ANWS together with the Garden of Hope Foundation in Taiwan will hold a NGO CSW66 parallel event: The Silver Linings and Prospects for Women in Poverty Under the Covid-19 Crisis in Asia on 17 March at 12:00 a.m. ET (please click here for your local time).
As stated in UN Women’s articles women in Asia represent two thirds of the poor. Moreover, it is widely observed that GBV survivors often face economic abuse in addition to physical violence. Taking into account of their financial situations, survivors may find it hard to be independent, especially victims often have children with them to care for when they are accommodated into a shelter. How CSOs in Asia can help empower GBV survivors in economic means and access better employment opportunities is what we want to discuss in this parallel event.
In response to the tragic deaths that occurred at an immigration facility in March, we call for thorough and appropriate protection for foreign victims of domestic violence and improvement of measures.
On March 6, 2021, a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman, Ms. Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, lost her life in a detention facility of the Nagoya Immigration Bureau.
From the contents of the “Investigation Report on the Death of an Inmate at the Nagoya Immigration Bureau on March 6, 2021” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) released on August 10 by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the “Bureau”), it became clear that the Bureau’s response was inhumane and that it failed to take necessary medical measures. We strongly protest the inappropriate response of the Immigration Bureau, which took away her irreplaceable life, and we believe that it is an extremely serious problem that cannot be overlooked that Ms. Wishma Sandamali, in particular, did not receive proper protection despite her complaint of domestic violence (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “DV”) and her request for help.
Problem 1: The Nagoya Immigration Bureau’s handling of DV victims
Ms. Wishma Sandamali was detained without being protected as a victim of DV, even though she was a DV victim who consulted the police for help after suffering DV from the man she was dating. “When a victim of domestic violence or a foreign national who is considered to be a victim of domestic violence is recognized during a residence examination or deportation procedure, the foreign national should be interviewed about the details of the domestic violence case” (Article 3-1 (1)). Also, “If they wish to do so, they should contact the Spousal Violence Counseling Center or police officer in the area where they reside” (Article 5-2) according to the “Guideline for Measures Concerning Domestic Violence Cases”. However, the Bureau failed to take any action based on the DV measures, even though Ms. Wishma Sandamali had complained that she had been subjected to DV.
Problem 2: The initial response of the police
According to the Report, in the application for provisional release submitted by Ms. Wishma Sandamali on January 4, 2021, she stated that she had “appeared before the police and told them that her boyfriend had been violent” as the reason for requesting provisional release (page 57 of the report). This situation could have been prevented if the police had cooperated with the Spousal Violence Counseling and Support Center and had protected her in the shelter at a women’s counseling center, instead of the Immigration Bureau. In order to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again, the police response and the Bureau’s response should be thoroughly examined.
Problem 3: DV judgment in the Report
The Report states that the staff should have interviewed Ms. A (Ms. Wishma Sandamali) in accordance with the Guideline, but it is not clear whether Ms. A (Ms. Wishma Sandamali) would have been recognized as a victim of DV even if the staff had followed the procedure. The conclusion of the Report is extremely narrow in its view of cases in which a person should be protected as a victim of DV, and it displays nothing short of a gross lack of awareness of DV. The results of this investigation are highly reprehensible and show that if the Bureau, which has little knowledge of DV, is left to deal with DV victims, many victims will continue to be detained without being recognized as victims.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Justice, the number of DV victims recognized by local immigration offices nationwide is only in the double digits every year (82 cases in 2019). In the past, the reasons for this have been cited as the lack of support information and the inability of consultation services to respond to victims, but this case has revealed a more serious problem: the extremely poor understanding of DV at immigration offices.
Therefore, we request the following.
Part 1. To the relevant ministries and agencies:
To the Immigration and Refugee Management Agency of the Ministry of Justice
Reconsideration of the response to DV victims in the report
The Immigration Bureau should immediately start to fundamentally revise the procedures for DV victims
Investigate and clarify the reasons why the Guideline was not thoroughly disseminated to the frontline staff in this case, investigate the status of dissemination and implementation of the measures at facilities nationwide, compile measures for improvement, and announce the policy for the improvement of training methods.
