It is a woman's right to lead a life free of violence.
That was the message from the "White Ribbon" activity held Monday
in Beijing by the United Nations (UN) and the Chinese Media Watch
Network to celebrate International Human Rights Day Monday.
It
was part of China's "Sixteen Days of Activism" (November 25 to
December 10) initiative.
People have been urged to wear white ribbons as an individual
statement to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence
against women.
Violence against women is essentially "an unequal power structure
within a society and a family," said Kerstin Leitner, UN resident
coordinator at the activity.
She said violence against women lies fundamentally on "women's lack
of access to the control of resources, being excluded from
decision-making procedures, and assertion that women are
subordinate to men."
Therefore, she added, violence against women is gender-based.
The cost of violence against women - mainly health care expenditure
and loss of productivity - is huge. For example, in Canada, costs
amount to US$1.6 billion, and it is estimated to be as much as
US$67 billion in the United States, according to Leitner.
China has been trying to address the problem of violence against
women.
In
Beijing's far suburban Yanqing County, a pilot programme to fight
domestic violence by the All-China
Women's Federation began in April, and has produced
satisfactory results so far, according to Li Ziping, an official at
the activity.
To
date, the county has set up a complete help network for women
inflicted by domestic violence.
In
November, China established the National Co-ordinating Group for
the Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, a move
described by Leitner as a stride towards recognizing and creating
coalition needed to fight domestic violence.
The "White Ribbon" activity was not the only event held to
celebrate International Human Rights Day.
Last night, Beijing Television Station broadcast a programme on
human rights development in China, produced by China Foundation for
Human Rights Development.
According to the foundation, the programme showed how the situation
of human rights in China has changed since 1840, when the Opium War
between China and England broke out.
(China
Daily December 11, 2001)