A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

situations of armed conflicts or of war.” 380
• The Government of Liberia should “take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to
suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.” 381
• The Government of Liberia should work
toward the full implementation of the
measures outlined in article 4 of the U.N.
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
Against Women, specifically:
o Exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate, and, in accordance
with national legislation, punish
acts of violence against women,
whether those acts are perpetrated
by the State or by private persons;
o Develop penal, civil, labor, and
administrative sanctions in domestic
legislation to punish and redress
the wrongs caused to women who
are subjected to violence; women
who are subjected to violence
should be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for
by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have
suffered; States should also inform women of their rights in seeking redress through
such mechanisms;
o Consider the possibility of developing national plans of action to promote the
protection of women against any form of violence, or to include provisions for
that purpose in plans already existing, taking into account, as appropriate, such
cooperation as can be provided by non-governmental organizations, particularly
those concerned with the issue of violence against women;
o Work to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible in the light of available resources
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Potential Implementation Strategy:
Self-sustaining Shelters for Victims of
Violence against Women
In Bulgaria, the organization Open Door Center
provides legal and other assistance to women
victims of violence. The Municipality of Pleven
gave permission to the shelter to operate
economic activities. The laundry service run
by Open Door Center enables it to generate
revenue that is re-invested into providing
assistance to women victims of violence. This
model enables the group to maintain a selfsufficient
shelter for victims of violence that
is not dependent on external funding from
governmental or international sources. 382
Potential Implementation Strategy: Gender Mainstreaming in Government-funded Programs
The Government of Liberia may wish to consider mainstreaming actions to combat violence against
women into its government funded programs, projects, or loans. For example, the Inter-American
Development Bank has developed loan practices that integrate gender concerns into its projects.
When making loans that relate to citizen security, the relevant projects have included funding to
raise awareness on domestic violence; funding for training of police and judges on issues of domestic
violence; funding that enables government security information systems that contain relevant and
accurate data on domestic violence; and funding to women’s non-governmental organizations with
expertise in the area of domestic violence. 383