Violence against women and girls worldwide: what action is the Netherlands taking?
News item | 10-05-2022 | 17:15
A world where violence against women and girls is a thing of the past. We’re not there yet, but wouldn’t it be wonderful. We ask Pascalle Grotenhuis, Dutch Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, what the Netherlands is doing for women and girls around the world, and why.
Enlarge imageAs ambassador in Mozambique, Pascalle Grotenhuis also stood up for the rights of women and girls.
Whether it’s a disparaging remark about women in the workplace or a woman being killed by her partner: violence against women and girls is still widespread. ‘It’s happening everywhere, including the Netherlands,’ says Pascalle. ‘A woman is killed by a partner or ex-partner every eight days in this country. People aren’t always aware of that fact.’
Pascalle has been Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality since late 2020. Her job is to ensure these issues are at the top of the international agenda.
Equality is the key word, she says. ‘Women’s rights should not be a matter for women alone.’
‘It’s a fact that diverse teams and organisations perform better. You also see this during international negotiations: when women are at the table too, you get sustainable results,’
Pascalle says. ‘Investing in women and girls is also one of the most effective ways for a country to tackle poverty.’
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has ended up curbing the rights and freedoms of women and girls worldwide. Everywhere, violence against women and girls increased during the lockdowns. This has been referred to as the ‘shadow pandemic’, for which Pascalle knows the statistics by heart.
‘Every three months of lockdown results in 15 million women around the world becoming victims of domestic and sexual violence. People are also spending more of their time online, and this has led to an increase in cyber violence and online sexual harassment.’
And it doesn’t stop there. In many countries, girls have disappeared off the radar because of school closures and teenage pregnancies are on the rise. Girls are ending up on the streets, in the informal sector.
‘Because of COVID, we’ve lost some of the progress we’d made,’ says Pascalle. ‘And that motivates me to do more.’
The Netherlands is one of the few countries to have a Youth Ambassador for sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and freedom of choice. Youth Ambassador Laura Bas works closely with Pascalle to ensure young women’s voices are heard by Dutch policymakers.
Girls, not brides. Watch the video by Youth Ambassador Laura Bas and Pascalle Grotenhuis, Dutch Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on Facebook.
What does the Netherlands think?
The Netherlands stands up for equal rights for women and girls, all over the world. Preventing and eliminating violence against women is a priority of Dutch human rights policy.
The Netherlands are a party to the Istanbul Convention (the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence) It’s is the most far-reaching international legal instrument to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.
Pascalle is quick to point out that the situation of women and girls in the Netherlands is ‘by no means perfect’. There are still large differences in women’s and men’s pay, and women have fewer opportunities on the labour market.
‘We don’t go out into the world in order to lecture others. We make our message stronger by admitting to our own shortcomings, and talking about ways of tackling problems.’
‘Women’s rights are human rights,’ Pascalle concludes. ‘It’s in the Dutch constitution and that’s what we’re working for worldwide.’
What action is the Netherlands taking on violence against women and girls?
The Netherlands has the world’s biggest fund for women’s rights: the SDG5 Fund, worth €510 million. The Netherlands uses this fund to support women’s organisations, especially in the southern hemisphere.
One of the organisations supported by the Netherlands is FIDA-Kenya, an organisation for women advocates, lawyers and law students in Kenya. It runs a free helpline and provides shelter to women fleeing violence, including female genital mutilation.
Another example is the Young Women 4 Change Alliance, which is active in Egypt, Kenya, the Palestinian Territories and South Sudan. The women in this organisation are trying to change legislation that affects women in their countries.
Within international organisations like the United Nations, Dutch diplomats are involved in ongoing efforts to promote women’s rights.
A few examples:
Every two years since 2006, the Netherlands and France have jointly submitted resolutions to the General Assembly on combating violence against women. The Netherlands also contributes financially to the UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence Against Women, administered by UN Women. The Netherlands has been a party to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women since 1991.
Police training in Maputo
The Dutch embassy in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, trains local police officers to interact with sex workers in respectful ways. Violence against this vulnerable group has increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course is part of a broader campaign entitled Hands Off 2, being implemented by the Dutch organisation Aidsfonds in various African countries.
Enlarge imageThe Dutch embassy in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, trains local police officers to interact with sex workers in respectful ways.
Cycling events in Sri Lanka
The Dutch embassy in Sri Lanka runs visible, thought-provoking campaigns to call attention to the problem of violence against women.
During the Orange the World campaign in 2021, for instance, ambassador Tanja Gonggrijp cycled around Colombo, handing out banners to local and international organisations, government bodies, companies and other embassies. At every stop more and more people joined Tanja, and the caravan of cyclists became longer and longer. Several national media outlets reported on the event, ensuring the important message was widely publicised.
For the next 16 days, orange banners reading ‘Say NO to violence against women and girls’ in English, Sinhala and Tamil could be seen all over the city.
Enlarge imageThe Dutch embassy in Sri Lanka runs visible campaigns to call attention to the problem of violence against women.
Podcast in Vietnam
The Dutch representations in Vietnam recorded a four-part podcast series about violence against women and about women’s empowerment, as part of the global campaign entitled ’16 days of activism against gender-based violence’ in 2021. Violence against women is widespread in Vietnam, where local cultural traditions and social norms have long resulted in girls and women being underestimated and undervalued.
Dialogue is one way to change this and podcasts, which are wildly popular in the country, are a perfect way to get the conversation going.
The podcasts are available on Spotify in English and Vietnamese.
Enlarge imagePascalle Grotenhuis and the Dutch ambassador to Vietnam, Elsbeth Akkerman, in the four-part podcast series on women’s empowerment.
Enlarge imageThe Dutch embassy in Sri Lanka runs visible campaigns to call attention to the problem of violence against women.
