VNC Events
Call for Submissions! Culture and Human Rights: How can we challenge 'cultural' excuses for gender-based violence?
Call for Writers! Culture and Human Rights: How can we challenge ‘cultural’ excuses for gender-based violence?
Gender Across Borders (), a global feminist blog, in collaboration with Violence is Not our Culture: the Global Campaign to End Violence Against Women in the Name of ‘Culture’ () is looking for writers to contribute to a series on the relationship between culture and gender-based violence to run 27 and 28 October.
VNC Strategic Consultation Meeting Report
The Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) Campaign Evaluation: “Taking Stock of Our Gains and Challenges for the Future”
Panel Discussion and Book Launch: Zina Laws, Human Rights and State Accountability
Zina Laws, Human Rights and State Accountability
Panel discussion and book launch of “Control and Sexuality: The Revival of Zina Laws in Muslim Contexts “
Friday, 11 March 2011, 12-2:00 p.m.
Room XXV, Building E, Palais des Nations
Panel Discussion - Cultures, Traditions and Violence Against Women: Human Rights Challenges (Geneva, Switzerland)
EVENT: Panel Discussion at the UN Human Rights Council (Geneva, Switzerland)
Cultures, Traditions and Violence Against Women: Human Rights Challenges
Date: Monday, March 7th 2011
Time: 1-3pm
Location: Room XXIV, Building E, Palais des Nations
VNC Marks 3 Years with Global Actions
16 Days of Activism 2010: The Violence is Not our Culture campaign marks its third year with a series of global actions
On the eve of this year’s commemoration of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence, the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women launched its new name:
Violence is not our Culture: A Global Campaign to Stop Violence Against Women in the name of ‘Culture”
(VNC Campaign)
The change is in response feedback from its activists and allies to broaden the scope of the Campaign beyond specific manifestations of culturally-justified VAW such as ‘killing’ and ‘stoning’. The change of name is also timely as we launch our engagement in the debate at the UN on universality versus cultural relativism in human rights.
The 16 Days of Activism also offered the Campaign key opportunities by which it could raise the profile of its concerns on ‘culture’ and gender–based discrimination and violence against women (CVAW) and be in solidarity with social movements, NGOs, individuals, friendly-States and the UN system engaged in common efforts to end violence against women.
VNC Strategic E-Campaigning Workshops: Women Re-claiming Culture through Tactical Technology
In 2010, the Violence is Not our Culture (VNC) Campaign hosted two Strategic E-Campaigning workshops, based on the expressed needs and desires of our partners in the Asia and Africa regions, with the intention of enhancing the effectiveness of our advocacy and communication strategies for our networked campaigns in their local contexts.
Take Part in our Action!
16 Days of Activism: November 29th
Culture and violence against women
Culture plays a large part in perpetuating violence against women. Sometimes cultural attitudes are hidden in everyday assumptions about how we should behave and interact with each other. For example, sexist jokes or remarks in the workplace get brushed aside because it is part of the office's "work culture". Other times, “culture” is used explicitly as a way to perpetuate and defend certain acts of violence against women. For example, laws that violently deny the rights of lesbians through forced counselling, imprisonment or corporal punishment are justified as being part of a country's culture or tradition; or excusing the murder of a woman deemed to have engaged in "immoral behaviour" because she breached her community's "honour code".
Report on the CSW forum on the Women Reclaiming and Re-defining Cultures (WRRC) program and SKSW documentary film screenings
On March 10, the Global Campaign To Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW Campaign) hosted a forum to introduce the Women Re-claiming and Redefining Cultures (WRRC) programme and a screening of two video documentaries on violence against women and girls justified in the name of ‘culture'.