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SEXUAL VIOLENCE
FMR 27
Ireland takes action
by Vivienne Forsythe and Angela O’Neill De Guilio
Ireland’s leading development, humanitarian and human
rights organisations – in conjunction with the Irish
government – have pledged to become a significant
international force in responding to gender-based violence.
The Joint Consortium of Irish
Human Rights Humanitarian and
Development Agencies and Irish
Aid aims to ensure that genderbased violence (GBV) responses
and strategies have visibility,
credibility, high-level leadership and
wide support within its member
organisations. The organisations
involved in this initiative came
together in 2004 following reports
of very high levels of rape in Darfur.
Realising that a more systematic
approach was needed to address
the problems of GBV – not only in
high-profile emergency situations
like Darfur but also in other conflict,
post-conflict and non-conflict
environments – they formed the Joint
Consortium of Irish Human Rights
Humanitarian and Development
Agencies and Irish Aid.1
The consortium commissioned an
independent study to assess member
agencies’ capacity to respond to
GBV and to develop a model of best
practice for GBV programming.
The study indicated that the overall
capacity of agencies was weak
and there appeared to be little
collective understanding of GBV. Of
the consortium member agencies,
only Amnesty International was
systematically addressing GBV.
Conclusions from country programme
visits highlighted the inconsistency of
organisational capacity and approach.
“…there has been a huge reluctance
by the international community to
engage on the issue of gender-based
violence, despite the fact that it is
probably the most widespread human
rights abuse. This Irish initiative
to take leadership on this abuse
is crucial ... Ireland is a respected
player in the area of human rights. ”
Dr Yakin Erturk, UN Special
Rapporteur on Violence
Against Women
It was recommended that each
agency identify a few key actions
on which they could move forward
within six to twelve months. The
consortium would act as a vehicle
for sharing information and
examples of good practice and
would also act as a peer support
mechanism. Several key actions
were identified for all members:
n establish a policy or integrate
GBV response within
existing frameworks
n set and enforce standards of
behaviour for all staff and partners
n allocate lead high-level
responsibility (a team rather
than an individual)
n integrate GBV into appraisals,
regional country programme
design, implementation
and monitoring
n build staff capacity through
documenting programme
experience, research and training
n link with national and
international human rights
organisations to develop effective
ways of working together
n raise awareness of GBV
internally and externally
n draw lessons from HIV and gender
mainstreaming approaches.
The report emphasised the need
to develop broader understanding
of the issues, ensure that GBV
prevention and response are
central to programming, improve
response delivery, engage with civil
society and promote inter-agency
coordination and collaboration. It
was recommended that Irish Aid
and consortium member agencies
incorporate GBV response into all
funding and monitoring mechanisms
– and agencies themselves suggested
that Irish government funding could
be conditional on addressing GBV.
‘The challenge for us all is: if we know
GBV exists, and if we tolerate or ignore
it, are we not being complicit, are
we not turning a blind eye to human
rights violations? I congratulate this
initiative’s commitment to place
GBV at the centre of development
and human rights work’.
Mary Robinson, former President
of Ireland and former High
Commissioner for Human Rights
A summary of actions is included
in the final report, Gender Based
Violence – A Failure to Protect, A
Challenge to Action, launched in
Dublin in November 2005 by Mary
Robinson and Conor Lenihan,
Minister of State for Development
Cooperation and Human Rights. A
short awareness-raising CD-ROM
was launched shortly afterwards.2
Moving forward
The consortium is now working
to ensure that GBV responses are
an integral part of the policy and
operational frameworks of agencies.
Two working groups have been
set up – one for documentation
and inter-organisational sharing of
experience and learning, the other
focused on human resources and
training. Best practice guidelines on
institutionalising GBV within agencies
were published in November.
The overall experience of the Irish
consortium has been positive. The
Irish government has ensured that
attention to GBV is an integral
component of all humanitarian
project support. There has been
strong buy-in from member agencies
to improve organisational competence
and capacity to address GBV. Aid
workers, development agency staff
and peacekeeping forces taking part
in humanitarian programmes are
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
FMR 27
being encouraged
to learn more about
gender-based violence
before they travel
abroad. There has
been considerable
dialogue and sharing
of resources and
experience. The
consortium has
made significant
progress in raising member agency
awareness of GBV and in starting to
integrate GBV into policy frameworks
and institutional structures.
