Concluding a 10-day go to to the nation, Particular Rapporteur Reem Alsalem famous {that a} girl is killed by a person each three days within the UK, and one in 4 girls there’ll expertise some type of home violence in her lifetime.
“Entrenched patriarchy at nearly each degree of society, mixed with an increase in misogyny that permeates the bodily and on-line world, is denying 1000’s of ladies and ladies throughout the UK the precise to stay in security, free from worry and violence,” she stated in a press release summarizing her preliminary findings and observations.
Management and inspiration
Ms. Alsalem acknowledged the strong authorized framework for selling gender equality, together with the Equality Act 2010 and different laws that applies throughout the UK, noting that this framework is complemented by essential laws and insurance policies within the devolved areas, referring to Scotland, Wales and Northern Eire.
She stated the UK has been a frontrunner in strengthening its authorized framework to deal with present and rising types of violence in opposition to girls and ladies, together with coercive management, digitally facilitated violence and stalking, in addition to bettering entry to justice.
“Many international locations will look to the UK for inspiration, in addition to examples of innovation and good apply on the way to make life safer for girls and ladies, and accountability for crimes dedicated in opposition to them,” she added.
Translate coverage into motion
Nonetheless, the Particular Rapporteur famous that a variety of realities undermine the UK’s means to grasp the complete potential of its laws and insurance policies on violence in opposition to girls.
They embrace the dilution of the hyperlink between these insurance policies and the UK’s worldwide human rights obligations; a normal important discourse and positioning on human rights, significantly in relation to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees; and the fragmentation of insurance policies on male violence in opposition to girls and ladies throughout devolved and non-devolved areas.
“The UK can do extra to translate its political recognition of the size of violence in opposition to girls and ladies into motion,” she stated, earlier than providing a number of suggestions, equivalent to bringing collectively all legislative and programmatic strands of intervention on the difficulty, upgrading and formalising duty for discrimination and violence in opposition to girls and ladies in authorities, and anchoring it in human rights commitments.
Grassroots teams struggling
Ms. Alsalem expressed concern about how grassroots organisations and specialised frontline service suppliers working with girls and ladies are struggling to fulfill the wants of probably the most susceptible, each international and nationwide, who fall via the cracks and aren’t lined by statutory service suppliers.
These teams “are struggling to outlive in an more and more difficult context of rising residing prices, a deepening housing disaster and a important lack of funding,” she stated.
“The scenario of NGOs engaged on gender equality and violence in opposition to girls and ladies has reached a disaster level and is just untenable,” she added, urging the UK authorities to revive predictable and sufficient funding to frontline organisations.
Ms. Alsalem, the UN Particular Rapporteur on violence in opposition to girls and ladies, was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Unbiased specialists who obtain mandates from the Council aren’t UN workers and aren’t paid for his or her work.