To the police
When the police receive a consultation from a foreigner, if there is a complaint of domestic violence, regardless of whether or not the person has a status of residence, they should report it to the Spousal Violence Counseling and Support Center, not the Immigration Bureau, and ask for a response.
Part 2. Law revision
We call for the following revisions of the law:
Revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act; and
Revision of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act
We recognize that both the verification of this problem and the measures to prevent its recurrence are extremely inadequate, and we call for a thorough verification and the formulation of measures to prevent its recurrence, especially the prompt revision of the law and the guidelines for measures.
Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan
Japan Network Against Trafficking In Persons (JNATIP)
All Japan Women’s Shelter Network
KYOFUKAI-Japan Christian Women’s Organization
Human Rights Now
Contact to
All Japan Women’s Shelter Network office@murasaki-ribbon.sakura.ne.jp
For a complete full statement, please click the link below.
Economic Empowerment and Development and Future Possibility of Developmental Social Work
The Garden of Hope Foundation observes that poverty, deprivation, and desperation are commonly seen in many cases. It’s the priority of developmental social work to respond to these challenges. The Foundation believes that the goal of economic development and social welfare should be equally important in the empowerment process.
Developmental social work focuses on the advantage of the recipient, and pays attention to the regional characteristics. It emphasizes the process of social investment, economic policy, and public participation. It accumulates all kinds of assets (manpower, finance, and social capital) of its clienteles through a positive cycle in productive economic activity, and allows self-determination possibility and opportunity or further feedback to drive regional economic activity growth and promote overall economic development.
Cindy Southworth, National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA
Moderators
Rachel Gibson – National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA
The Women’s Helplines Project
The Global Network of Women’s Shelters wants women and children to be safe in every country of the world. Direct help is essential for victims of domestic and sexual violence. A women’s helpline is one of the most important ways of enabling victims to find help and support.
If a woman needs help, what number do you want to give her?
Currently across the globe
There is NO respected global website that lists accurate, vetted, safe resources for victims of domestic and sexual violence in every country across the world.
There is no global organization responsible for collecting and constantly updating reliable and accurate helpline information on every continent.
Over 20% of the countries worldwide do not provide women’s helplines
Our global network unites daily experience with essential services and direct help to women and their children who are victims of domestic or sexual violence in every part of the world: we provide helplines, crisis centers, counseling and community services, shelters and rape centers. We work from a human rights and feminist perspective. We know what women need.
A global website with trustworthy and validated helpline information for victims of sexual or domestic violence is a necessary part of integrated services for women in crisis. It is also a vital referral source for supportive friends, colleagues, family members, and for professionals (including police, doctors, hospitals, legal advisors, government or embassy staff).
Currently the European Network WAVE6 has the only continent-wide vetted list of helplines on their website https://www.wave-network.org/find-help/. The GNWS proposes to build on the data already collected by the European network to avoid duplicating efforts, but to ensure that helplines for every country in the world are easy to access in a crisis. WAVE has struggled to keep the helpline information up to date and accurate with only one half-time position funded to maintain all of the helpline and NGO information for across all of Europe. This proposal includes some modest additional staffing funds to enable a full-time staff person to work across Europe to regularly update the database. It also contains some modest staffing to allow the GNWS to collect and vet helpline and NGO information from all continents.
As mentioned on the webinar, GNWS is collecting the national helpline for every country so victims and their friends and family have a place to find accurate support. Even if your country doesn’t have a national helpline, we want to know! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also asking about text, chat, and email helplines. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief form so we can continue to update our list of helplines. If you have already completed the form, thank you so much. Your information is greatly appreciated!
Registration for the 2020 Asian Conference of Women’s Shelters is now open! This year’s conference will take place virtually in three 90-minute webinars throughout October and November. We have a fantastic line-up of top speakers including CEDAW committee member and former GNWS chairperson Bandana Rana, UN Women AP Regional Ending VAW Programme Manager Melissa Alvarado, Thai LGBTQ activist Matcha Phornin, internationally renown journalist/author and activist Mona Eltahawy, Australian journalist and author of the groundbreaking “See What You Made Me Do” Jess Hill, and leading Singaporean lawyer Malathi Das. With the COVID-19 crisis still raging, the webinars will focus on empowering the next generation of activists and frontline shelter workers in the post-COVID age, hearing and responding to the voices of survivors, and concrete steps to end the shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls.
Please click this document for details. The webinar series is organized by the Garden of Hope Foundation and the Asian Network of Women’s Shelters, with a focus on Asian issues, but all are welcome to join. Please register separately for each webinar.
Tuesday 6 October at 16:00-17:30 Taiwan local time (GMT +8)
Gender Equality and Paving the Way for Future Generations
Speakers:
Bandana Rana, Vice Chair at UN CEDAW Committee
Melissa Alvarado, Ending Violence against Women Regional Programme Manager, UN Women
To find out when the webinars will be held in your time zone please check here. Videos will be posted online at a later date. Feel free to share this information among your networks. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at secretariat@shelterasia.org. webinar will be held in your time zone.
Erica Olsen – National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA
Ghida Ananai – ABAAD, Lebanon
Netty Musanhu – SAFE Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
Moderators
Ashley Slye – National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA
United States
Erica Olsen:
Erica Olsen discusses disaster planning protocol and the protection of safety and privacy for survivors of domestic violence. It has been proven that perpetrators will take advantage of disasters such as the current pandemic, using it to control or abuse victims. Disasters not only increase vulnerability to domestic violence, but open up the possibility of a breach in data on survivors. An example of a privacy concern for survivors is being listed on safe lists of family reconnection websites where abusers are able to locate them. While it is well-intentioned, this has been an issue for DV survivors.
Erica stresses the importance of helping survivors stay informed so they know what to expect and have strategies in case of a disaster. It is also important for shelters to be prepared as much as possible and have a plan on how to protect data amidst a disaster. This could include creating an inventory for all tech and software to better understand where data risks could be. It is additionally important to prepare staff on how to protect the privacy of survivors and have clear policies in place.
Other strategies that Erica outlines include collecting less information about survivors is another way to minimize risk, critically thinking through access to data and thinking through where data is (e.g. backups on the computer, paper files, and multiple access points).
Beth Meeks:
An important consideration during a disaster is insurance. In the US, the basic insurance people have on their homes and properties typically does not cover technology and documents. One of the universal things about disasters is that a lot of the technology we depend on is unreliable. Almost always, phone calls won’t go through but you often can access text messages and social media.
Often in a disaster, shelters have to evacuate and survivors must do multiple intakes. A recommendation that Beth has is to have a policy where brand new intakes each time survivors move is not required; this way you can minimize risk of a data breach. Instead of sending a huge file per person, you can include a one-page sheet with any important information.
Lebanon
Ghida Anani:
In Lebanon, there is a high percentage of migrant women who seek services. Many of these women are fleeing combatants across the border and protecting their information is especially important for their safety. There is a large, unique spectrum of man-made disasters (e.g. violent attacks, risk of conflict with neighbouring countries) in Lebanon that pose risks to the data of survivors. It is a daily challenge for staff to safely collect, safeguard and store data, especially if there is an emergency that forces evacuation.
Ghida suggests that we must rethink the way that we collect information from survivors. This could be by adjusting the kind of documents that the case workers in the shelter keep, thinking through the kind of adaptations for shelter programs in different contexts and disasters, and having a plan on how to protect the privacy and confidentiality of survivors if the shelter data is compromised.
Zimbabwe
Netty Musanhu
Netty illustrates how Zimbabwe is a complex country with multilayered problems and the women who run shelters persevere through much. Local organizations have been struggling with how international guidelines for shelters can be adapted to local contexts. Netty’s organization, SAFE Zimbabwe, supports these local organizations in strengthening their data collection and management. They have developed standard operating procedures for shelters and provided expert support in how counseling could be adapted to COVID-19. In a context where resources are minimal, it can be difficult to manage the trauma amid a crisis, which is why it is important to provide support to the staff and help the shelter heal from trauma.
Global Network of Women’s Shelters Helpline Project
As mentioned on the webinar, GNWS is collecting the national helpline for every country so victims and their friends and family have a place to find accurate support. Even if your country doesn’t have a national helpline, we want to know! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also asking about text, chat, and email helplines. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief form so we can continue to update our list of helplines. If you have already completed the form, thank you so much. Your information is greatly appreciated!
