Department for International Development urged to embed empowerment of women and girls into overseas programmes
Britain's efforts to tackle violence against women and girls are being undermined by the government's failure to address underlying social attitudes towards women, or to ensure its country programmes make the issue a priority, a group of MPs warned on Thursday.
In a wide-ranging report on gender-based violence (pdf), touching on female genital mutilation, child marriage, violence in conflict, and abortion rights, the Commons international development committee said too few programmes run by the Department for International Development (DfID) focused on empowering women and girls, despite department policy and ministerial statements repeatedly stressing its importance.
In a speech in March, the international development secretary, Justine Greening, said the department was "shifting up a gear" on its work on violence. She announced the launch of a £25m research and innovation fund to investigate what works in different countries, along with plans to hold a summit looking at gender violence in London later this year.
But, while the committee said the UK should be proud of its increased efforts to tackle violence, there was a feeling that DfID "still has a long way to go" to turn rhetoric into action.
"Some impressive programmes are underway. But violence against women and girls is not a stategic priority for most of DfID recipient countries where rates of violence are high," said the report. "Too few DfID programmes address the underlying social norms that drive violence, yet tackling the attitudes that sustain violence against women and girls is of paramount importance."
MPs added that the department needed to have realistic expectations about the speed of change, and should not rush decisions to fund projects without careful research of what works on the ground. It should take a more flexible, long-term view in the funding of its programmes, they said, suggesting a minimum period of five years. DfID should also involve more grassroots organisations in its programming and target more funding towards women's groups.
The report welcomed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, but said DfID's role needed to be better articulated in the programme, since the department is responsible for providing services on the ground. MPs also questioned the initiative's focus on prosecution, arguing that the emphasis should be more on prevention than response.
The report also called on the department to make clear its policy on supporting abortion for women raped in war. Under the Geneva convention, women and girls raped in conflict have a right to abortion, regardless of national legislation, but this position has yet to be integrated into DfID policies. DfID should also "engage in serious dialogue" with donors that restrict the use of funds for abortion, such as the US.
The report added that the UK's international leadership on gender violence risked being weakened by its failure to tackle issues on its own doorstep, specifically female genital mutilation. According to the report, at least 20,000 girls are at risk from the practice. Although FGM has been illegal in the UK since 1985, no prosecutions have been brought.
"Violence against women expresses a deep-seated contempt that, regrettably, persists in some countries towards women and girls … The way in which any nation treats its women holds the key to its social and economic advancement. When you treat women as chattels – when you mutilate them, abuse them, force them to marry early, lock them out of school or stop them entering the workforce – you fail to function as a society," said Malcolm Bruce, the committee chairman.
"It's a rights issue and a development issue. If that's how you treat women, you are denying half of the population opportunities."
Responding to the report, Greening stressed that violence prevention "is at the heart of our development work and a key priority across the UK government".
She added: "DfID is increasing its work in this area, including in conflict and humanitarian settings, and is working closely with FCO. We now have anti-violence programmes for women and girls in more than 20 countries, and by 2015 will have helped 10 million women access justice. We will continue to demonstrate leadership at the international level to end these terrible crimes."
Rowan Harvey, women's rights advocacy adviser for ActionAid UK, said: "Earlier this year Justine Greening called violence against women a pandemic. Yet today's report shows the government has been treating it as a common cold.
"The report has provided an important insight into the root causes of violence against women and girls and prescribed a clear plan of action to treat it.
"If the government truly wants to become a leader on tackling violence against women and girls, it must act on today's recommendations. This is its opportunity to turn promises into action."