At Rotary, we are committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, allowing everyone’s voice to be heard, and providing equitable opportunities for fellowship, service and leadership.
Connecting the Dots between DEI and Service Projects
DEI is not a stand-alone concept. How about thinking wider and bolder to add DEI elements to our service projects so that we can live a DEI way of life as people of action? Examples include – Supporting differently-abled groups such as the “True Colours Symphony” to help differently-abled musicians to showcase their diverse talents; bringing the visually impaired to the cinema to “watch” movies through audio description to offer them opportunities to integrate into the society just as any other persons. A Rotary Club even crossed the ocean to help and support underprivileged women in the Philippines to do manicure, thereby empowering the ladies with more confidence in their daily lives.
We can also consider seeking support from the Rotary Foundation for our service projects to build a more equitable and inclusive society. In Rotary Year 2023-2024, funding for Global Grants from the Rotary Foundation allocated to Basic Education and Literacy, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Maternal and Child Health, Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention amounted to USD102 million, USD620 million, USD102 million, and USD57 million respectively.
WHY DEI MATTERS?” SERIES
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women [25 November]
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 48/104 for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which defines this type of violence as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” Consequently, to solidify this decision, in 1999 the General Assembly proclaimed 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, an estimated 736 million women — almost one in three — have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.
This scourge has intensified in different settings, including the workplace and online spaces, and has been exacerbated by post-pandemic effects, conflicts, and climate change.
The solution lies in robust responses, including investment in prevention. However, alarmingly, data on how much nations are committing to counteract violence against women and girls remains glaringly sparse.
While gender-based violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, some women and girls are particularly vulnerable – for instance, young girls and older women, women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrants and refugees, indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or women and girls living with HIV and disabilities, and those living through humanitarian crises.
Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – to leave no one behind – cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls.
Elimination of Violence Against Women in Hong Kong
As reported on the website of the Hong Kong Federation of Women’s Centres {“HKFWC”), according to the Social Welfare Department, there were 2,715 cases of violence against spouses and couples in 2021, a significant increase from 2,601 cases in 2020. Among them, a vast majority of the victims were female.
The said website further reports that the police currently classify “domestic conflict cases” into “domestic violence (criminal)”, “domestic violence (miscellaneous)” and “domestic incidents” according to their severity, and only classify the first two as domestic violence incidents. According to the data provided by the police in 2021, there were 1,196 criminal cases of domestic violence, reflecting that many of these cases are still being ignored.
During the pandemic, the number of domestic violence cases increased significantly, with 34 cases of domestic violence-related requests received by the Women’s Helpline Service of HKFWC from January to March 2020 alone, more than double the 16 cases received during the same period in the past. More than 70% of the victims who called the hotline had faced physical violence, 47% were involved in mental abuse, and 20% were treated with both types of violence. It is also worth noting that 74% of the victims indicated that they had experienced domestic violence more than once, reflecting that domestic violence is still serious.
The taboo towards sexual violence is dissuading victims from seeking help, or worse, forcing them to experience second trauma. Building a just system and a friendly environment are crucial for victims to ask for help and to thrive from trauma. It is encouraging to note that various organizations in the community are working to further the legal and policy reform and to provide channels for survivors to break their silence and make their voice heard in the society.
Rotary District DEI Committee hosted our District DEI Seminar on 2 November 2024 at Club Lusitano, 27/F, 16 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong from 10.00 am to 3.30 pm.
This year’s seminar theme was “Change Your Mindset. Create a Sense of Belonging”.
We will include a recap on the seminar with key highlights in next month’s newsletter.
Appointment of Club DEI Director/ Committee Chair
Please provide us with contact details of Club DEI Director/ Committee Chairs for ease of communication and information update with District DEI team.
