Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

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y a male minister who would ra<strong>the</strong>r spend $2000 on a cocktail function than advance <strong>the</strong> CEDAW convention; - Support services for women experiencing domestic violence; - Micro loans (without security) available for women in crisis situations; - Provision <strong>of</strong> low cost housing; - Provision <strong>of</strong> low cost day care system for children – usually women have children with <strong>the</strong>m when escaping domestic violence, which prevents <strong>the</strong>m from finding a job, or having to limit it to evening jobs; <strong>the</strong> equivalent <strong>of</strong> a formal day care system is school (children as young as 3 years old are sent) or it costs $150 /week/child. An unregistered baby sitter can be hired for $100 week, who will also provide food and wash up; - Provision <strong>of</strong> counselling for women and men on <strong>the</strong> psychological effects <strong>of</strong> living in violence. Naemah Khan (FWCC), Fiji Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) is an NGO, established in 1984, to work towards eliminating violence against women (VAW). It has three branches in Ba, Nandi and Labasa. The core function is to provide counselling and support for women and children who are victims/survivors <strong>of</strong> violence. We also do lobbying and advocacy for legislative and policy changes, community education, training <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r agencies and institutions (e.g. military, police), and information and research on VAW and human rights. Our work is based in Fiji and across <strong>the</strong> Pacific. We are also <strong>the</strong> Secretariat for <strong>the</strong> Pacific Network for VAW. A major part <strong>of</strong> FWCC work is <strong>the</strong> counselling and support <strong>of</strong> victims/survivors. But in addition to providing counselling for <strong>the</strong> victims, counsellors follow-up on behalf <strong>of</strong> clients with police, social welfare, domestic court and o<strong>the</strong>r legal services, and finding accommodation for women and children that come to <strong>the</strong> centre. Most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> information in this presentation is based on <strong>the</strong> research and anecdotal evidence from this work done over <strong>the</strong> last 20 years. Research undertaken in 2001 shows that at least 66% <strong>of</strong> women reported being beaten up by <strong>the</strong>ir husbands, and 3 out <strong>of</strong> 10 on a repeated basis. FWCC deal with 1000-1500 clients per year, who are mostly women with a history <strong>of</strong> violence in <strong>the</strong>ir lives. Women are generally poorer than men. Only 39% <strong>of</strong> women aged over fifteen years are in <strong>the</strong> labour force. 80% <strong>of</strong> women have no jobs or income. Obstacles - When we talk about housing generally men are <strong>the</strong> home owners (or are seen to be), or if it is rented accommodation it is leased under <strong>the</strong> husband’s name. Traditionally, indigenous Fijian women can have access and use <strong>of</strong> land but not ownership <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir husband’s or fa<strong>the</strong>r’s lands. The land is passed through <strong>the</strong> patrilineal line. Putting VAW into this situation changes <strong>the</strong> picture completely. Violence or <strong>the</strong> threat <strong>of</strong> violence makes women leave <strong>the</strong>ir homes, <strong>the</strong>ir husbands home, homes <strong>the</strong>y jointly own, even homes <strong>the</strong>y own in <strong>the</strong>ir own right. Women normally leave with <strong>the</strong>ir children. Impacts - Part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> violence and control <strong>the</strong> perpetrator enforces on <strong>the</strong> woman makes her feel she cannot make <strong>the</strong> perpetrator leave, but that she herself has to leave. The effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> violence also limit women’s abilities to access finances (<strong>of</strong>ten <strong>the</strong> perpetrator will control <strong>the</strong> finances) or seek EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 155
employment or fur<strong>the</strong>r education, which in turn also limits a woman’s ability to acquire independent housing. The inability <strong>of</strong> women to leave because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> above factors, in addition to <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> shelters or half-way homes for women, make women more vulnerable to remaining in violent situations. Causes - Fiji is a very patriarchal culture - in its beliefs, attitudes and policies. For example, <strong>the</strong> banks require <strong>the</strong> husband to guarantee loans taken by a woman; <strong>the</strong> housing authority gives first preference to married couples. Due to custom, if a daughter runs away from her husband and returns to her family, her family is pressured to leave <strong>the</strong>ir home, to evict <strong>the</strong>mselves, or evict <strong>the</strong>ir daughter. The family has to leave if <strong>the</strong>ir daughter has a relationship with a man, o<strong>the</strong>r than her husband. Many women cannot leave <strong>the</strong> house after 6pm. Obstacles - In this system, where do divorced women or women escaping VAW go Women have few options – relatives, HART or <strong>the</strong> Family Care Centre. Housing Assistance Relief Trust (HART) provides housing for single mo<strong>the</strong>rs, but requires women to produce documents such as birth and marriage certificates and a maintenance case number. It is difficult for women to get <strong>the</strong>se documents at times where <strong>the</strong>y are escaping violent situations. HART also has very controlling policies (e.g. women are not allowed to leave <strong>the</strong> house after 6pm; women are not allowed to have male visitors at <strong>the</strong> home; women can only move around if <strong>the</strong>y have filed a case against <strong>the</strong>ir husband and are receiving maintenance; when a woman moves in she has to pay <strong>the</strong> previous tenant’s bills). The judicial system is also an obstacle because it is slow and