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Asia
and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs Introduction We, 43 participants from 8 countries of the YMCA movement in the Asia Pacific region, are part of over 150 years involvement in social transformation. It is in this tradition that we have undertaken as a region to look deeper into gender inequities and address the issue of violence against women. Considering that Challenge 21 calls on the YMCAs to advocate for and promote the rights of women, we discussed the need for YMCA to develop strategies addressing the issue of violence against women, a manifestation of the lack of respect to the dignity of women, which has caused destruction of lives. We believe that YMCAs are called upon to take the lead in working for gender equity, towards a world that respects the differences between men and women and recognizes that women and men can work together, share their resources, and combine their wisdom towards fullness of life for all. We understand that violence against women is a human rights issue. CEDAW defines it as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life". After a comprehensive study of and deliberation on violence against women, we, both men and women, are convinced that the male-dominated society which exists until now continues to burden and threaten the lives of women in all spheres of their development. Other contributing factors to Violence Against Women (VAW) include globalisation that promotes consumerist values reinforcing the exploitation of women, militarisation, lack and/or feeble enforcement of laws/policies related to gender concerns, labor migration and gender-biased socio-cultural values and traditions. In our discussions, we identified that the three major spheres of gender violence are the family, community and state. Within the family, violence comprises of murder such as dowry death and suicide, battering, genital mutilation, feticide, infanticide, deprivation of medical care, deprivation of food and reproductive coercion/control. Women are sexually abused or subjected to psychological damage due to confinement, forced marriage and threats or reprisals. Within the community, physical abuse, battery, physical chastisement, coercive reproductive control, sati, sexual assault, rape, communalism, sexual harassment at the workplace, intimidation, commercialised violence including trafficking in women, forced prostitution and organ selling occur. Women are also violated through the media that propagates commercialisation of women's bodies, pornography and cyber sex. The State's machineries are misused by some groups, perpetuating VAW through political violence, gender discriminatory laws, illegal detention, forced sterilization, forced pregnancies, custodial violence including rape and torture. In the region, we acknowledge that the VAW trends are alarming. Traditional misconceptions and religious misinterpretations regarding the status of women persist. Women opt not to report violations against them. Violence against women continues to be viewed as a private matter and laws/policies on VAW remain inadequate and ineffective. YMCA Responses and Challenges Violence against women is a problem that exists in most societies due to gender inequalities within social structures and cultural norms that condone men's use of power and control over women. Besides the cultural pervasiveness of violence against women, other social, political, economic, environmental and personal factors confound the issue. The problem of violence against women is a great obstacle in the development of individuals, community and society at large. It brings about psychosocial and economic burden to the victims and to society at large. In the Asia and Pacific region, numerous women-oriented programs have been initiated and are still being implemented by the YMCA. Some of these are leadership training, vocational/skills training, handicraft marketing, sex education, health/HIV-AIDS education, childcare centers, awareness building in communities and schools, campaigning against trafficking in women, legal aid and education, formation of women's groups/self-help groups and advocacy for women's issues. The YMCAs have definitely touched the lives of women in the communities across the region. Despite efforts to tackle gender concerns, however, not so many engage in gender issues specifically violence against women. Also, most strategies/approaches being used are project-based and symptomatic. Thus, there is a need to deal with violence against women in particular and gender issue in general in a more holistic and integrated approach, addressing its root causes. Going towards this direction could be a real struggle. Some of the challenges posed to the YMCAs are:
We believe that these challenges can be overcome with our commitment to the YMCA Mission and through the Action Plans that have been proposed. Recommendations for YMCA Actions The YMCA, as an ecumenical, Christian movement committed to extend God's Reign on Earth, can play a significant role in freeing those who are under the yoke of gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination and in promoting respect for humanity. The YMCA with its long history of working towards social transformation combined with members and professional staff of varying degrees of resources, abilities and skills and working in solidarity with various networks/organizations would enable it to achieve the following action plans: At the Local/National Levels YMCAs are urged to:
Education/Training
Policy/Legal Advocacy
Networking
Rehabilitation
At the Regional/Global Levels
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