Global Prevention

Global Prevention on Violence Against Women

“We know that violence against women compounds the enormous social and economic toll on families, communities, even whole nations.”

- Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General
  The United Nations

Ending Violence Against Women

On February 25, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a global campaign to end violence against women because, he said, this violence is a gross violation of human rights that is impeding women’s participation in social, political and economic life and hindering economic development worldwide. The UN campaign is designed to address the appalling conditions that women endure, especially during conflicts and crises. The Secretary-General timed it to culminate in 2015, so it would coincide with the target date for the Millennium Development Goals

The Secretary-General made clear in his statement what the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), and thousands of activists and researchers around the world, have been saying for years – that ending violence against women is essential if we are to live peacefully together and bring development, health and prosperity to nations and communities around the globe. He called on all nations to dedicate resources to and prioritize this task, while committing the United Nations to a bold effort focused on an agenda that the FVPF already has begun advancing in partnership with local organizations worldwide.

Past International Involvement

In an effort to reach out to colleagues globally and engage them in a common vision to end the maltreatment of women and children, the FVPF launched its work with the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, and the 1995 United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing. Since then, the FVPF has established partnerships with activists in China, India, México, Russia, and others countries, and continues to cultivate alliances to address all forms of violence.

Maternal Mortality

For example, in México, the FVPF had the great privilege of working with two outstanding organizations. In partnership with Asesoria, Capacitación y Asistencia en Salud and Grupo de Estudios Sobre la Mujer Rosario Castellanos, we have created and implemented innovative tools for the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity, focusing on the unique roles played by traditional indigenous midwives, healthcare providers, and others in the social service sectors in the prevention, detection and intervention of family violence. The documentation of tools created and lessons learned over our four-year partnership have all been compiled on an online toolkit to be used by people working on issues of family violence and maternal morbidity and mortality around the world. Access the toolkit.

Coaching Boys Into Men Internationally

Recently, the FVPF proudly joined with UNICEF to introduce a collaborative effort with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Together, we produced a new version of the Coaching Boys into Men Playbook that is specifically designed for use by soccer coaches worldwide. The manual was published in three official FIFA languages (English, Spanish and French) and it was distributed in more than 150 countries. Presently, FVPF is working closely with UNICEF on in-depth training sessions with coaches in the following countries: Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti, Niger, Norway, Madagascar, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad, and Venezuela.

International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA)

The FVPF has also began a campaign to engage concerned Americans on U.S. foreign policies, activities and resources that have the potential to end and prevent violence against women worldwide. FVPF envisions this campaign as a vehicle to underscore the importance of eliminating violence as a key strategy toward promoting the economic, social, and political status of women worldwide, thereby advancing efforts toward building civil and stable societies globally.

The FVPF, with our campaign partners, Amnesty International and Womens Edge Coalition, were proud to preside over the introduction of a joint effort in support of ground breaking legislation to combat the global crisis of violence against women and girls. With input and support from more than 150 U.S. based experts and 40 women’s groups overseas, FVPF and its partners worked with U.S. Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugal (R-IN) to write the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) a bill that would, for the first time, systematically integrate efforts to end gender –based violence into foreign assistance programs, applying the force of U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid totaling $1 billion over five years to prevent the abuse and exploitation that affects up to one in three women worldwide. For additional information and how you can support I-VAWA, please go to the I-VAWA Public Policy Page.