CHALLENGES & POSTIVE OUTCOMES & IMPACT
Campaigns were more robust as there is a continuum after 6
years – more to build on/ solid foundation/ movement is already
known
Strongest year in terms of consciousness awareness raising
– OBR delved deeper into issues, and became much more
intersectional – bringing in more consciously and purposefully
– issues of race, gender, economics, war and militarization,
environment
Huge, sustained and growing media exposure (in traditional
media – print, radio and TV(and through social media) /
OBR events create a lot of media attention and consequent
political engagement
Example of note:
Bangladesh: The OBR public hearing on domestic workers
resulted in a series of talk shows on the issue, in major
TV networks and their National Human Rights Commission
wanting to work with OBR Bangladesh on this issue
Africa Region: Coordinators report that because of OBR,
their issues and organizations have been consistently
on major media all across their countries, More robust
social media (nationally and internationally) – which
widened engagement, extended outreach and raised more
awareness on VAW within community as well as national
level, Public awareness on all forms of VAW increasing
and growing because of OBR – OBR becoming a strong and
sustained educative tool, Stronger and more tangible in
legal and electoral landscape/ OBR Campaign was used to
apply pressure to pass bills
Swaziland: sexual offenses and domestic violence bill
Kenya: Allowing victims to represented without
having to appear in person in court
Malawi: Implementation of Land Law (women are now able to
register their land and do joint registrations if married)
Lesotho: Ministry of Gender improved its efforts towards
the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act (currently a bill),
Concentrated effort in lobbying Parliament to enact laws
ending child marriage
Zambia: Government officials committed to influencing the
legal process to strengthen laws against child marriage, and
traditional leadership committed to a non-tolerance level of
child marriage in their areas of influence
Zimbabwe: Currently petitioning their government to
ensure victims of violence have support and care which
government covers financially, Fighting to have rape clinics
to start using rape kits
Hong Kong: Won the campaign on banning window
cleaning (cause of death of many migrant workers who
fell from high buildings because of window cleaning) – a
clause including this is now included in domestic workers
employment contracts, Some recruitment agencies
have closed down and licenses cancelled because of
advocating against overcharging fees, illegal collection of
fees and the forcing of illegal work on foreign domestic
workers, Some cases of abused foreign domestic workers
in courts and employers punished
Mexico: OBR demanded the President to take more
action in protecting rights of domestic workers
in the country – making sure he understood that
Mexican domestic workers have less rights than their
counterparts in all of Latin America/ demanding that
the “189 Agreement” be formalized – providing equal
rights to domestic workers as given to “professionals”