| Questions of accountability related to HIV and violence against women and girls |
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by Shamillah Wilson As a campaign we have focused much of our efforts focusing on accountability from the perspective of donors and states. We have done this at the global level by collecting evidence on how donor agendas address the link between violence against women and HIV infection and used this evidence to inform our advocacy. At the national level, national coalitions have also advocated for laws and interventions that would effectively respond to the root causes of the epidemic continue to put women at risk. In the build-up to the campaign though, as a campaign, we were quite clear that accountability also extends to civil society responses to the pandemic. Yet, this is an area that has not enjoyed as much attention. Over 30 yeas of responding to HIV and AIDS, there is no doubt that civil society responses are a critical cog in the AIDS machinery globally. Civil society as a heterogenous configuration has been key in influencing and shaping policy and practice. In the interests of advancing civil society responses, it is worth asking, (1) Does all civil society groups have the universal rights of women at the heart of their responses? and (2) Who is civil society ultimately accountable to? In the context of violence against women and HIV, the evidence shows that to date, in most cases civil society have addressed the twin epidemics as two separate and parallel processes. On the other hand, the issue of violence against women has long been a critical point of entry for the women’s movement, feminists and those who are committed to advancing women’s rights. On the other hand, the HIV and AIDS sector has been, in a similar way, instrumental in pushing a progressive rights based approach to HIV and AIDS. This rights based approach has generally been articulated as a women’s rights issue but the extent to which these organizations and institutions have been able to apply this understanding of rights as inclusive of women’s rights has been weak and uneven. We have not even become to form a complete picture of civil society groups in complete opposition to addressing women's rights in the context of HIV and AIDS. Coming back to accountability, the question is therefore, with all that we know, why has the commitment to actually address these as intersecting issues as an integral part of civil society agendas and interventions been as weak as it has? And not only at the global level, at the national level with the range of civil society actors responding to HIV and AIDS and human rights. In an era where most of civil society have had to become institutionalised, and in the era of AIDS funding - many groups find themselves focused on survival and having to comply with donor requirements. In recent efforts to engage civil society groups in one country a national level, to reflect on their accountability and use the reflection to define new ways of working, what was most incredible was the amount of resistance as it challenged autonomy and the politics of why groups were doing this work. At this stage, it is clear we still have much to do, but at the end of the day, we have to engage with these questions honestly. The burden of accountability does not rest with our states and with donors alone. It is not enough to acknowledge the link between violence and HIV, and its implications for policy and practice. If this does not translate into practice (by both governments, civil society and donors), the consequences and risks of this gap has implications for women’s rights, including their right to health and to safety and security. Shamillah Wilson is a South African feminist and works as the Communications Associate for the Women WON'T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. Campaign. 25 Nov - Intensify efforts in ending all forms of violence against women and girls (Shamillah Wilson, South Africa) Members of the campaign are: Action Aid; African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET); Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID); Akina Mama wa Afrika; Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL); Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE); Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM); GESTOS-Soropositividade, Comunicação & Gênero; International Community of Women Living with HIV&AIDS Southern Africa (ICW-Southern Africa); International Women’s AIDS Caucus; International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC); Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network; Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA); Program on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health; SANGRAM; VAMP; and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA). Become a fan of our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women-Wont-Wait-Campaign-End-HIV-and-Violence-Against-Women-NOW/192809781054?ref=ts |