A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Issue 1: Series Launch

On the Record: Women of Southeast Asia Fight Violence
Issue 1 Series Launch
March 3, 1999

From the Editorial Desk
by Iain Guest

This series of On the Record is about the struggle for women's rights in Southeast Asia.

It reports from a recent seminar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (January 18 - 22, 1999) that was attended by 24 distinguished human rights activists from six Southeast Asian countries. The purpose was to exchange information and train participants in investigating, documenting, and monitoring women's human rights violations. The training was conducted under the auspices of ASCENT (the Asian Center for Women's Human Rights) and KAMPUCHEBOT, a Cambodian nongovernmental organization (NGO). It received financial support from the Canadian government.

The Advocacy Project was invited to help the organizers by producing this series and by providing advice to participants on their information strategy. We are pleased to help because the meeting has much to teach the human rights movement. As part of our contribution, the Project is also hosting a discussion list for participants. (Details can be found in Issue 2.)

This series draws from the meeting, interviews, and background information, but it should not be taken as a record of the actual discussions. The series also contains opinion pieces. These are clearly identified, and do not reflect the views of the organizers or of The Advocacy Project.

In recent years, women's groups have made huge strides in advancing and defining women's rights. This is particularly striking when one considers that women were viewed as an appendage to the family by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and treated as wives and mothers. The idea that women had rights as women was simply unthinkable.

Since then it has become increasingly clear that women are singled out for abuse and discrimination precisely because they are women. In 1979, the UN adopted a new convention that called on governments to work for the elimination of discrimination against women (CEDAW). This represented an important advance. But the current decade has reminded us that the problem is far wider than discrimination. The wars in Bosnia (1992-95) and Rwanda (1994) were marked by acts of singular brutality, such as mass rape and forced impregnation, that underlined the special vulnerability of women in war. This galvanized the women's movement. For the first time ever, a group of abused women spoke out at a public tribunal at the 1993 World Conference of Human Rights in Vienna.

Since then, the campaign to eliminate violence against women has gathered momentum. The 1995 Conference in Beijing adopted an action plan, including measures against violence. The United Nations Human Rights Commission has appointed a "special rapporteur" on violence against women.

The seminar in Phnom Penh shows how much still remains to be done. In Southeast Asia, violence is assuming virulent new forms; much of it directly linked to economic and political instability. It is clear, for example, that the economic crisis has greatly increased the pressure on women throughout the region, particularly those engaged in marginal activities like migrant labor or sex work. In Indonesia, last year's political turmoil fanned resentment against the Chinese minority that immediately translated into rape. In Cambodia, women suffer from an appalling level of domestic abuse that is clearly linked to the violence of the Khmer Rouge and many years of war. In these and other cases, women act like a lightening rod for the pent-up anger and insecurity of an entire society.

The first part of this series sets out the problem, as it was presented at the Cambodia seminar. It begins with an introduction by Indai Sajor from ASCENT in the Philippines, herself a former political prisoner in the Philippines. Sajor (who led the training) is one of the most inspiring figures in the international women's human rights movement.

The second part looks at the response. The 24 participants at the seminar are no strangers to human rights monitoring. Between them, they have listened to, and helped, countless victims across the region. Yet there is much they can teach each other, and learn. This was one of the goals of the Cambodian seminar. Slowly, but carefully, Indai Sajor and Alex Marcelino (from KAMPUCHEBOT) took them through the basics of monitoring, evaluation, and documentation. This led to a discussion on the tools that are available to the human rights campaigner. They include publicity, international instruments, law, and public tribunals. Teresa Crawford, one of the editors of this series, contributes an editorial on the way human rights groups are using the Internet.

The third section of this series profiles seminar participants from Burma, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Written by Laura McGrew, and backed up by comments from the participants themselves, they tell an inspiring story.

Finally, part four looks at Cambodia's own efforts to come to terms with its own terrible past. As many as two million Cambodians may have died between 1975 and 1979 under the Khmer Rouge, yet only now is the international community pressing Cambodia to prosecute those Khmer Rouge leaders who survive. Some fear this will open old wounds and undermine the prospects for rehabilitating the Khmer Rouge. Others are outraged at the thought that these mass murderers might escape justice. Laura McGrew, (who served as a UN human rights monitor in Cambodia) looks at the extraordinary abuse and violence suffered by women under the Khmer Rouge rule, including the practice of forced marriage. While this must be reflected in the work of any tribunal, she also warns that the Cambodian people must be better consulted before any decision is reached. Craig Etcheson, a long-time expert on Cambodia, sets out the case for a tribunal.

While these articles on the Khmer Rouge are a reminder of Cambodia's dark past, the campaign to stop violence against women is as contemporary as any issue on the human rights agenda. As the campaigners push the envelope, and try to extend the debate into domestic violence and reproductive rights, they meet increasing resistance from those who argue that the home and the marriage are outside the purview of international law, and even human rights.

The best answer is that a commitment is being broken, and violence is being imposed on persons who are almost by definition more vulnerable. This is the essence of the human rights abuse, and it lies behind some of the most egregious violations of our time. Violence against women is so widespread that it cannot be treated as an ailment and cured by counseling. It has to be addressed in a legal context, as a matter of legal rights. This was repeatedly stressed at the Cambodia seminar.

This, however, cannot be a legalistic exercise. Human rights are about everyday lives, and about making them better. This calls for action, as well as laws – for campaigns as much as conventions. The emphasis at the Cambodian seminar was on practical solutions throughout. We hope this is reflected in the coverage by On the Record.

Support for this issue came from a private donation, which is gratefully acknowledged. The material was researched and compiled by Laura McGrew and Teresa Crawford and edited by Iain Guest.