Women's Views on News |
| New UN day for the elimination of sexual violence in conflict Posted: 22 Jun 2015 07:17 AM PDT
In an effort to boost the global fight against the horrors faced by women and girls in zones of conflict worldwide, the United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution to commemorate 19 June as the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. "Rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict constitute grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law," the president of the 193-member Assembly, Sam Kutesa, declared as he greeted the resolution's adoption on 19 June 2015. "Yet these depraved acts still occur and are used to terrorise and control civilian populations in conflict zones. "Together, we must prioritise prevention and response efforts, empower victims, provide comprehensive assistance and shift the stigma of shame from the victims of these crimes to those who commit them and condone them," he continued. The International Day – which will now be observed annually – will aim to raise awareness of the need to end conflict-related sexual violence and urge the international community to stand in solidarity with the survivors of sexual violence around the world. The new initiative, moreover, comes amid rise in reports from areas controlled by militant groups aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) of brutal acts of sexual violence against women and girls. Just last year, ISIL affiliate Boko Haram abducted some 276 girls from their school in Chibok, in Nigeria's restive north-eastern Borno state, as the militant group ramped up brutal attacks targeting Nigeria's children. "Rape as a weapon of war must be stopped," Kutesa said. "We should ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes and their superiors who condone their actions are held accountable and that victims get justice." Also welcoming the creation of the Day, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Bangura, commended delegates, especially Argentina, which led the drafting of the text, for the increasing attention paid by the international community to the scourge of sexual violence. But Bangura warned that the challenge now remained in converting "political will into concrete actions and protections on the ground." She said such a Day would also create opportunities to pay homage to the thousands of survivors of sexual violence including women, girls, men and boys, who, despite the grievous harm suffered, have shown extreme determination, resolve and unflinching courage to speak out against this scourge. "This annual commemoration will serve as a global call to action for security, justice and service actors on behalf of survivors of sexual violence in conflicts all over the world," she said. Bangura recently returned from the Middle East where she had met female survivors of sexual violence committed by ISIL extremists. In an interview with the UN News Centre, she recounted grim tales of brutality and detailed new patterns of child and forced marriage to fighters as well as sexual slavery. From information Bangura received during her visit, and from reports that came in, ISIL allegedly issued a "regulation" setting out the prices to be paid for Yazidi and Christian women and girls, the amounts varying according to age. The promise of sexual access to women and girls has been used in ISIL propaganda materials as part of its recruitment strategy and an estimated 1,500 civilians may have been forced into sexual slavery. As the world body's top official dealing with sexual violence in conflict, Bangura also works with UN agencies active in the field that are providing the critical protection and assistance needed, particularly by the women and girls who are suffering even in the places where they are seeking refuge. After meeting with displaced women in Iraq and Syria, and refugees who had fled to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, she told Fareed Zakaria of CNN recently that "such extreme violence requires political and security responses, but also legal and social response." She drew attention to the fact that the provisions of humanitarian appeals dealing with services to sexual violence survivors are perpetually underfunded, and advocated for support to the neighbouring refugee-hosting countries that are under tremendous pressure. UN staff at the sprawling Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan for example, spoke of the need to expand the cash-for-work assistance programmes – currently primarily designed for men – and alternative forms of livelihood for single women and single mothers as a concrete example of the options and mechanisms that should be place. And there has been a surge in requests from young refugee women who want post-abortion care for "unplanned" pregnancies or those related to "unwanted relations". But what all victims seem to have in common is a fear of reaction of community and family members and the stigma attached to survivors of sexual violence, which results in "extreme" underreporting, a key challenge that Bangura heard throughout her trip. "It is very difficult when a woman has been raped to admit that she has been raped," she said, and urged groups in the field to provide the information and facts about sexual violence that women and girls are being subjected to so that she can use the collected data to confront governments. The UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, who also joined delegates in the General Assembly Hall after the adoption of the resolution, hailed the creation of the International Day as "a victory for all the survivors who stay too often silent." "This is a day for all of us," Zerrougui said. "This resolution is an engagement from all Member States that commit to fight against sexual violence in conflict." The date 19 June commemorates the breakthrough adoption in 2008 of UN Security Council resolution 1820, which recognized sexual violence as a tactic of war and a threat to global peace and security, requiring an operational security, justice and service response. It also recognised that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and/or constitutive acts of genocide.  |
| How to help promote female artists Posted: 22 Jun 2015 07:15 AM PDT
A new project aims to get more female artists added to major public collections in the US and UK, artnet recently reported. Known as ‘Valeria Napoleone XX’ (or simply Valeria XX), the scheme is named for its patron, collector Valeria Napoleone. Napoleone is funding the project, which is being run in collaboration with the UK's Contemporary Art Society and the USA's SculptureCenter. The initiative's first commission is for a new piece by British artist Anthea Hamilton. Although the final work is yet to be revealed, it will be based on an unfinished model of a man's naked bottom created by Italian designer Gaetano Pesce in 1972. Hamilton's interpretation will enlarge on and give new context to Pesce's original, which was originally intended to frame the doorway of a Manhattan skyscraper. The new work, fully supported by the Valeria XX project, will be displayed as part of Hamilton's first solo museum exhibition in the USA, at New York's SculptureCenter. In the UK, the scheme will donate a work by a living female artist to a different gallery each year, the gallery will then host a solo show for that artist. Interested galleries which are members of the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) can apply to be considered from April next year. Each new acquisition will be chosen in collaboration between CAS, Napoleone and the exhibiting institution. The works will first be exhibited in London's Camden Arts Centre, and then displayed at the participating gallery as part of a full solo show. Valeria Napoleone is well known for championing female artists. Her personal collection comprises more than 300 pieces, and she only purchases works by women. This new project, Napoleone has said, will form part of her "continuous mission to support relevant artists' practices and those realities which are overlooked and ignored by the mainstream." It is hoped that the scheme will not only shine a spotlight on the works of individual female artists, but also stimulate conversation about the extent of gender imbalance in the art world. In 2013, an audit of commercial and public collections in the UK capital revealed the extent of gender imbalance in the London art scene. Of more than 3,000 artists featured in 134 audited commercial galleries, less than a third (31 per cent) were female, and only 5 per cent of galleries represented male and female artists equally. And of almost 400 public art works recorded in Westminster and the City of London, just 8 per cent were by female artists. That latter figure may be largely due to historical imbalances, but gender inequality remains pronounced even in contemporary platforms for art. The ‘Fourth Plinth‘ project, begun in 1999, has seen only a quarter of commissions go to female artists. And as of 2012, less than 28 per cent of works exhibited as part of the international showcase provided by the Frieze Art Fair were by women. Similarly depressing statistics emerged from a recent audit of art galleries in New York. And earlier this year, leading women in the arts sector called for more equal representation in top jobs at museums and galleries, after the National Portrait Gallery announced its 12th male director in a row, and the National Gallery its 14th. Sadly, it seems initiatives such as Valeria XX really are needed to stimulate momentum towards equal representation in the art world, across all levels and platforms. Let's hope this is the start of accelerated progress, as well as a chance to celebrate some of the UK's best female artists.  |
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