VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN needs global attention

العنف ضد المرأة مشكلة محلية تحتاج أهتمام عالمى

In UNITED NATIONS, 6 December 2007 (BWNS) -- Government and civil society representatives called for renewed attention to the issue of preventing violence against women in a panel discussion this week. The discussion, which was organized by the Baha'i International Community and the Christian Children's Fund in cooperation with the U.N. missions of France and the Netherlands, looked at ways that national and local communities around the world can intensify efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

"Despite significant progress, violence against women and girls continues to be a global problem," said Fulya Vekiloglu, director of the Baha'i International Community's Office for the Advancement of Women. "So the effort to organize this discussion is one way to help keep this on the agenda of governments and nongovernmental organizations, and especially to focus on the implementation of recent international agreements to fight and prevent violence against women.".......

Ms. Samson, first secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the U.N noted that the 2006 resolution places important obligations on states to "prevent, investigate, and punish" violence against women.

Mr. Wessells, senior child protection adviser of the Christian Children's Fund stressed the importance of engaging religious and community leaders in efforts to change social norms that allow violence against women and girls.

Dr. Penn, an associate professor of psychology at Franklin and Marshall College, who represented the Baha'i International Community. talked about the importance of strategies aimed at changing old patterns of thinking in men, boys, and communities.
In particular, he said, legal measures to eradicate violence against women should be accompanied by local, national, and international initiatives that cultivate and inspire the human spirit and promote a consciousness of the "dignity and nobility of all people."

He emphasized that everyone has a responsibility to fight practices and attitudes that lead to violence against women. ........

إن العالم محتاج لحلول روحية لعلاج مشكلة العنف ضد المرأة

أن الأسرة يجب أن تتأسس علي أساس من الوحدة والمساواة والأحترام المتبادل وليس منطق القوة