Member agencies recognise,
however, the need for continued
cross-organisational engagement
and sharing of experience.
Vivienne Forsythe (vivienne_
[email protected]) is an
independent consultant.
Angela O’Neill De Guilio (angela.
[email protected]) is a Regional
Director with responsibility for
leading GBV prevention and response
strategy at Concern Worldwide.
The report Gender Based Violence
– A Failure to Protect, A Challenge to
Action is online at www.gbv.ie and
at www.concern.net To get hard
copies (while stocks last) of this
and/or the awareness-raising CDROM, email angela.oneill@concern.
net or write to Concern Worldwide,
52 Camden Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
The guidelines, entitled A Guidance
Note on Institutionalising Gender Based
Violence Prevention and Response within
Organisations, are online at www.
dtalk.ie/gbv or www.concern.net
1. Amnesty International, Christian Aid, Concern
Worldwide, GOAL, Irish Aid, Oxfam Ireland, Self Help
Development International and Trócaire were the eight
founding members, joined later by Child Fund Ireland,
DTalk, Action Aid Ireland, the Irish Defence Forces and
the Irish Red Cross.
2. www.gbv.ie
Sexual violence in the media
by Judith Matloff
Reporting on sexual violence is a challenge even for seasoned
war journalists. How should correspondents, news editors and
producers report the impact of sexual violence on individuals
and communities without causing further distress or danger?
Unlike other conflict-related
calamities that afflict civilians – such
as landmine injuries or displacement
– the impact and incidence of sexual
violence are often hidden from view.
In many societies sexual violence
is the ultimate taboo, the one
crime for which the victim is often
punished rather than the perpetrator.
Individuals and communities are
often reluctant to talk about it for
fear of retribution and stigmatisation.
Media attention to sexual violence
can raise awareness and pressure
governments and the humanitarian
community to support prevention
measures and support for survivors.
However, the media must take
care to report the phenomenon
accurately and sensitively.
International reporters covering
war-related sexual violence
face many constraints:
n Journalists usually have only
a short time on the ground,
limiting attempts to establish
rapport and corroborate facts.
n Coverage could endanger
the interviewee, even if she
is not directly identified.
n Pitching a story to editors can
be difficult due to compassion
fatigue or because they dismiss
it as a woman’s story or fail to
understand its wider impact.
n Even NGOs working to address
sexual violence may not want to
be mentioned, as coverage could
lead to interference by perpetrators
and/or the government.
Journalists covering sexual
violence in a particular conflict
zone need to conduct research to
get context regarding the scope of
the phenomenon, how it is locally
regarded, what measures and
programmes are in place to address
it and whether reporting might
put communities or NGOs at risk.
They might start by interviewing
humanitarian workers who live in or
regularly visit camps or communities
where the violence is taking place.
A reporter is not likely to gain a
subject’s confidence in a single visit
and talking to people with regular
contact with affected communities
can provide an accurate overview.
If a journalist decides it is appropriate
and safe to interview survivors,
sensitive interviewing techniques
are essential. Reporters should take
along someone who speaks the
local language and who has been
sensitised to the topic. No matter
how sensitive male reporters try to
be, a raped woman will probably
feel more comfortable telling her
story to another female. If the
reporter decides to photograph or
film the subject, s/he must do so in
a way that does not reveal the face
or any other aspect of the person’s
identity. Requests to stop filming or
taping must always be respected.
Talking to survivors can give
credibility and power to a story
but the most important task for
a journalist is to report on the
overall context that gives rise to the
phenomenon and what is needed to
change it. Sexual violence in conflict
almost always springs from wider
problems – a lack of security and
protection, the low status of women
and girls and a culture in which either
sexual violence is not recognised
as a crime or impunity prevails.
Judith Matloff (jm2342@
columbia.edu), an experienced war
correspondent, is a professor at
the Columbia Graduate School of
Journalism (www.jrn.columbia.edu).
The Dart Center for Journalism and
Trauma (www.dartcenter.org) is a
network of journalists and mental
health professionals dedicated to
informed news reporting on violence.
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