COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONSIDERS REPORT OF EL SALVADOR
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has considered the seventh periodic report of El Salvador on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Zoila de Innocenti, Executive Director of the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, introducing the report, highlighted that the Institute – the guiding organ for women's policy in El Salvador – had set up a new structure concentrating on social development, sustainable economic development, and protection and promotion of citizens affairs, in its 12 areas of action, and had defined indicators for compliance which had been met by 57 institutions implementing its Action Plan. In addition, there were 59 networks for training, capacity building and sensitization on gender and the prevention of domestic violence at the national level.
On education, the illiteracy rate for women in El Salvador had fallen from 19.9 per cent in 2000, to 16.1 per cent in 2007, Ms. de Innocenti noted. Starting in 1999, the access of women to non-traditional careers has been facilitated by means of a programme on vocational orientation with a gender focus, starting in the third cycle of education. And to further women's advancement in the labour sphere, the Ministry of Labour, among others, had elaborated and implemented a plan of action for Gender Equality and had created a special gender unit for the prevention of discriminatory labour practices.
Committee Experts asked questions and raised issues on a variety of subjects, including women's awareness of their legal rights and their access to free legal aid; reports of prevalent sexual harassment in the labour sphere, in particular in the context of the Maquila industries (duty-free production and export of goods); whether murders of women were investigated as part of the larger phenomenon of discrimination against women; and what training existed for professionals and law enforcement officials working in the field of trafficking. Experts were concerned to know the exact institutional status of the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, and whether it had the reach to address all issues impacting on women. Another concern was that El Salvador still used concepts of equality and equity for women interchangeably, although the Convention specifically required equality, and that it had not implemented temporary special measures, in particular with a view to accelerating the participation of women in political parties.
The delegation from El Salvador included representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Education, the Secretariat for the Family, the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Ministry of Health and Social Security and the National Police of El Salvador, as well as the Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Byron Fernando Laríos López, and other staff of the Permanent Mission. As one of the 185 States parties to the Convention, El Salvador is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.
The next meeting of the Committee will be at 10 a.m. on Monday, 3 November, when it will consider the second and third periodic reports of Myanmar (CEDAW/C/MMR/3), in chamber A; and the sixth and seventh periodic reports of Portugal, in chamber B.
Report of El Salvador
The seventh periodic report of El Salvador (CEDAW/C/SLV/7) says that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is a tool used by the various inter-institutional commissions that implement the National Policy on Women, which include the Convention in their training and awareness-raising processes for men and women. These inter-institutional commissions are established in each of the areas of National Policy on Women. The legislative area has a Judicial Commission responsible for constant and continuous review of legislation, both old and modern, and for drafting reforms that guarantee respect for women’s fundamental liberties and human rights. This process has already begun in a number of government agencies by their fulfilment of international commitments and the National Policy on Women.
The Salvadoran State considers violence against women to be a serious social problem, requiring the implementation of prevention and awareness-raising programmes, targeting both men and women, together with the development inter-institutional, inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary programmes of services that allow for a comprehensive approach within the human rights framework. In this context, the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, as the lead agency for the Domestic Violence Act and the National Plan to Prevent and Deal with Domestic Violence, has the aims of preventing and detecting the social problem of violence against women, and providing protection and services for victims. In this it gives special recognition to preventing and addressing the problem of domestic violence, which is considered one of the most widespread and extreme forms of violence perpetrated against women. Moreover, with the aim of fulfilling this objective, the Institute coordinates the Inter-Institutional Committee to Prevent and Deal with Domestic Violence, through the Programme to Improve Family Relations. In a framework of respect and exercise of human rights, El Salvador has started work with abusers, especially in terms of the prevention, psychological care and re-education of violent men, with the aim of improving interpersonal relations between men and women.
Introduction of Report
ZOILA DE INNOCENTI, Executive Director of the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, introducing the report, began by noting that, according to the 2007 Population Census, El Salvador had a population of 5,744,113 persons, with women constituting 52.7 per cent of the total, and with 34.9 per cent of households headed by women.
The Government attached great importance to the advancement of women and promoted actions to facilitate the empowerment of women and to ensure access to decision-making posts in the social, economic and political areas, Ms. de Innocenti said. The adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women had strengthened the principles of equality set out in the Constitution. Moreover, since ratifying the Convention in 1981, the Government had undertaken a number of actions to implement it. Regarding sex-based discrimination, there was a Constitutional prohibition to discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, sex or religion. In addition, the Government had ratified International Labour Organization Convention No. 155 regarding social security and its protocols.
Ms. de Innocenti highlighted that the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, which was the guiding organ for women's policy, had set up a new structure concentrating on social development, sustainable economic development, and protection and promotion of citizens affairs, in its 12 areas of action and had defined indicators for compliance which had been met by 57 institutions implementing its Action Plan, including governmental and non governmental organizations and private enterprises. In addition, there were 59 networks for training, capacity building and sensitization on gender and the prevention of domestic violence at the national level. The Institute also took part in a number of national committees including on the themes of trafficking, gender violence, rights of the disabled, and on maternal and perinatal health, as well as on the Commission to Prevent Crime and Impunity. It also coordinated the Inter-institutional Judicial Commission charged with reviewing national legislation to ensure that it was not discriminatory.
With a view to strengthening the Institute, the Government had increased its budget by 68 per cent starting in 2006 and the international assistance had also increased in the past few years, Ms. de Innocenti added.
At the regional and international level, the Institute, for the first time, held the presidency of the Council of Ministers of Women's Mechanisms in Central America in 2008, Ms. de Innocenti observed. In addition, on 5 and 6 June 2008, it had organized, within the context of the XVIII Summit of Heads of State and Government, the second Ibero-American Conference on Gender under the theme "Gender, Youth and Development", which had resulted in the drafting and implementation of an Ibero-American programme to address and prevent domestic violence and gender violence among young persons.
With regard to prevention of violence against women, the Institute for the Advancement of Women was coordinating the work of the Inter-Institutional Committee to Prevent and Deal with Domestic Violence, through the receiving of complaints on domestic violence via a 24-hour countrywide hotline; provision of psychological care for women in crisis; and the holding of days of awareness-raising on issues of gender violence which were held for the general population as well as for Government workers and civil society organizations.
Ms. de Innocenti enumerated progress made in the area of legal protections for women, including the Law Against Domestic Violence, the Penal Code, the Municipal Code, the Family Code, the Labour Code, the National Plan for Women, and the National Plan to Prevent and Deal with Domestic Violence.
Regarding sexual education, Ms. de Innocenti noted that inter-institutional coordination had produced programmes at the national level. The Ministries of Health and Education had jointly carried out a programme, "Education for Life" which aimed to provide information on HIV/AIDs and sexually transmitted diseases, and to prevent adolescent pregnancy, among others.
In the political sphere, Ms. de Innocenti said that the Salvadoran State was conscious of the need to decrease the gaps in gender and provided tangible assistance to women in various areas of national life. Some of the women in high-level positions included the Vice President of the Republic; the Minister for Foreign Relations; the Minister for Education; the Secretary of the National Secretariat of the Family; Deputy Ministers for the Finance, Work, Housing and Tourism, and others. In addition, the head and deputy head of the Central Reserve Bank were women, and 33 per cent of the judges in the Supreme Court of Justice were women.
On education, the illiteracy rate for women had fallen from 19.9 per cent in 2000, to 16.1 per cent in 2007. Starting in 1999, the access of women to non-traditional careers had been facilitated by means of a programme on vocational orientation with a gender focus, starting in the third cycle of education. In that context, the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women had carried out an exhaustive study to analyse the barriers that women faced to technical education, Ms. de Innocenti said. To further women's advancement in the labour sphere, the Ministry of Labour had elaborated and implemented a plan of action for Gender Equality; had published and disseminated a training guide on equality in labour negotiations; had conducted work fairs with an emphasis on work for women; and had created a special gender unit for the prevention of discriminatory labour practices.
Among principal challenges faced, Ms. de Innocenti identified the need to achieve a major increase in the number of women in political and decision-making posts; to further empowerment for women through specialized programmes; to continue efforts to eradicate poverty; to strengthen and expand the programme "Households of Maternal Hope" to ensure safe maternity; to strengthen the programmes dealing with gender and domestic violence; to strengthen the international and institutional coordination on trafficking; to develop initiatives to bring about the judicial literacy of women; and, finally, the most important challenge, to develop an educational system that would provide a better level of education for girls and boys in both urban and rural areas.
Questions by Experts
Experts then asked questions and raised issues on a variety of subjects, including a request for more information on the three Supreme Court judgements that had cited the Convention, as well as other case law that had invoked the Convention; whether the Convention was the basis for all legislation on discrimination; on access to justice, whether women were aware of their legal rights and had access to free legal aid; and whether women's groups had participated in the drafting of the report.
Response by Delegation
On the legal status of the Convention, the delegation confirmed that the Convention had precedence over domestic laws. In a number of cases, the Convention had been invoked. The definition of discrimination contained in the Convention was in full harmony with the legislation of El Salvador, including the law against domestic violence. There was also free legal aid available to both men and women.
The Protocol to the Convention was still in the legislative assembly. It was hoped that it would be approved soon, the delegation said.
