The African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

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October 02, 2024

The African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AUCEVAWG) is a comprehensive legal instrument for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls on the Continent. The Convention is currently in the drafting stage allowing for consultation with various stakeholders and the African citizenry.

The development of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls is informed by the historic decision by the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government in February 2023 during the African Union Summit. The leader adopted the Decision to negotiate the AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG). In February 2024, the Heads of State and Government reiterated their commitment to support and conclude the negotiations and submit a draft Convention for adoption in February 2025.

The Convention thus aims to:

Establish a comprehensive, legally binding framework for the prevention and elimination of, and effective response to, all forms of violence against women and girls, across Africa, by addressing the root causes and drivers of such violence, strengthening legal and institutional mechanisms, and promoting a culture of respect for human rights, gender equality and the dignity of women and girls.
Ensure that State Parties reinforce a commonality of approach, to eliminating violence against women and girls, whilst acting as a stimulus for an open narrative and advocacy on violence against women and girls.

Violence against women and girls remains a widespread issue that cuts across all regions, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It manifests in many forms, including physical, sexual psychological or economic violence by an intimate partner; Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); Early Child and Forced Marriage where girls below 18 years are forced into marriage; Sexual Violence in Conflict (SVC) and Humanitarian settings which includes rape, sexual assault with violent physical assault, kidnapping, sexual slavery and forced prostitution in conflict situations. Women and girls also face sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, in schools and in other public spaces.

Violence against women and girls occurs in various environments, such as the family, schools, tertiary institutions, prisons, security institutions, in situations of armed conflict, in the world of work, in sports and on online platforms. The persistence of violence against women and girls is largely driven by entrenched gender power relations rooted in patriarchal systems. These systems are characterized by male dominance, an unequal distribution of resources, and power imbalances, all of which are reinforced by social norms and institutions that sustain gender inequality.

Violence against women and girls intersects with, and is exacerbated by, other forms of discrimination against women and girls, including race, ethnicity, nationality, age, disability, socio-economic status, which underscores the need for an inclusive approach that recognizes and responds to the specific needs of women and girls, including those marginalized or in vulnerable situations. Addressing this issue is not just about protection—it's about unlocking opportunities for women and girls to thrive in safe, supportive environments where their contributions to society can be fully realized.

Ending violence against women and girls in Africa.

AU Member States have made tremendous strides in developing and implementing comprehensive legal, policy and institutional responses to violence against women and girls. Specific laws addressing rape, sexual violence in conflict, domestic violence, Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs) have been enacted; national gender policies and national action plans on violence against women and girls and on Women Peace and Security have been adopted; and the issue remains on the priority list of national, regional and continental Agendas.

Several human rights and gender based violence rights treaties, conventions and agreements exist offering comprehensive guidance on eliminating violence against women and girls including, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), in addition to other initiatives such as the AU Campaign to End Early Child Marriage; the Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate violence against women and girls; the Unite Campaign; the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction on Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA); and the Red Card Campaign to end violence against women and girls.

Additionally, there exists several global frameworks such as the the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women; the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Labour Organisation Convention on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, among other strategic frameworks, there still continues to be high prevalence of violence against women and girls.

Despite the progress and concerted programmes undertaken at different levels, violence against women and girls remains a devastating vice that threatens women and girls’ lives and national developments. This demands accelerated action to galvanise all sectors of society to actively participating in efforts towards eradicating the scourge.

Citizens’ and stakeholders’ engagement in ending violence against women and girls.

Citizens’ and stakeholders’ engagement on preventing and ending violence against women and girls has been a continuous process. The African Union has convened stakeholder consultations with groups such as Women’s Rights Organizations, Traditional Leaders, the Private Sector, Academia, and Youth, whose contributions informed the process leading to, and supporting the development of the Convention. A Citizen Engagement Platform has been established to gather input from Africans both on the continent and in the diaspora, ensuring that the Convention reflects the perspectives and needs of its beneficiaries.

