This report presents the results of a survey of individual, institutional, legal and policy responses to experiences of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Nepal. Through a detailed understanding of the experiences of 6 women who have suffered violence, we have reviewed how and where women seek care and support, and explored reasons for not seeking care. We have reviewed the mechanisms for institutional accountability, collaboration and co-ordination, and have engaged with multiple stakeholders to understand the barriers and opportunities for improving institutional responses. In addition, we have looked in detail at the legal and policy environments which, in theory, both protect and promote the rights of women and girls to live a life free of violence, and ensure they have a right to care and support when needed. The findings from the report make for sobering reading. It is well documented that women and girls in Nepal face multiple burdens of violence – physical, sexual, emotional and structural. Moreover, it is understood that these same women may face discrimination and suffer stigma, shame and social isolation if they seek care and support for the violence they suffer. What we have documented in this report are the accounts of six women who have suffered abuse (ranging from trafficking through accusations of witchcraft,to dowry-related violence) and who came into contact with service providers who were mandated to provide help to them. While there were positive stories of institutional accountability, not all women received the help to which they were entitled. Thus, while the perpetrator of trafficking was finally sentenced to a lifetime in jail, the men who sexually assaulted one woman were fined by an ad-hoc village committee who
promptly kept half the money for themselves. In general, while interviewees were aware that VAWG is a problem in Nepal, and were keen to address the problem, at District level in particular, they were often lacking in knowledge about their own (institutional) responsibility to act. Thus, for example, awareness of institutional policies and guidelines for dealing with cases of VAWG was often lacking. Record keeping was generally poor, and few respondents at District level were aware of any evaluation or analysis of the records/data that they did keep. Mechanisms for accountability to ensure that cases of VAWG were dealt with effectively (and according to principles of equity and fairness), were notable by their almost universal absence. At national level,
while mechanisms for collaboration and coordination among agencies were noted, these did not extend to inter-agency agreement on such basic concepts as standardized case definitions, centralized monitoring, or implementation of accountability mechanisms.
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Publisher:
UKaid, UCL, CREHPA, UNWOMEN, UNFPA
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(2013
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Type / Script:
Progress Report
in English
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Keywords:
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, MENSTRUAL SECLUSION (CHAUPADI), ALLOCATION AND UTILIZATION, WITCHCRAFT, TRAFFICKING, JUSTICE MECHANISM, DOWERY, AUTONOMY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, GENDER INEQUALITY, SOCIAL SECTOR, SOCIAL INCLUSION, EMPOWERMENT, ACCEPTANCE, SOCIAL POLICIES AND LAWS, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, ETHICAL CONSIDERATION, RIGHT TO CARE AND SUPPORT, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, MEDIA CONTENT ANALYSIS, SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS, KNOWLEDGE OF LAWS, WOMEN AND CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS
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Thematic Group:
UNFPA
:
Population studies
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Thesaurus:
14.05.03
- Social Development
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Reference Link:
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