partriarchal system in which men exercise control over women–over their labor, their sexuality and reproduction, even over their mobility and possibilities for human development. Gender equality brings with it specific legal obligations of the state. After more than a century of pressuring for equality, the majority of governments do not comply with these obligations.

On March 8 in nations throughout the Western Hemisphere, people celebrated the day with forums, presentations and cultural events, and thousands of Facebook messages, ranging from the purely social to overtly political. It’s common practice to take stock on this day of where we are and how far we’ve come in the movement for full gender equality and respect for the human rights of women. This year in the Americas, the situation is getting worse rather than better.

There are many reasons for the increase in violence against women and the offensive on women’s rights, and they vary from place to place.

Read the rest at CIP Americas

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