OSCE Secretary General and OSCE/ODIHR Director call on states to enhance efforts to prevent and stop violence against women

VIENNA / WARSAW, 26 November 2015 – OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Michael Georg Link today called on participating States to systematically prevent and stop violence against women.

The OSCE is taking part in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign to highlight this security concern that is prevalent throughout the OSCE region. The campaign, which started on 25 November – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – and will last until 10 December – International Human Rights Day, calls for ending all forms of violence against women. OSCE participating States are reminded to recognize gender-based violence as an obstacle to achieving comprehensive security and encouraged to dedicate financial and human resources to eradicate this phenomenon.

“By increasing our efforts to collect statistics, raise awareness and enhance structures to prevent and stop violence against women, we can better enable decision-makers to take action to end this widespread security violation,” said Secretary General Zannier. “We must also involve more men in gender equality issues to help engage a wider segment of society in the prevention of violence against women,” he emphasized, noting that today he presented the White Ribbon Award to four male champions of gender equality within the OSCE diplomatic community. “I hope that this recognition will inspire more men and boys to become engaged in preventing violence against women,” Zannier said.

“While today we are publicly emphasizing the need to further prevent and combat violence against women during the global campaign, we must remain dedicated to this cause on a daily basis,” said ODIHR Director Link. “We need to recognize that violence against women results from the core inequality that women face in their access to labour markets, decision-making positions or justice. Such disproportion in the enjoyment of their human rights makes women more vulnerable to different forms of abuse and discrimination. Therefore, it is important not to look at violence against women as an isolated issue, but to address it by empowering women in all areas.”  

The OSCE Ministerial Council Decision adopted in 2014 on preventing and combating violence against women calls on participating States to take systematic measures to develop legal frameworks and partnerships to put an end to violence against women, to prevent and prosecute perpetrators, and to protect victims.

Both ODIHR and the OSCE Gender Section support participating States in their efforts to empower women by sharing good practices and disseminating critical analysis of actions and measures that comprehensively address discrimination against women and promote gender equality.