PAHO Official Says Gender-Based Violence a Human
Rights Abuse
Washington, DC, October 29, 2003 (PAHO)—Pan American Health Organization deputy director Dr. Joxel Garcia said Wednesday that violence against women is not only a “pernicious” act but also a major public health problem and a human rights violation.
And it causes more deaths and incapacity among women on a global basis than cancer, the PAHO official noted.
“Violence against women is especially pernicious,” Garcia told a Congressional briefing. He said it causes women serious and often permanent physical and mental health problems, affects their children, their social and family life – “and often goes unpunished.”
He said that PAHO and other major health and public health organizations increasingly consider “gender-based violence . . . as a major public health concern and a violation of human rights.”
The PAHO official was one of the speakers at a Congressional briefing on Gender-Based Violence and Women's Health.
In remarks prepared for delivery at the briefing, which was sponsored by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, The Family Violence Prevention Fund, the International Center for Research on Women and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, Garcia said that:
· One woman in every three worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Most often the abuser is a member of her own family.
· About one in four women report sexual violence by an intimate partner.
· Worldwide, it has been estimated that violence against women is as serious a cause of death and incapacity among women of reproductive age as cancer. It is a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined.
While stressing that freedom from violence is a basic human right, Garcia said that violence is preventable “if we in public health can work together with other sectors to focus on control and prevention of violence.”
Garcia, a former Health Commissioner for the State of Connecticut, was one of 4 speakers at the briefing held at the Rayburn House Office Building here. The other panelists were Esta Soler, Family Violence Prevention Fund; Nata Duvvry, Ph.D., International Center for Research on Women; Roxanna Carrillo, United Nations Development Fund for Women; and Dr. Ileana Arias, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Garcia cited from The World Report on Violence and Health, recently issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), which he said aims to raise awareness about the problem of violence globally, makes the case that violence is preventable and highlights the crucial role that public health has to play in addressing its causes and consequences.
“The report rightly concludes that violence is not an intractable social problem or an inevitable part of the human condition. We can do much to address and prevent it,” Garcia told the briefing. “The world has not yet fully measured the size of the task and does not yet have all the tools to carry it out. But the global knowledge base is growing and much useful experience has already been gained.”
Garcia said that in addition to gender-based violence, which often takes place within the same families, much violence against children is what he described as “a hidden problem.” According to Garcia:
· “Thousands of children are affected, and children between 3 and 5 years old are the ones who suffer the most corporal punishment.
· “We calculate that 85 percent of deaths by abuse are classified as accidental or indeterminate.
· “ For each death it is estimated that nine children are disabled, 71 suffer serious injuries and countless children suffer psychological damage.”
In response to gender-based violence, PAHO has developed and implemented a series of programs, including the Critical Path that Women Follow when Affected by Family Violence to help women in 10 countries in Central America and the Andean region.
In sum, Garcia said, in order to reduce violence, “we must all work together as a team. The health sector is affected because we have to take care of the injured, but everyone is affected by violence and everyone has to team up to stop it.”
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of its people. PAHO serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).
PAHO Member States today include all 35 countries in the Americas. France, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are Participating States. Portugal and Spain are Observer States. The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an Associate Member.
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