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| Elia J Armacanqui-Tipacti |
UNITED NATIONS. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women. (Excerpts from Women @ Work to End Violence: Voices in Cyberspace) In 1993, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women. While not legally binding, the Declaration represents international consensus on government obligations to end violence against women. It offers an internationally accepted framework for efforts by NGOs and governments to end violence against women. It affirms human rights which are legally binding, such as: the right to liberty and security of person; the right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The Declaration defines violence against women as �any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life� (Article 1). It applies to violence by non-governmental actors, including violence in the family. Article 2 of the Declaration states that violence against women includes, but is not limited to: violence in the family �battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household; dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, and violence related to exploitation; violence in the general community - rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere; trafficking in women and forced prostitution; and violence perpetuated or condoned by the State �wherever it occurs. In recognition of the Women's History Month, the Department of Foreign Languages and various departments are organizing a Poetry and Art Exhibition title: "Elimination of All Form of Violence Against Women" and hosted by UWSP. The event is from March 2 to March 5, 2005 with two international guest speakers, Professor Nela Rio, an Argentine-Canadian artist and writer from St. Thomas University, Fredericton, N.B., Canada. The exhibition major events will include an art contest and a creative writing contest which will draw submissions from UWSP students and faculty/staff and the local community; an art exhibition and poetry exhibition in the Carlsten Art Gallery, and a number of academic panels where various participants �faculty/staff, students, and community members � will discuss social, cultural, artistic, and other issues related to the exhibition theme. There also will be movies, books display. The exhibition's main purposes are educational, in that it aims to make the UWSP community as well as the local population, further aware of the violence faced by women globally, and to mobilize them to help eliminate such violence and in so doing improve women's lives locally and worldwide. As such the exhibition is interdisciplinary as well as community oriented. Steering Committee:
Subcommittees:
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