The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

NEXT month, members of the international Due Diligence Project will meet with women’s rights experts in the Bahamas to further the global discussion and raise awareness of the Bahamas’ obligations to end violence against women.

Although the project is based in the United States, it also works globally with experts and partner organisations. The Bahamas Crisis Centre is facilitating the meetings with the international delegation.

“Our project sets out to get a better understanding and further develop this legal principle of state obligation of due diligence to end violence against women. We engage most directly with civil society around the world because we find them to be the people working most directly and in the front trying to understand what programmes, policies and laws exist, which work, which do not work and some of the challenges,” said Janine Moussa, project director and international human rights lawyer.

“We then relay this information to governments so they can better form their own policies and programmes and laws. So we are not necessarily about more programmes, policies and laws. We are about more effective programmes, policies and laws and we do this through various methods,” said Ms Moussa.

When she presented at the 2012 Bahamas Crisis Centre Peace Conference she described due diligence in the context of violence against women by highlight the obligation of the 5Ps: a state’s obligation to act to “prevent, protect, prosecute, punish and provide redress for acts of violence against women, whether committed by state or non-state actors.”

Some of the prevention activities examined include awareness raising campaigns, programmes to address the underlying causes and risk factors, such as inadequate housing and economic dependence. Safe spaces for survivors to access support are examined under protection services, as well as attitudes of law enforcers, judicial and medical officers.

While in the Bahamas, Ms Moussa said the Due Diligence Project will help advocates to better understand the due diligence obligations of the Bahamas. During the meeting they will also share their findings on the trends they see in other parts of the world, and get the perspective from Bahamian experts on what is happening in the Bahamas.

“It is always important to take stock of where we are locally, internationally, regionally and globally with regards to efforts to end violence against women which is a problem that is pervasive. On one level it is important to take stock of where we are and on the second level it is important to identify and share good practices and discuss challenges and how to overcome them,” said Ms Moussa.

“It is important not to only raise awareness of the state’s obligation to end violence against women, but also to help build bridges between those on the front line like civil society and those who bare the obligation internationally which is the state. So basically it is to improve the communication between those who are traditionally providing the services directly and have a better vantage point with those who bare the ultimate responsibility and obligation,” she said.

“We are not about naming and shaming, identifying or embarrassing. We do believe that for the large part, what is lacking is information on effective strategies to end violence against women on a wholistic and sustainable level. We are trying to uncover in a deeper level what is working and what is not working and help facilitate that information exchange between those who are generally providing the services and those who owe the obligation,” she said.