Election observation and
violence monitoring initiatives can provide a platform for data gathering in
relation to VAWE. There is scope to improve monitoring of VAWE in election
observation. In recent years, organizations like the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union (EU), the Organization of
American States (OAS) and the Carter Center have made efforts to mainstream
gender within their election observation missions (EOM), by developing specific
guidelines for observing women’s participation in elections, collecting
sex-disaggregated data, increasing the use of long-term observers and
appointing gender advisors in core teams. Domestic observation and monitoring
groups around the world have also integrated a gender perspective into their
work and in some cases they have launched projects to specifically monitor
VAWE, creating early warning and rapid response mechanisms.[1]
Example: In the framework of the project Votes Without Violence, NDI
has partnered with domestic civil society organizations to launch election
observation missions with a strong gender component in Myanmar, Nigeria,
Guatemala, Tanzania, Burma and Côte d’Ivoire. This initiative allows observers
to report VAWE throughout the electoral cycle. Sex-disaggregated data is
channeled into an online visualization tool to raise awareness on how VAWE
restricts women’s right to participate in public life. In the 2015 Guatemalan
elections, NDI partnered with Acción Ciudadana (Citizen Action) to monitor
campaign finance and electoral violence with a focus on VAWE. One of the major
areas of concern was the use of violence to influence voters’ choices,
especially women’s. During the 2015 electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire, NDI
partnered with Plateforme des organisations de la société civile pour
l’observation des élections (Platform of Civil Society Organizations Observing
Elections or POECI). This collaboration allowed POECI to increase the number of
women observers and to include specific questions concerning VAWE in their
observation forms.[2]
Example: IFES’ Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER)
program is a primary example of specific violence micro-data collection tool.
Under this program, IFES has monitored 15 elections in 13 countries since 2003,
with sex-disaggregated data in six cases. The use of this methodology allowed
IFES to publish in 2011 one of the most comprehensive cross-country studies
available to date: “Breaking
the Mold: Understanding Gender and Electoral Violence”.[3]
This study collected data from six different countries between 2006 and 2010,
including Timor-Leste, Burundi, Nepal, Bangladesh, Guinea and Guyana. Its
findings show that women suffering from VAWE are frequently victims of
intimidation (32 percent of cases), verbal harassment (11 percent), physical
harm (10 percent) and group clashes (10 percent). As regards victim types,
women are most often identified as victims when associated to a public role,
since political party leaders, candidates and supporters reached 48 percent of
all cases. Voters were the second most reported type of victim, with 22 percent
of cases. Furthermore, drawing upon the methodology of the EVER program, IFES
published in 2016 a typology and series of methodologies to assess VAWE.[4]
Example: Women Situation Rooms (WSR) aim to prevent and reduce
electoral violence against women and promote their participation in elections.
In the WSR, men and women from different sectors monitor VAWE throughout the
country and warn government authorities and security forces when a rapid
response is required. They are composed of a secretariat, a call center, a group
of eminent women leaders and election observers deployed in the field who
report incidents. This initiative has been implemented in a number of
countries, generally with support from UN Women and UNDP, including Ghana
(2016), Uganda (2016), Nigeria (2015), Mali (2013), Kenya (2013), Senegal
(2012), Sierra Leona (2012) and Liberia (2011). WSR have been recognized by the
African Union and the United Nations as a good practice for conflict and
violence prevention, and several reports underline its contribution to reduce
sexual violence thanks to the early warning preventive approach. [5] In Nigeria, UN Women
partnered with the Angie Brooks International Centre and the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) to launch in 2015 the “Nigerian Women’s Platform
for Peaceful Elections”, with support from UNDP. This platform worked closely
with the Nigerian police and the National Electoral Commission to provide a
timely response to reported cases of electoral violence.[6]
[1] UNDP and UN Women
(2017): op. cit., p. 62-68.
[2] UNDP and UN Women (2017):
op. cit., p. 64.
[6] UNDP and UN Women
(2017): op. cit., p. 68.