In terms of gender equity, the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women had been working to ensure that women's issues were included on the curriculum of the judicial training body, the delegation said. As for "juridical literacy", as they had termed it, the Institute was trying to raise awareness of all segments of the population, including in the most remote areas, on laws such as the Domestic Violence Law.
Questions by Experts
Among further questions and issues raised by Experts were whether any perpetrators had been convicted under laws on sexual harassment, given the many reports received that this was a prevalent practice and that impunity prevailed, in particular in the context of the Maquila industries; a lack of proper investigation and study of femicide, or murders of women, which were really part of a larger phenomenon of discrimination against women; training for professionals and law enforcement officials working in the field of trafficking; and trafficking convictions.
On the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, an Expert asked what its institutional status was, in particular if it had a seat on the Council of Ministers. There was a perception that the Institute was focusing its work on the issue of domestic violence. Did the Institute have the voice and the power to attend to some of the most vulnerable groups of women in the country, including women heads of household, rural women, indigenous women, domestic workers and others?
Response by Delegation
On the status of the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, the delegation said it had a governing board that included Government agencies and NGO members. The Institute also comprised a legal commission to review legislation. The head of the Institute had direct access to the President, as well as to the Secretariat for the Family, which was also a member of the Institute's board. It was of course hoped that the Institute would be raised to the Ministerial level, and the Human Rights Ombudsman had been working on a proposal to that end.
As or the Institute's area of endeavour, it was involved in all areas of women's affairs, including training programmes that were carried out by branches around the country. As for measures to improve the lives of rural women, apart from training in communities, there were 77 municipalities that shared in a Women's Solidarity Network to relieve the domestic burden of women, including in the areas of water and sanitation. An example of such work was to provide cookers for women. The Institute was also working with others on a programme to provide microcredit to women.
With respect to indigenous women, there were a number of actions being taken, including a project to strengthen indigenous education, for which purpose a commission had been set up that was working to promote indigenous languages and to preserve indigenous culture. In the latest census, carried out in 2007, 0.2 per cent of the population considered itself to be indigenous.
Turning to stereotypes, the Ministry of Education had included in its national education plan a programme on values and it included in a cross cutting way a gender perspective and the prevention of discrimination. They were also working to provide sexual education, and to train teachers. El Salvador was thus working to combat sexual stereotypes from the schools upwards.
On trafficking, the national Committee to prevent trafficking had been operating a shelter for women since 2006. The women were provided with psychological and legal assistance, and supported in their social reinsertion, the delegation said.
With regard to violence against women, new therapeutic penalties were being carried out. The male perpetrators were sent to receive therapy for social rehabilitation. The Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women was carrying out a study to see if those new penalties were having an impact. The study, which would be released shortly, showed that 90 per cent of the women interviewed in that regard had said they had seen a substantial reduction in the violent acts of their spouses or partners.
On homicides of women carried out specifically in a gender background, the delegation noted that the term "feminicide" did not exist in law. However, the Government certainly punished such violations. Data was kept on the deaths of women and investigations into those cases were being stepped up. While statistics reported that 37 per cent of married women had suffered from violence, the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women felt that the real figure was more like 8 out of 10 women who were suffering from violence. Action was being taken at the national and local level, as well as at the inter-institutional level, to address that issue, as had already been mentioned.
Regarding trafficking, there had only been five sentences handed down so far, the delegation noted. However, the trafficking law was relatively new and efforts were under way to ensure that judicial and law enforcement authorities were aware of it. Dealing with trafficking, there was a single record sheet being used to study that phenomenon on a consistent basis.
Turning to the labour sphere, the Ministry of Labour had 159 inspectors that worked to ensure compliance in the labour market in six key fields. Those inspectors, as well as judges, were trained on issues of labour discrimination, in particular with regard to women. Given the specific concern of discrimination against women in Maquila factories, 40 labour inspectors had been specially trained and were dedicated to inspection in that area. Sexual harassment complaints were given priority.
Further Questions by Experts
Concern was expressed that the activities undertaken by El Salvador in favour of women were largely promotional. The Convention required States parties to adopt temporary special measures where necessary. Why had the Government not adopted such special measures with a view to accelerating the participation of women in political parties, for example?
Response by Delegation
With regard to political participation, in particular popular elections, greater participation by women would be welcome. Today, women represented 30 per cent of the staff of the executive branch. However, in the legislative sphere it was just over 16 per cent. In El Salvador participation in popular elections took place via political parties. But the delegation continued to believe that the answer lay in reforming the political parties, as well as provision of training for female candidates, as the best route to increased political participation by women.
The delegation pointed out that there was work under way to reform the political system with regard to elections, which was a fairly new phenomenon in El Salvador. They had only been holding free elections for just over 10 years now. They were working to change the system of election. Perhaps with the advent of direct elections it would be easier to increase women's participation.