An inclusive approach has been adopted in the consultation process to ensure all stakeholders contribute to the development of the Convention including campaigns, traditional and digital engagements leveraging digital media, traditional media, as well as engagements at the community, national, regional and continental levels.

All stakeholder consultations for the drafting of the Convention will conclude by October, 2024. Here’s how you can contribute to the Convention.

Let your voice be heard in the drafting of the Convention. Make inputs into it by clicking here: https://citizenengagement.nepad.org/survey/fill-form/118/177

Reach out to the Secretariat with your feedback via aucevawg@africa-union.org

The efforts to cultivate positive masculinity and end violence against women and girls have ongoing. The convening of Men’s conferences have proven to be a critical platform to mobilize men and boys as gender allies, not only to cause change at family level, but also to become gender champions in their workspaces and eco-systems. Involving and engaging men in the fight to end violence against women and girls has been proven to be a catalyst in the ending of the vice. The partnership is not only to see men end physical violence in spaces such as homes and workplaces, but also curb non-physical aggression meted on women and girls in the digital spaces where cyber-bulling and harassment are on the rise.

The Inaugural African Union Men’s Conference on Positive Masculinity in Leadership to End Violence Against Women and Girls took place on November 25, 2021, in Kinshasa, DRC, under the leadership of H.E. Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, the DRC President and 2021 AU Chairperson, alongside other prominent African leaders. The main outcome was the Kinshasa Declaration and Call to Action, adopted as an Assembly Decision during the Assembly of Heads of State and Government Summit in February 2022. The Assembly also appointed H.E. President Felix Tshisekedi as the first AU Champion on Positive Masculinity.

The Second Men's Conference was held on November 10-11, 2022, in Dakar, Senegal, where the Dakar Call to Action was adopted to accelerate the implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration. During their 36th Assembly in February 2023, AU Heads of State decided to negotiate the AU Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (CEVAWG), marking a significant step towards establishing a continental legal framework for the prevention and elimination of violence against women.

The 3^rd Men’s Conference convened in November 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa and co-hosted by H.E. President Azali Assoumani of the Union of the Comoros, and 2023 AU Chairperson and H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, provided an opportunity to consolidate bold Continental efforts that Heads of State and other sectors have taken towards Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) in Africa including, among others, accountability for the implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration, the Dakar Call to Action and relevant AU Assembly decisions.

Be part of the Campaign?

Here are ways in which be a part of the campaign:

Amplify and share the communication materials of the campaign with your network
Participate in local and national events held around it in your community/country
Speak up against all forms of gender violence in your community
Submit a proposal to speak, or share knowledge in our planned speaker series
Visit the Convention webpage for regular updates
Follow all the social media handles of the African Union for updates on the Convention

Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms on efforts to end violence against women and girls.

The African Union Gender Observatory (AUGO), an Online Knowledge Management Platform (OKPM) established to monitor the implementation of regional and international instruments, will reflect information on each country's progress on the implementation and domestication of the Convention, forming the basis for the country scorecards.

Missed opportunities in preventing and ending violence against women and girls.

Progress has been made in addressing violence against women and girls in Africa, however, there have been missed opportunities in sustainably preventing and ending violence against women and girls. The challenges have been exacerbated due to, among other:

Non domestication or inadequate domestication of existing regional, continental and international instruments leading to slow implementation of the measures established to end violence against women and girls.
Lack of resources, resulting in insufficient funding and capacity building for implementation and monitoring of violence against women and girls. Insufficient funding for services to end violence against women and girls such as telephone advisory lines or free helplines, shelters or homes for survivors, legal assistance, medical care services and psychological support hamper efforts to address this scourge.
Inadequate research and data collection on cases relating to violence against women and girls, including research on emerging types of violence against women and girls, which ensure the development of evidence-based solutions, and understanding the complexities of violence against women and girls, thus hampering effective policymaking, legislative reforms and monitoring effective implementation.
Conflict and instability in some States which undermine efforts on ending violence against women and girls.
Limited engagement of men in preventing and ending violence against women and girls, which is a significant obstacle that perpetuates traditional masculinity norms, deep-rooted patriarchal norms, attitudes and practices.