Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Colleagues,
Friends

Before I begin, I should like to pass on sincere apologies from IFAD’s President Nwanze who is unable to be with us today due to other commitments. President Nwanze wishes us well on this significant occasion and looks forward to hearing about our discussions.

I would like to add my thanks to WFP for hosting this important event. I would also like to thank the speakers and everyone who has participated for their insightful and heartfelt contributions. Special thanks also to the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) for joining us and adding a crucial perspective to the discussions. Our debate has been one of many going on around the world for this year’s International Women’s Day. For the Rome-based agencies, this has been a first – a hugely important opportunity to spotlight the connection between violence against women and food and nutrition security.

It is difficult to add much to the interesting discussion we have had and the videos we have seen. Our eyes, our ears and our hearts are full of stories of bravery and hope. Stories that will stay with us when we return to our offices and our homes, motivating us to take action against all forms of gender-based violence.

As we have discussed, the close interconnection between violence against women, food security and rural development compels us to look at these three issues together.

In the rural areas of the developing world, the triggers for violence are closely related to the agricultural cycle and food insecurity. Although every situation is different, there are common patterns to be seen:

• Conflicts often arise over access to land for cultivation, and frequently lead to physical violence against those who are more vulnerable, particularly single, widowed or divorced women.
• During the pre-harvest or hungry season, in times of famine, or when families have no income to buy food, violence may be related to difficult household decisions on how to use meagre resources.
• During the harvest season itself, disagreements on how to use income from the sale of the harvest can also lead to violence.
• Risky coping strategies, such as commercial sex − employed by women in times of humanitarian crises, and food and livelihood insecurity − often lead to further erosion of their assets and vulnerability to violence and HIV transmission.

As we have heard during today’s debate, violence against women has a strongly negative impact on agricultural production, food security and family well-being. There are several reasons for this:

• Most victims of gender-based violence are aged 15 to 45 and this is the age group that does much of the agricultural labour.
• Illnesses (including HIV/AIDS) or injuries as a result of violence may reduce work capacity over the long term, cutting productivity and depleting livelihood assets.
• In addition to the physical and psychological suffering caused by gender-based violence, in many countries, the victims are stigmatized and excluded from community activities, including access to knowledge and training.
  

It’s a very bleak picture.

But we know that change is possible, and change is what we must fight for. For example, we have seen that when collaboration between women and men in the household improves, this leads to increased agricultural output and more equitable food distribution.

This means that for women struggling to feed themselves and their children, improving gender relations and preventing domestic violence is a vital key to achieving food security and unleashing their full human, social and economic  potential. And that is why violence against women is a key issue for the work of the Rome-based agencies.

IFAD has been promoting the adoption of ‘household methodologies’ to reduce domestic conflict. Introduced to individual households by a trained mentor, these methodologies encourage family members to bundle the disparate livelihood strategies pursued by women and men into one coherent vision.  All household members – women and men, old and young – learn that working together is a win-win solution that benefits everyone.

IFAD’s experiences with partners in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia, have shown that these household methodologies are a powerful means of reducing violence.

This is just one example. Together with UN Women, the Rome-based agencies are also working to eliminate violence against women under the joint programme accelerating progress toward rural women’s economic empowerment. In a nutshell, economic empowerment means three things: more money, more status and more decision-making power. All of these can help women protect themselves against violence.

Today we have been reminded of what many women suffer throughout their lives, and of the terrible consequences this has for them and their children. Let us remember what we have learnt today − and keep it on every agenda. All women and all girls deserve a life free from violence.

Thank you for your attention.

Rome, 8 March 2013