Document 6510860

MUN BRIEFING PAPER
Femme Fatale - How to prevent women abuse?
Hi delegates, Iʼm Natsuki Hara and I will be chairing the Human Rights II committee alongside
Matt Marriott and Rowan Salisbury. So far I have been to eight MUN conferences but this will be
my first ever MUN conference as a Chair! It took me a long time to speak in MUN but once I got
over my nerves and did, it was so much more fun and I wish I had started to earlier. So please
try to speak even if this will be your first conference. You will have a brilliant time if you do, I
promise!
Key points in this Briefing Paper: The numbers of female abuse cases; who is most likely to
become victims and abusers; problems for victims; how children are affected; and what could be
done.
Background information
Most countries today have laws in order to protect women in their country, however the number
of women being abused in the world are still extremely high. Even in MEDCs where there are in
general more rights and equal opportunities for women, they are still abused on a daily basis.
What counts as abuse? This can be any kind of abuse such as physical, verbal, psychological
and financial. There are statistics that show that 1 in 4 women will be a victim of domestic abuse
in their lifetime and many more than once in their life. Around 20% of children are sexual
violence victims, according to international studies. A domestic violence incident is reported to
the police every 1 minute in the world; this shows how crucial it is for us to act quickly to lower
the number of cases and eventually if possible put an end to female abuse. Women who are
victims of abuse often suffer isolation leading to not being able to work and this could mean that
the family may not receive enough income. UNWOMEN is a UN body, which deals with issues
surrounding women. The question is: should UNWOMEN do more to prevent female abuse?
Victims and abusers
Many abusers who are without a good knowledge about gender equalities, communication and
relationship skills to all children are more likely to abuse women. Well educated men are less
likely to abuse women and women are more likely to speak out if they have been educated
about this and are being abused, as they will learn that it is acceptable to speak out. It can be
harder for victims to receive help in countries where female abuse is not seen as a very big
concern, resulting in problems for victims in those countries. Children who have experienced
abuse or seen their parents involved in violence have a higher chance of becoming perpetrators
themselves or victims. If people are more accepting of violence they too are likely to become
perpetrators or victims as victims will not try to stop the abuse if they are accepting of violence.
There are forced marriage and human trafficking cases where young girls are sold off to men
and abused by them. This can happen with their parents consent or if they are abducted.
Victims of abuse are subject to many health consequences. For example they can get
headaches, abdominal pain, back pain and general poor health. Women who are abused while
pregnant can have miscarriages, still birth, pre-term delivery and low birth rate. In countries such
as the United Kingdom abuse if more easily spotted if women go to hospital for any reason, but
in other countries where there is not a good healthcare system abuse cannot be spotted as
George Watson’s College MUN Conference 2013
MUN BRIEFING PAPER
easily by health professionals. Female abuse often happens behind closed doors and the
women usually do not like to talk about it, so it is extremely difficult to spot. Violent abuse can
also lead to depression, emotional distress, sleep difficulties, eating disorders and suicide.
Sexual abuse results in a higher risk of smoking and alcohol misuse, especially if there is sexual
abuse during childhood. Women, especially in LEDCs, cannot get help to cope with health
problems such as these, which is a major problem as it is extremely hard to recover from these
health problems in isolation.
Children
Children born into families where they are abused need help. Growing up in an abusive
environment can be traumatic and it is detrimental to the childʼs development and growth. Health
problems can arise in children as a result of abuse, the same as adults.
Points to consider
Should countries create more legislation and policies to protect women? Would improving
education systems be a priority to lower female abuse cases in future, and what is the best way
to prevent female abuse? What can be done for women currently in a situation where they are
being abused?
Find out how much your country is doing to protect female abuse victims and if they consider
female abuse as a priority or not.
Please send your Position Paper for this topic (and remember you have to do one for each of the
Committee Topics) to me by Friday 15th February at the latest to [email protected],
especially if you want to be considered for an award. A Position Paper is quite easy: just write
about 50 words about your countryʼs view on this topic. Also bring your Resolutions (write at
least 2) with you on the day.
I canʼt wait to see all the ideas you come up with! Email me if you have any questions and I will
be happy to do my best to try and help. Good luck with your research and Resolutions, I am
looking forward to meeting you all in March!
Useful links
For this topic:
http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic_violence_topic.asp?section=0001000100220041
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2004/DomesticViolenceinDevelopingCountriesAnIntergenerationalCri
sis.aspx
http://www.unwomen.org/focus-areas/?show=Violence_against_Women
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/
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MUN BRIEFING PAPER
For country profiles and other useful information:
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
http://www.un.org
For issues of current international debate:
http://www.newint.org/
http://www.idebate.org/
http://www.amnesty.org/
George Watson’s College MUN Conference 2013