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International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
25 November
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Urges States to Fulfill Obligation to Prevent
Violence Against Women, Article
The International Association of Women Police Joins the
Secretary-General of the United Nations in support of a global drive
to end violence against women. The International Day for the
Elimination of Violence against Women is held every year on November
25. Jane Townsley, President of the IAWP, said: “It is shocking that
at least one in every three women around the world has been beaten,
coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Usually the
abuser is someone she knows. “Police officers across the globe deal
with these types of incidents every day and see the pain and
suffering caused. The International Association of Women Police is
proud to support the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women.”
Background:
UN
Security Council Resolution 1820: Call to action to End Violence
Against Women and Girls
UN
General Assembly Resolution 54/134: Designating November 25 and
the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,
and,
Inviting Governments, relevant agencies, bodies, funds and
programmes of the UN, and other international organizations and
non-governmental organizations, to organize on that day activities
designed to raise public awareness of the problem of violence
against women.
How the Date Came to be November 25; The Story of the three Mirabal
Sisters of the Dominican Republic.
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| Patria, Maria and
Minerva Mirabal Original Images Owned by the Mirabal Family courtesy Colonial Zone-Dominican Republic |
A commemorative stamp
honouring the 25th anniversary of their deaths, 1985 courtesy Wikipedia |
Los Hermanas Mirables/ The Mirabal Sisters. Four Dominican women from Salcedo, Dominican Republic. These women followed their convictions with bravery and selflessness to fight for what they believed. To fight against a dictator's rule they felt was wrong. Three of them - Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa - gave their lives for their cause. They were killed by some henchmen following the Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo orders. They were a threat to this commanding man because they were involved with trying to overthrow his cruel, ruthless and fascist government. The families' first run-in with Trujillo was at a party to which they were invited. The family left early. Trujillo was angry about this so he had the father, Don Enrique, arrested (no one was permitted to leave a party before Trujillo). Minerva and Doña Chea were also arrested the following day. Every day Minerva was savagely tortured, raped and interrogated by two of Trujillo's men. She refused to write a letter of apology to Trujillo. Since the family was well connected, they knew the right people. They got Trujillo's brother, with whom they had acquaintance, to intercede for them and have the family members that were imprisoned released. They were again arrested a few years later and were always in fear of Trujillos men. This constant fear and stress led to Don Enrique, the girls father's, death on December 14, 1953. The group the Mirabal sisters helped form that fought against the Trujillo regimen was known as the Movement of the Fourteenth of June. The sisters were known as Las Mariposas/ The Butterflies. On November 25, 1960 Trujillo decided he had enough of the sisters trouble making and decided it was time to get rid of them. He sent his men to intercept the three women on their return home from visiting their husbands who were incarcerated. Trujillo had these men imprisoned in hopes that it would make the ladies shut up and stop their activities, which it did not. The sisters' car was stopped. They were led into a sugarcane field. Here they were mercilessly beaten, raped and strangled to death. Then their car was taken to a mountain known as La Cumbre, between Santiago and Puerto Plata, and thrown off. Trujillo thought he was finally free of "the problem." But what happened was just the opposite of what he had hoped. The plan failed. The people of the Dominican Republic, along with the Catholic church, were outraged. These ladies' lives were cut short because of their convictions. Trujillo, with this action brought more attention to the rebellion. Instead of eliminating the over throw of his dictatorship, he instead brought its downfall. This contributed to his assassination in 1961, only six months later.
The International Day Against Violence Towards Women was accepted on December 1999. At the 54th session of the United Nations General Assembly was adopted Resolution 54/134. This resolution declared November 25th the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This day was chosen because on November 25th, 1960 is when the three Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa, from Dominican Republic were violently assassinated for their political activism. The sisters, known as the "Unforgettable Butterflies," became a symbol of the crisis of violence against women in Latin America. This date was chosen to commemorate their lives and promote global recognition of gender violence, and has been observed in Latin America since the 1980s.
The President of the IAWP presents a certificate of Affiliate Membership in IAWP to the President of the Association of Women Police in Kyrgyzstan at its first anniversary mark.
October 20, 2011, The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
The President of the International
Association of Women Police Jane Townsley (l) presents a certificate
of Affiliate Membership in her organization to Kaana Aidarkul, the
President of the Association of Women Police in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek,
20 October 2011. (OSCE/Svetlana Levina)
BISHKEK, 20 October 2011 – An OSCE-supported discussion on the
contemporary role of female police officers took place today in
Bishkek to mark the first anniversary of the Association of Women
Police in Kyrgyzstan.
The event was organized jointly by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Interior and the Police Women Association.
Representatives of the Government, civil society, international
community, state and local governmental officials and female police
officers who took part in the meeting discussed the role of women in
the police service, the implementation of gender balance principles
within the Interior Ministry, as well as the achievements of the
Association since October 2010 and its future plans.
Lilian Darii, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said:
“A strategic approach to security suggests promoting gender equality
principles in practice, including though involving women fully and
consistently into the work of the police. Women can make a
significant contribution to preventing and combating crime,
especially in sensitive situations involving reaching out to
vulnerable categories of people who often have little trust in the
work of state institutions. The Association has helped female police
officers to combine their experience, and enhance their involvement
and visible presence in the law enforcement structures.”
Baktybek Alymbekov, the Deputy Minister of Interior of Kyrgyzstan,
stated: “Currently women make up around 25% of the total number of
our Ministry’s officers. Women work in the fields which have
traditionally been considered ‘men only’, and they sometimes cope
with tasks better then men do. Female officers brought forward the
initiative to establish the Association during a difficult period in
the country, and we expect it to become increasingly helpful for law
enforcement bodies, and its initiatives to take shape at the
institutional level. The senior management of the Ministry is open
to your suggestions and ready to render overall support to the
Association.”
Kaana Aidarkul, the President of the Association of Women Police in
Kyrgyzstan, said: “During this year, we have created departments of
the Association in every province and are now establishing units in
each district. We have set up working partnerships with gender
non-governmental organizations and with the network of women
peacemakers.”
At the event, the President of the International Association of
Women Police (IAWP), Jane Townsley, presented the certificate of
Affiliate Membership in the IAWP to her counterparts from
Kyrgyzstan’s Association.
"The IAWP supports the Association of Women Police in Kyrgyzstan in
linking with similar networks across the globe. Together, we will
seek to highlight and enhance the recognition of women in policing
throughout the world, promoting professional co-operation, sharing
experiences, learning and networking," she said.
The Association of Women Police in Kyrgyzstan is supported as a part
of the OSCE Centre’s Community Policing project within the framework
of the Police Reform Programme.
.News Article is permanently located
in the IAWP Press Release Section, 10/21/2011
The IAWP President Meets with Representatives of the Women's Police Association from Kyrgyzstan
September 4-11, 2011 The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
OSCE promotes professional development of female police officers in Kyrgyzstan.
From September 4-11, OSCE organized a study tour to London for representatives of the Women’s Police Association in Kyrgyzstan.
During the visit the leaders of the Association met with the management of the International Women Police Association, the UK Police Federation and the British Association of Women Police Officers. They also visited a training centre for police officers that conducts research and offers advanced courses on gender balance and human rights, met female colleagues working in the Hammersmith Police Station and visited a rehabilitation centre for women victims of domestic violence.
Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said: “The Women’s Police Association in Kyrgyzstan (WPAK) has been developed with strong peer-support from police forces from other OSCE participating states, including the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, the United States and Spain. By facilitating the process, we encourage the determination of Kyrgyzstan’s police management to give closer attention to the recruitment and equal opportunities of police women; their operational effectiveness and impact; and their understanding and sensitivity towards the particular needs and role of women in public and individual security.”
The study tour was organized as a part of activities of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek aimed at supporting the Association of Women Police in Kyrgyzstan within the framework of the community policing project of the Centre’s Police Reform Programme.
Julia Jaeger, Region 13, Coordinator was instrumental in accomplishing this meeting.
MORE on the OSCE Centre in Bishkek at this link:
http://www.osce.org/bishkek
Article Above at this link: http://www.osce.org/bishkek/82396
Caption: Delegates from the Women’s Police Association in Kyrgyzstan with officers of the British Transport Police Counter Terrorism Support Unit, London, 8 September 2011. (courtesy
of OSCE/Tarmo Viikmaa)
THANK YOU!
The International Association of Women Police wishes to express its appreciation to the IAWP2011 Lexington conference committee, conference participants, international delegates, speakers and presenters. The Annual Training Conference held August 21-25, 2011, was a huge success despite the fact that a few delegates were called back from Lexington, Kentucky, to their forces as a result of the U.S. east coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene. We are especially pleased to have The Honorable United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania speak to the delegates. Read more about this international leader here. In addition, the presentation by the United Nations on their world-wide mission, combined with the United Nations (UN) and the IAWP providing an on-site opportunity for IAWP delegates to be assessed for participation in UN Police Peacekeeping deployment operations, was a first.
The IAWP Membership accepted a bid for IAWP2014 to be held in Winnipeg, Canada. We will provide you more as details emerge. Look toward IAWP2012 September 7-14, 2012, in St. John's, NL. This is the first time the IAWP Annual Training Conference will be held in Atlantic Canada. Plans are beginning for IAWP2013 in Durban, South Africa. Early details are found at www.iawp2013.org. If you have any chance to join IAWP delegates for any of these IAWP Annual Training Conferences, please do not miss the opportunity.
IAWP opens its arms to its two newest Affiliates: The Massachusetts Association of Women Police and the Emirates Women Police Association. Check back for affiliate information and details.
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