Nepal Strengthens Fight Against Gender-Based Violence

In a bid to address the issues concerning gender-based violence in the country, Nepal is holding a three-day meeting, which began on September 18, 2018.

The event is being organized by the Nepal Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens (MoWCS), United Nations (UN) and the Nepal Women’s Rehabilitation Centre to measure progress, strengthen cooperation and exchange lessons learned in the implementation of multi-sectoral services.

Speaking at the inaugural function Nepal Women, Children and Senior Citizens Minister Thama Maya Thapa assured that the Nepal Government was committed to tackling gender-based violence at the national, provincial and municipal levels with the creation of right policies.

“We already have many laws to minimize gender-based violence but implementation really takes a long time. I am hopeful that the conclusions of this meeting will be helpful to formulate policies to minimize violence and to safeguards women’s rights,” said Magar.

Thapa identifies the role of the newly-formed local governments as crucial to the formation of a mechanism to secure and stabilize women.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Nepal Representative Nepal Valerie Julliand also expresses readiness to support the cause. She said that the UN agencies were willing to work in collaboration with the Nepal Government and the general public to fight against gender-based violence.

“The multi-sectoral response to gender-based violence will not just help women for recovery and empowerment but will also help to eradicate poverty and will contribute to the country’s development,” said Julliand.

Gender-Based Violence in Nepal
Domestic Violence, marital rape, dowry, polygamy, child marriage, chhaupadi are some of the key factors for the prevalence of gender-based violence in Nepal.

Following are the excerpts of the UNFPA Nepal – Gender-Based Violence Factsheet:

• 27 percent of the surveyed women were victims of physical violence
• 15 percent were exposed to sexual violence at least once in their lifetime
• 61 percent had experienced violence and had not reported it
• 41 percent of women between the age group were married as soon as 18 years
• And what is more alarming is that only 13 percent of the 900-surveyed women were aware of laws against domestic violence

Conclusion
With many stringent measures being rolled out, we hope that the crime rate instigated by gender-based violence will be drastically reduced in Nepal.

Also Read:

• Women’s Equality Day in Nepal: Writing the Freedom of Tomorrow’s Women