wfn.org | The world seems immune to the stench of violence against women says global church organization

["Franziska Surber" <Franziska.Surber@warc.ch>]

>World Alliance of Reformed Churches
>News Release
>5 March 2009

The world seems immune to the stench of violence against women
says global church organization

The economic crisis is putting women at higher risk of violence
yet the world is paying less attention to their needs, says a
global church organization. In a statement issued to mark
International Women’s Day (8 March), the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches (WARC) expresses concern that  violent crimes
against women, particularly rape and domestic violence, are on
the rise at the same time that support for programmes to protect
women is under threat.

“The world seems to have become almost immunised to the stench
of violence against women. Dowry-related deaths, honour killings,
female genital mutilation, and rape as a weapon of war continue
with impunity. Women and girls are sold in slavery as trafficking
of persons across the globe for sexual and economic exploitation
thrives,” says Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth, WARC’s spokesperson
on gender issues.

“We cannot continue to ignore the plight of women and girls who
are attacked in their homes or are targets of war crimes," says
WARC’s general secretary, Setri Nyomi. “WARC calls for renewed
commitment to accelerate rather than slow down the process of
seeking to end violence against women and girls and to bring
about justice.”

Poor women in poor countries suffer the most from the impact of
the economic crisis, says Sheerattan-Bisnauth. Increased social
unrest due to unemployment, rising food costs and disputes over
scarce resources such as water and land, lead to rising levels of
violence with women and girls most vulnerable to attack. Yet,
warns Sheerattan-Bisnauth, funding for programmes designed to
protect and empower women is being reduced.  “Cuts to funding for
social safety nets for the vulnerable – the elderly, sick,
disabled and those in family crisis – exacerbate the situation”,
Sheerattan-Bisnauth adds.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the world’s
poorest countries are now being hit by what it terms the “third
wave” of the downturn after first affecting the advanced and the
emerging economies and says poor countries face greater exposure
to the current crisis because they are more integrated into the
international economy than they used to be. “This puts at risk
the major achievements of higher growth, lower poverty, and
greater political stability that many low-income countries have
made over the past decade,” says the head of the IMF, Dominique
Strauss-Kahn.

In responding to the crisis, churches in communities worldwide
are seeking to counter the rise in violence through initiatives
which engage both men and women. In ecumenical services to be
held around the world on 6 March to mark the Women’s World Day of
Prayer, the focus will be on one of the countries cited by the
IMF as most at risk from the economic crisis. Women from churches
in Papua New Guinea have written the liturgy for the annual
service drawing on Biblical texts about the role of women in
facing oppressors and citing modern day stories of women daring
to meet for peace talks with rebels in remote areas of the
country and to intervene to seek peaceful resolution in local
tribal disputes.

“WARC celebrates the efforts of the women of Papua New Guinea to
bring peace to their communities,” says Nyomi. “And we call on
men to join with women in partnership in these initiatives.”

>***

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together
75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries -
united in their commitment to making a difference in a troubled
world. The WARC general secretary is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. WARC's secretariat is
based in Geneva, Switzerland.

>Contact:

>Kristine Greenaway 
>Executive Secretary, Communications
>World Alliance of Reformed Churches
>150 Route de Ferney
>P.O. Box 2100
>1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
>tel.  +41.22 791 6243
>fax: +41.22 791 6505

>web: www.warc.ch ( http://www.warc.ch/ ) 
>e-mail: kgr@warc.ch