Written answers

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Human Rights Issues

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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480. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action he has taken to support efforts to eliminate gender based violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40028/14]

Photo of Seán SherlockSeán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Preventing and responding to gender-based violence is a major priority of Ireland’s programme for overseas development, Irish Aid, and is at the core of our work to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. As set out in the Government’s Policy on International Development, One World, One Future,we regard gender-based violence as a major abuse of human rights which undermines women’s health, well-being and livelihoods. Irish Aid is playing an active role in international policy development, funding and research to address gender based violence, including the broader challenges of women’s economic and political empowerment and their access to justice. Ireland also continues to work with civil society organisations and national and local governments in Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia supporting service delivery, building capacity and lobbying for the development and roll out of laws and policies to tackle gender-based violence.As women and girls are particularly vulnerable to such violence in emergency situations, Irish Aid prioritises the protection of women and girls in its response to humanitarian emergencies.

Irish Aid is an active member of the Irish Consortium on Gender-based Violence, an association of Irish development, human rights and humanitarian organizations and the Irish Defence Forces. This aims to build members’ capacity to respond to all forms of gender-based violence in conflict, post-conflict and long-term development contexts.

Ireland also supports UN Women to advocate for an end to violence against women, to increase awareness of the causes and consequences of such violence and to build the capacity of partners to prevent and respond to violence. Ireland is also supporting the UN Women administered Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. This supports NGOs, governments and UN country teams in their work to prevent violence against women and girls, to assist survivors and expand their access to key legal, psychosocial and health care services.The aim, in turn, is to strengthen implementation of laws and policies on violence against women, and to address the linkages between violence and HIV and AIDS.

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