Breaking the Silence on Violence Against Indigenous Girls, Adolescents and Young Women
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UNICEF_BTS_3b_v3 5/24/13 9:28 AM Page A Breaking the Silence on Violence against Indigenous Girls, Adolescents and Young Women A call to action based on an overview of existing evidence from Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America UNICEF_BTS_3b_v3 5/24/13 9:28 AM Page B © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG/VAC). May 2013 Permission to reproduce any part of this publication is required. Please contact: Human Rights Unit Programme Division, UNICEF 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA Email: [email protected] The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG/VAC). For any corrigenda found subsequent to printing, please visit www.unicef.org/publications Cover Images Local symbol: traditional embroidery made in the department of Sololá, in the highlands of Guatemala, home to descendants of the Mayan culture Left : © Christian Erni / IWGIA Photo Archive Center : UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women / © Rajesh Krishnan Right : © Jenneke Arens / IWGIA Photo Archive UNICEF_BTS_3b_v3 5/24/13 9:28 AM Page i Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................. iv Foreword ............................................................................................... vi Special Message ................................................................................... vii Preface .................................................................................................. viii Executive summary ............................................................................... 1 I Purpose and objectives ............................................................ 1 II Scope, methods, sources, opportunities and limitations ......... 2 III Key findings .............................................................................. 4 Section I: Background .......................................................................... 9 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 9 1.2 Research objectives ................................................................. 10 1.3 Methods, sources, scope, opportunities and limitations ......... 10 1.4 Structure of the report ............................................................... 12 Section II: Global perspectives and contexts ....................................... 13 2.1 Violence against women and girls: a working definition and manifestations ................................... 13 2.2 Why focus on indigenous girls, adolescents and young women? .................................................................. 14 2.3 Understanding the contexts of violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women: the ecological model .. 14 2.4 International human rights standards, mechanisms and commitments ............................................... 16 Section III: The contexts of indigenous peoples and the interface between structural and underlying causes and risk factors for violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women: illustrations from Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America ........................................................................... 19 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 19 3.2 Indigenous peoples of Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America ..................................................................... 19 3.3 Structural and underlying causes and risk factors for violence ................................................................................ 19 UNICEF_BTS_3b_v3 5/24/13 9:28 AM Page ii Breaking the Silence on Violence against Indigenous Girls, Adolescents and Young Women: ii A call to action based on an overview of existing evidence from Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America Section IV: Manifestations of violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women: examples from Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America ....................................................... 27 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 27 4.2 Violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women: what has been documented to date? .............. 27 Section V: Case studies from Kenya, the Philippines and Guatemala ................................................................................ 37 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 37 5.2 Kenya: Harmful practices affecting girls and adolescents ....... 37 5.3 Guatemala: Violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women in a post-conflict era .................................. 39 5.4 The Philippines: Girls and adolescents associated with armed forces and armed groups in Mindanao ......................... 41 Section VI: Overview of on-going national-level initiatives of relevance to address violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women and the challenges of implementation ........................................................................... 43 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 43 6.2 General progress ...................................................................... 43 6.3 Institutional frameworks ............................................................ 45 6.4 Efforts to prevent violence ........................................................ 46 6.5 Efforts to protect and support women and girls who have experienced violence ....................................................... 47 Section VII: Conclusion and recommendations with guiding principles .................................................................... 51 7.1 Conclusion ............................................................................... 51 7.2 Principles .................................................................................. 51 7.3 Recommendations ................................................................... 52 7.4 Way forward .............................................................................. 54 Appendix ............................................................................................. 55 Working definitions ......................................................................... 55 Acronyms ........................................................................................ 56 Notes ..................................................................................................... 57 UNICEF_BTS_3b_v3 5/24/13 9:28 AM Page iii List of Illustrations Table 1: Participation of children and adolescents in economic activities ......................................................................... 6 Table 4.2.1: Percentage of ever-married girls and women aged 15-49 whose husbands have ever exhibited selected types of controlling behaviours by background characteristics ................... 29 Table 4.2.2: Percentage of sex preference by sex (15-49) and states where indigenous populations are located ....................... 31 Table 4.2.4: Participation of children and adolescents in economic activities ......................................................................... 33 Table 5.2: Literacy levels of males and females 15-49 years in selected districts ......................................................................... 38 Table 5.3: Demographic profile of Guatemala by indigenous background, age (15-49 years) and sex ......................................... 39 Table 5.4: Reports of grave violations against children in armed conflict (2012) by sex ........................................................... 41 Table 6.4.1: Scholarships awarded by the rural girls scholarship programme .................................................................. 46 Figure 2.3: Using the ecological model to explain risk factors for violence against indigenous girls, adolescents and young women .......................................................................... 15 Figure 3.3.4: Trends in extreme poverty, Plurinational State of Bolivia ................................................................................ 22 Figure 3.3.4.1: Trends in extreme poverty, Guatemala ......................... 22 Figure 3.3.4.2: Inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Guatemala .................................... 23 Figure 4.2.1: Percentage of ever-married women who have been inflicted by violence by their current or former spouse ................... 28 Figure 4.2.2: Percentage of women age 18-29 and men age 21-29 who were married by legal age for marriage in India (18 for women and 21 for men) ....................................................... 30 Figure 4.2.4: Forced dispossession from ancestral lands as a risk factor for violence .................................................................. 35