Today, a side event at the sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific discussed how to strengthen the health sector's response to gender-based violence against women and girls, and their children, in the Region. High-level delegates from Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Solomon Islands shared country experiences and explored ways forward for the Western Pacific Region.
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a public health challenge that is rooted in gender inequality. It is a global phenomenon that cuts across cultural, social and economic boundaries. One in every three women globally is likely to experience violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime – with wide-ranging physical, sexual, reproductive and mental health consequences. Violence not only undermines the safety, dignity and health of the survivor, but also affects their children, families and communities. Children who witness violence are more likely to become perpetrators or experience violence later in life, setting up a vicious cycle.
Despite significant attention on GBV by Member States and partners in recent years, much more remains to be done. "Effective responses to gender-based violence require different sectors and stakeholders—and communities themselves—working together," said Dr Takeshi Kasai, Director of Programme Management, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, who opened the side event.
In the run-up to the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day), WHO is launching a new campaign titled "Human Together."
The campaign aims to raise awareness of what we can do together to eliminate GBV. Dr Vivian Lin, Director for Health Systems, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, and moderator of the side event, concluded, "Human Together challenges us all—policy-makers,
health workers, WHO staff, civil society representatives, men, women, children—to stand up and take action to eliminate gender-based violence. Together we can make a difference. Stand with us."