Traei Tsai is the author of Her Stories Untold, a book on women empowerment about diverse women coming into becoming who they are today (their journey of success) and how also how they are coping with the Coronavirus/COVID-19 situation.
Traei Tsai, author of “Her Story Untold” (photo: herstoryuntold.com)
This book is intended to capture the journey of women to inspire themselves and others to look forward to the future with wonder. This is especially important during this global pandemic time.
Because of the Coronavirus/COVID-19, women around the globe are experiencing something they have never experienced before. The gendered experience of coronavirus is grounded in gender inequalities that impact all of us, every single day.
Traei is seeking stories full of different journeys of many global women to empower and inspire. If you would like to share your stories, please feel free to connect her. Narrators can include founders of your organizations (how it was started and its journey to help other women) and any women (e.g. someone that has experienced something in their life and how they overcame those struggles to where they are right now) that want to empower and inspire with their story.
Traei is the Vice-President of BC Minorities in Film & TV Society, a writer, fashion model and artist. She was recently in the film “Corona Movie” about the Coronavirus and Xenophobia. For the “Her Stories Untold” project, Traei has connected with local and global organizations (such as Dress For Success and Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology).
Rebecca Loewen – Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, Canada
Emily Schwartz – North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force, USA
Elsa Simón Ortega – Por la Superación de la Mujer, Mexico
Joan – GABRIELA, Philippines
Margarita Guille – Red Interameriana de Refugios, Mexico
Staffed by:
Ashley Slye – National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA
Patricia Vargas – Catholic Social Services Alberta, Canada
Canada
In Canada, shelters continued to provide support with certain regulations after COVID-19, although they had to work hard to ensure people knew they were still open. Rural and remote communities were hard to reach, as well as people who have limited technology. Some shelters saw a decrease, while others saw an increase, “but we know violence hasn’t just disappeared”
Canada is now moving towards loosened restrictions, although there are still uncertainties about future funding for services.
United States
COVID has exacerbated the situation for vulnerable people. Job losses and home isolation has put stress on relationships, leading to increased domestic violence. The lack of control and structure can also be a trigger for survivors by reminding them of when they were trafficked. Traffickers are also taking advantage of unsupervised youth as schools are closed and young people are spending more time online.
Polaris (national helpline) has seen a 40% increase in calls since March, yet many victims unable to access telehealth options for services due to lack of infrastructure (North Dakota is very rural). Emily has been focused on promoting service availability to survivors and building resilience in employees and survivors with trauma support resources
Mexico
Mexico is a country that is not only the origin of a lot of migrants, but also one that migrants transit through, and receives many migrants with millions of people entering and leaving the southern border. Migrant caravans have increased. Many women who have not received their refugee status or equivalent, are vulnerable to human trafficking. Furthermore, when families sell children younger than 10, the government does not count this as human trafficking. Police forces need to be detecting human trafficking at the border, but they have not been committed to doing this and government is turning a blind eye.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has 60% increase in gender-based violence (although there is little data available). Superación de la Mujer is trying to identify these victims and provide services and legal protection for them.
Philippines
The Philippine Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic involves a strict lockdown with no mass testing. The majority of filipinos cannot afford to go to the doctor or get tested.
The lockdown has restricted women’s mobility and access to urgent services and justice. Over 4,000 cases of violence against women have been reported during COVID, but the real numbers are most likely much higher. Victims of trafficking will often not report to police, as police will go after them but not after the traffickers themselves. To end trafficking, Joan believes that we need to look to root of the problem
Global Network of Women’s Shelters Helpline Project
As mentioned on the webinar, GNWS is collecting the national helpline for every country so victims and their friends and family have a place to find accurate support. Even if your country doesn’t have a national helpline, we want to know! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also asking about text, chat, and email helplines. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief form so we can continue to update our list of helplines. If you have already completed the form, thank you so much. Your information is greatly appreciated!
Ashley Slye – National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA
Anthony Carlisle – Garden of Hope, Taiwan
Thailand
Matcha works at the Thai/Myanmar border and she works with stateless people in Thailand. In Thailand, indigenous groups are marginalized – they are not given ID cards so they cannot travel, work, or get an education. If girls can’t go to school, they often get married at underage. Matcha has tried for the past 15 years to ensure that girls go to school. During this time, 4,000 girls have learned about human rights and over 1,000 of them went to university.
COVID has caused the indigenous populations to run out of food, have no money or access to health care. Many cannot go to hospital because of language barrier or because they cannot pay hospital fees since the Thai healthcare system doesn’t cover these people. Four people have died within her community already this month. Matcha wishes to launch a fundraising campaign to raise money for the family of COVID victims. She is also seeking help from the government and planning to visit Parliament with an indigenous girl to request them to take action in response to the emergency and prevent the deaths of more native people during the pandemic.
Lebanon
Racism and prejudice towards refugees has resurfaced during the pandemic. Syrians are accused of bringing COVID to Lebanon. Furthermore, the lockdown has isolated Syrian women refugees from essential services.
Syrian women refugees caught in domestic violence situations are unable to leave their abusers because of the pandemic. Atrocities, such as honor killings, have increased since the outbreak. Even if she didn’t have COVID, men didn’t want women to live for 14 days with strange people in isolation without having access to her, leading to cases of femicide or threatening to kill her.
Currently, the asylum system in Lebanon is overwhelmed. Embassies consider that the crisis is not their problem and will not pay for the return tickets for refugees’ to their countries if they’re deported. In response to the crisis, ABAAD has made food kits with some essential items, and included a booklet with hotline numbers and advice on how to deal with domestic violence.
Sweden
Sweden hasn’t had the same kind of lockdown as other countries but hasseen differences with women who seek help. The shelters are quiet with less visits and phone calls. ROKS have a close relationship with the police and the reports are lower than usual. Violence is mostly digital, sexual violence and cases of prostitution where young women have either been offered/forced.
Elderly women are also at risk because they don’t have social media and thus cannot access support networks, such as the chat for women’s shelters or the new app. ROKs have requested money from the Swedish Government to build up resources and help women post pandemic.
Kenya
The Kenyan Government’s response has involved a curfew, but not a full lockdown. A lot of people have lost their jobs, Kenya is largely driven by informal sector employment so that’s been tough for the economy.
There has been a huge number of cases of sexual and gender based violence., with a 40% increase since March (this is the number of reported cases from the hotline and police stations). However, the true situation is expected to be much worse because domestic violence is normalized and often under-reported.
In the slums, social workers say they have 4 cases a day of domestic violence. 65 girls interviewed in a slum said they had experienced/heard about domestic violence. Transactional sex has drastically increased to pay for food. Teenage pregnancy has drastically increased – one county had 4,000 cases of teenage pregnancy from what the government was able to collect. Kenya has also seen an increase in child marriage as families struggle with finances, so girls are seen as a source of income. The government’s response has been to ban pornography because they believe this is the cause of teen pregnancies.
There is only one government-funded shelter in the country, the rest are run by NGOs. Gender based violence ends up falling by the wayside as the government prioritizes the COVID response. Rescuers can’t rescue women after curfew. Nafula is currently trying to reach grassroots organizations to give more aid to these women.
After natural disasters we know the risk of exploitation rises. What we don’t know is how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the risk of exploitation. This webinar will discuss preparing for the aftermath of the pandemic, ideas for reducing exploitation of vulnerable/targeted populations, and ways NGOs can support exploited individuals.
15 July 2020
7:00 PM Washington, DC | 12:00 AM London, UK | 2:00 AM Istanbul, TU | 4:30 AM Mumbai, IN | 7:00 AM Hong Kong | 9:00 AM Sydney, AU
Global Network of Women’s Shelters Helpline Project
As mentioned on the webinar, GNWS is collecting the national helpline for every country so victims and their friends and family have a place to find accurate support. Even if your country doesn’t have a national helpline, we want to know! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also asking about text, chat, and email helplines. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief form so we can continue to update our list of helplines. If you have already completed the form, thank you so much. Your information is greatly appreciated!
Asian Network of Women's Shelters 