Cheryl A. Thomas Director, Women’s Human Rights Program (w) 612-341-3302, ext. 102 cthomas@advrights.org
Robin Phillips Executive Director (w) 612-341-3302, ext. 109 rphillips@advrights.org
“I’m here today because I don’t want another life taken due to domestic violence.” Anna Grunewold, whose daughter Ashley Sullivan and husband Chester Grunewold were killed by Ashley’s ex-boyfriend, made this statement during testimony to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (UNSRVAW) in St. Paul last week. Ms. Grunewold described how the Minnesota “criminal justice system failed Ashley and Chet” - their killer had been arrested, charged and released from jail three times for incidents related to domestic abuse.
The Advocates for Human Rights hosted the official visit of the UNSRVAW Ms. Rashida Manjoo to the Twin Cities on February 2 and 3 to gather information for a report to the UN about the nature and extent of violence against women in the United States and the government response to that violence. United Nations Special Rapporteurs work under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council to promote and protect human rights around the world. The position of UNSRVAW was created in 1994 to examine and report on violence against women. Under her mandate, the UNSRVAW conducts fact-finding visits to selected countries to collect information on violence against women from government agencies and non-governmental organizations--including women’s organizations, international organizations, other special rapporteurs, and relevant agencies. The UNSRVAW reports on her findings to the United Nations and makes recommendations at the regional, national, and international level that aim to eradicate violence against women and its causes and remedy its consequences.
Rashida Manjoo (LLM), a South African lawyer and advocate of the High Court of South Africa, was appointed to the UNSRVAW position in June 2009. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has also previously held teaching positions at Harvard Law School and Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the former Parliamentary Commissioner of the Commission on Gender Equality, a founder of the Gender Unit at the University of Natal’s Law Clinic, and a founder of the Durban Magistrates Court’s Domestic Violence Assistance Programme.
During her visit to Minnesota, Ms. Manjoo attended the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women’s launch of the Femicide Report where she learned that 28 women, men and children died in Minnesota last year as a result of domestic violence. Ms. Manjoo also participated in a Town Hall Forum where survivors of domestic violence told their stories and described the legal system’s response to the violence they suffered. “My role is to listen to you,” said Ms. Manjoo prior to taking testimony about both the success and the failure of the legal system response to domestic violence in Minnesota. Survivors and advocates explained to Ms. Manjoo that battered women face serious problems in Minnesota’s family courts when their violent partners seek custody of the children. One survivor, who has been told many times that she has “fallen through every crack in the system”, explained that she has spent $70,000 on disputes regarding the custody of her daughter, ultimately feeling that the system “had become an abuser too.” This survivor described how laws allowing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) “had failed her family immensely” and her feeling that the laws should be monitored and re-visited because “they weren’t working.”
In the Twin Cities, Ms. Manjoo also interviewed judges, lawyers and prosecutors about the government response to domestic violence. She learned about Minnesota’s longstanding leadership in domestic violence legal reform and in establishing services for victims. She toured the Hennepin County Domestic Abuse Service Center founded in 1994 as the first one-stop center for victims, a model that has been replicated around the country. Ms. Manjoo’s other meetings highlighted the Coordinated Community Response Model that was created in Duluth in the 1970’s and the groundbreaking civil and criminal laws of the State.
During her visit to the United States, Ms. Manjoo also visited Washington, D.C.; Miami, Florida; Cherokee, North Carolina; San Francisco, California: and New York City. “Her visit provided a forum for a dialogue around the progress of women’s human rights within the United States and solutions for tackling ongoing violence against women,” said Cheryl Thomas, director of the Women’s Human Rights Program at The Advocates. In Minnesota, she focused on the issue of domestic violence, but, in her other site visits, she sought information on violence against women in detention, violence against women in the military, gun violence against women, and the particular issues of violence which face Native American women.
In June 2011, the UNSRVAW will present her findings and recommendations on violence against women in the United States to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, along with reports on her recent missions to Zambia and Algeria.
A press conference on the initial findings of the visit will be held at the United Nations Information Center in Washington (1775 K ST NW, Suite 400, Washington DC) on Monday February 7 at 13:00 EST.
The call in number for the press conference is 610-214-0000, participant access code 725924#. For other press inquiries please contact Marie Okabe, at UNIC Washington (Tel: +1 202-454-2102 / email: mokabe@unicwash.org)
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The Advocates for Human Rights is a volunteer-based non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of internationally recognized human rights. The Advocates investigates and exposes human rights violations; provides representation to immigrants and refugees who have suffered human rights abuses; trains and assists groups that protect human rights; and works through education and advocacy to engage the public, policymakers, and children about human rights issues. The Advocates for Human Rights holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations.