Be Aware& Speak Up : ECWR Launches a Campaign to Combat Violence Against Women

(Cairo, November 24, 2016) In light of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence annual campaign, ECWR launches “Be Aware & Speak Up” that seeks combating violence against women.

The campaign aims at:

• Raising awareness of the serious implications of VAW, different forms of violence, and its economic cost
• Encouraging women to speak out about the violence they encounter and to seek justice.

The campaign’s activities will be implemented in 20 governorates; Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Gharbaya, Menoufia, Dakahlia, Behira, MarsaMatrouh, Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Luxor, Qena, Aswan, Sharqaya, Alexandria, Damietta , Ismaili. The activities will be carried out by young female leaders and coordinators of Women’s Voices Project in the form of seminars for women to raise their awareness of the risks of experiencing violence and the importance of speaking out in case of being subject to violence.

Also, ECWR will participate in a workshop organized by the National Council for Women (NCW) on “The Role of Universities in Combating VAW”. ECWR will present the experiences of governmental and private universities in establishing special units for combating sexual harassment and VAW. Mr. Ashraf El-Shehy- Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Maya Morsy – NCW President, and many universities’ presidents will be also participating in the workshop and. Ms. NehadAbulKomsan – ECWR chairwoman – will present the mechanism of combating sexual harassment on the Egyptian universities’ campuses, legal structure regulating the work inside these units, as well as the role of ECWR in the launching two units for combating sexual harassment in the universities of Ain Shams and Assiut.

ECWR also participates in a community dialogue on sexual harassment articles in The Protection of Women draft law – proposed by the National Council for Women along with a number of NGOs. The law draft is being discussed by the Committee on Violence against Women as part of the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee in NCW.

Believing in its role as a civil society organization dedicated to women and in the framework of the 16 days campaign, ECWR carried out the following activities

• Conducting a study entitled “The Legal Protection for Women’s Victims of Violence”. The study tried to detect the role of the legal system in reducing violence against women, especially in light of a culture that tolerates violence against women. The Study is composed of six chapters, the 1^stchapter addresses violence against women globally and locally, while the 2^nd chapter addresses the legal framework for the protection of women, the 3^rdchapterdeals with legal protection inside courts, the 4^thchapter includesgeneral analysis on the different forms of crime, while 5^th Chapter addresses the personal status law cases, and finally the 6^thChapterpresents a set of recommendations.
• Publishing an explanatory paper that includes definition of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign, and the related dates related. The paper also included the definition of VAW, its forms, the reality of VAW and domestic violence in Egypt, sexual harassment, causes and effects of VAW.

– Issuing a training manual entitled “The Role of Police in Combating VAW” to provide some experiences that may contribute to the development of the Units for Combating VAW adopted by the Ministry of Interior. The training manual includes seven chapters; 1^st chapter covers the definition of VAW, its factors, forms and implications. 2^ndChapter includes the legal protection for women from violence at the local level, 3^rdChapter talks about the legal protection for women from violence at the international level, the 4^thChapter tackles the effectiveness of the laws in the protection of women, the 5^thChapter includes the impact of family law on VAW, the 6^thChapter analyzes the role of police in the protection of women, and the 7^thChapter covers the establishment of effective and well-functioning police bodies that have a good representation of women.

In addition to that, ECWR will organize several field activities during the 16 days as listed in the following table: