Structural Barriers to Inclusion: a focus on violence

From Urban Exclusion to Inclusive Urbanisation Workshop

October 29 2015

Gendered experiences of violence• Urban men and women

experience violence differently.

• However, women experience violence or the fear of violence on a daily basis, which:– restricts their movement, limiting

their use of public spaces and movement from their homes to public or other private spaces.

• Analysing, and making more visible, these differences is crucial.

A street protest against sexual harassment. The placard on the left says “We will not be afraid”.

Women’s experiences of violence

“Women fear and experience violence that falls in two main dimensions: violence against women and violence arising from urban insecurities, particularly

as related to urbanisation and poverty.” ActionAid, Woman and the City (2011)

Whose Voice Counts?

... look into, and take account of, the lives of groups of women and men whose knowledge and views of their own urban realities count.

Case studies on GBV• Egypt: Reclaiming the Streets for Women’s Dignity: Effective

Initiatives in the Struggle against Gender-Based Violence in between Egypt’s Two Revolutions (2014)– focuses on the struggle to combat gender-based violence in public space

in Egypt through the sustained collective action of vigilante groups who organically formed to respond to the increasing encroachment on women in public space from 2011 onwards.

• South Africa: Turning the Tide: The Role of Collective Action for Addressing Structural and Gender-based Violence in South Africa (2015).– explores how collective action contributes to addressing sexual and

gender-based violence (SGBV), and the role of men and boys in enabling transformative change.

Socially and politically motivated GBV in Egypt

• Women (and men) have been exposed to two kinds of gender-based violence in the Egyptian context:– Socially motivated violence (spouse abuse or

sexual harassment by gangs, thugs or various public actors)

– Political violence (political acts which may include rape, sexual torture and sexual abuse, as well as forced pregnancy and sterilisation)

Socially motivated

• In 2013, a survey conducted by UN-Women found that 99.3 per

cent of women in Egypt reported being exposed to one form or another of sexual harassment. – The most commonly reported type is the touching of the body (reported

by 59.9 per cent), followed by verbal (catwalk) harassment; 30.3 per cent admitted to being raped (el Dabh 2013).

• Research through focus groups in Cairo (Fayoum, Minya, Beni Suef

and Qena) shows that women are more vulnerable to being sexually harassed more often, and it is becoming more daring (more groping/touching/attempted removal of clothing) (Tadros 2014).

Sexual harassment in public spaces

"Nefssi" (I would like) not to be obliged to

escort my sister wherever she goes [to protect her from being

harassed].

"I want to take the bus without anyone

touching me"

“I want to walk safely in street"

"I want to ride a bike without

anyone annoying

me"

Politically motivated• Since 2011, Egypt has witnessed a pattern of politically motivated

sexual assault in protest spaces by various actors (the army, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups such as the Salafis)

• These acts:– occur in squares and public spaces associated with protests; – takes place in these spaces during times of protests and demonstrations;– the victims are disproportionately activists, whether women or men; – sexual violence is used in conjunction with other forms of violence; – sexual violence is not enacted on a one-to-one basis but through a group

of men, simultaneously assaulting the woman collectively; and– sexual assault does not happen in a passing moment, but is sustained

over a period of time.

Why is this important?

• Programmes and policies need to reflect urban women’s realities in order to ensure women’s right to the city.

A young woman protests in the street. Her placard reads “My freedom is my dignity”.

More than that ...

.... also take into account the diversity, inequalities, and power structures that

determines people’s experiences of violence.

For example...

• Women’s roles and the differences among women by race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, marital and parenthood status and socioeconomic status directly influence how women will navigate cities on a daily basis.

Multiple and intersecting violence in South Africa

• Gender-based violence in South Africa is:– conspicuous and widespread.– pervades the political, economic and social structures of society – is driven by strongly patriarchal social norms and complex and

intersectional power inequalities, including gender, race, class and sexuality.

• Men, women and people that transit genders in South Africa are impacted by violence in multiple and intersecting ways. – Violent punishment of people who transgress heteronormative gender

roles and identities. – For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer and intersex (LGBTQI)

persons this translates into the very real experience of homophobic violence including homicide and rape as a form of persecution.

Vee’s Story

Vee is a gender and sexual rights activist and a keen photographer who lives in Cape Town.

In her activism she provides support to people who experience discrimination because of their sexuality and gender

identity. Vee campaigns with the organisation Free Gender for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans,

Intersex and Queer Rights.

One of the digital stories developed in Cape Town.

Vee’s Story

http://interactions.eldis.org/capetown-digital-stories-on-sgbv

A Resource on Gender-based violence

http://interactions.eldis.org/gender-based-violence

How does this fit in with post-2015?

As the world welcomes the new post-2015 development agenda, women’s economic

empowerment and gender equality have become priorities for sustainable development. The

incorporation of women’s voices and experiences in policy and planning would contribute to the building of a more inclusive form urbanisation which attempts

to address the structural barriers that limits urban women’s ability to access the increased social,

economic, and political opportunities available to them in cities.