costly. Fur<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> judiciary discriminate against women (i.e. magistrates and judges make gender biased decisions against women – ordering <strong>the</strong> woman to return everything <strong>of</strong> hers she had removed from <strong>the</strong> matrimonial home). Most judges are male, even <strong>the</strong> few female judges are gender biased. Case studies (real names not used) Case Study 1: Sally Sally is 19 years old and is physically disabled. About two years ago Sally and her mo<strong>the</strong>r called FWCC and reported that Sally was being sexually abused by her fa<strong>the</strong>r. Both <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r and <strong>the</strong> daughter were very scared, <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r had suffered years <strong>of</strong> emotional, physical and psychological abuse by her husband. FWCC contacted <strong>the</strong> Social Welfare Department but no action was taken. In <strong>the</strong> end FWCC counsellors removed Sally, her mo<strong>the</strong>r and younger sister from <strong>the</strong> house. FWCC arranged for accommodation at <strong>the</strong> Salvation Army Family Care Centre. Sally laid charges against her fa<strong>the</strong>r. However, after sometime Sally’s mo<strong>the</strong>r returned to her husband. Sally had to be moved to various places because <strong>the</strong>re were no adequate facilities to meet her needs; she was especially vulnerable due to her disabilities. She is currently in <strong>the</strong> care <strong>of</strong> an institution that provides education for children with disabilities; however this place is temporary and is not appropriate for her because she is an adult. Case Study 2: Sera Sera got married Joe and moved to her husband’s village. Sera’s family got her a job in Sydney, Australia. A few months later <strong>the</strong>y also found a job for <strong>the</strong> husband in Sydney. The couple worked 156 WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOUSEING AND LAND
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Proceedings of <st
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Author: Editors: Publisher: Design
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List of Acronyms a
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Preface The Fiji Consultation on wo
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fertilization of w
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8. Annexes Annex A: List of
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• To enable participants to artic
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Recommend that donors implement gen
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To meet these obje
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Each consultation provides a unique
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2.4 The Elements of</strong
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There are ten steps to the<
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Participants used the</stro
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- ensuring the “
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- Implementation bodies (e.g. UNDP,
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Palestine - Habitat International C
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of the</st
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“In the Cook Isl
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The peace talks focused primarily o
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diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS etc; <str
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I look at myself, at us and wonder
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That rainbow shirt you wear hurts m
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• Discriminatory laws (e.g. penal
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“In the Solomon
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“A woman and child left home to c
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“Aloha from my fathe</str
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Even where formal laws exist, peopl
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at the time. I cha
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Case study In the
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It is also important to note that v
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• Change men’s attitudes toward
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decision-makers to raise th
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7 Conclusion The consultations bega
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56 WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOU
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15. Filipo Masaurua Regional Rights
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the meaning in no
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12:30-1:30 Using the</stron
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Consultation Dinner DAY FOUR, 15 Oc
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Legal Sources of <
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Over-riding Principles Internationa
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Gender Differences: Common heritage
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Preventative measures: Goals <stron
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What is Secure Tenure Entry Point t
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Access to Adequate Serviced Shelter
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Themes emerging from the</s
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Working with civil society Mobilisi
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Q7. How have the w
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Q19. Do women face any particular c
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of VAW as per <str
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102 WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HO
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Case study 2 - rural women migratin
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“It has been important to listen
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Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

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