The delegation pointed out that the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women was working to increase the number of women on election lists. To that end, the Institute was behind a proposal before the National Assembly which would require political parties to have women make up 40 per cent of their lists.
Questions by Experts
An Expert asked for more information on the Maquilas, in particular the number of women working in the Maquiladora industries, and statistics and other information provided as a result of inspections of those industries in El Salvador and the types of violations identified.
In further labour questions it was asked what impact the new free trade agreement had on women; what was being done to eliminate child labour, in particular with regard to girls working in the domestic sphere; information on prosecutions for child labour; the situation of migrant women, and protections for them in the labour sphere; and social security benefits for women.
An Expert was concerned that there was a lack of clarity between the concepts of gender equality and gender equity, in particular with regard to the labour sphere, which created further confusion with regard to the issue of temporary special measures. She wished for further information on temporary special measures in the labour sphere. The concept of equal pay for work of equal value, as defined by the Salvadoran Constitution and the Salvadoran Labour Code were also not consonant with the provisions of the Convention, which did not require equal pay for exact equal work under exact equal conditions, but for work of equal value.
On health issues, Experts asked about the high rate of teenage pregnancies; the high number of teenage girls seeking clandestine abortions, given that abortion was illegal in El Salvador; HIV/AIDS information and prevention programmes; and the maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in rural areas, and whether the programmes in place had resulted in a drop in those levels.
Other questions included whether rural workers and domestic workers would be included into a social security scheme; marriage laws, including property rights; studies on domestic violence; whether divorces were on the rise; whether wives and children were granted maintenance payments; what the child custody arrangements were; and whether marital rape was criminalized.
Response by Delegation
Responding to these and other questions, the delegation said that, in the educational sphere, at the national level the literacy rate was 83.6 per cent with a 0.93 parity index. The rate was higher for urban areas, but the parity rates remained the same. There were literacy and basic education programmes for adults of both sexes, called PAEBA, which were making major progress in facilitating access to education for adult women, and which had a target of reaching 100 per cent literacy for individuals in the 25 to 49 age group.
As for education of indigenous women, the delegation pointed out that there were really no different challenges facing indigenous women than those facing other poor, rural women in the country, so the same measures taken to improve rural literacy and education, in particular the social solidarity network programmes that had been previously mentioned, had also benefited that group. Rural women's situation had improved in all basic areas, in terms of access to clean drinking water, education, health services, microcredit, and housing, to name a few, the delegation said.
For girls who left school because of pregnancies, there were flexible educational options available, such as distance learning and courses provided via the Internet. Most girls in that situation had taken advantage of those opportunities to keep up with the curriculum and stay in school. There were no exact statistics kept on the number of girls who left school because of pregnancy, to avoid discrimination, the delegation said.
On the issue of the Maquilas, there were 56 Maquilas in the free zones and 64 outside the free zones. There were 66,800 people working in the Maquilas, 80 per cent of them women, the delegation said.
Turning to health questions, the delegation said that maternal mortality was dropping in the country. Life expectancy for women was 72 years. Adolescent childbirth levels had remained the same for the past few years. It was too early to assess the impact of programmes to address teen pregnancies, as those were relatively new.
The solidarity programme for health was having excellent results for women, particularly in rural areas. In 2006 a National Commission had been set up to monitor maternal health, and actions were being taken to specifically target areas where maternal mortality was rising. Unfortunately, no statistics were available with regard to clandestine abortions.
Regarding equality vs. equity, the delegation confirmed that legal documents had in the past always referred to equality. The use of the concept of equity had been done not to derogate from equality, but to further enhance women's rights, to add to the concept of equality. For example there was a school in a region with illiterate men and women. At the end of the year only men had attended. Although women had the right to go, they did not feel they had the equity to do so, because they had to stay home and care for their families, for example. Specific "equity" actions involved lightening household chores for women in rural areas. The programme mentioned earlier regarding provision of kitchens and mills for women was one such equity programme.
With respect to equal pay for equal work, the delegation explained that that concept had been developed largely in the Government sphere where there were fixed job titles and salaries to ensure that the women who occupied those posts received the same pay. In terms of the private sector, including institutions, companies and other enterprises, it was found that a woman received on average, 20 per cent less than a man.
The Family Code recognized three property regimes for marriage, the delegation said: community property, separation of property, and participation in profits. When a couple was married there was a meeting held with a public notary to explain all these various regimes and terms, and they had to sign a document specifying which regime they selected before the marriage was performed. A woman who had devoted her time to her husband and children and had not been able to have a career had the right to receive a compensatory pension. To receive social security, one of the spouses had to be registered for it. There was free legal assistance for any family law cases such as divorce or declaration of an annulment.
The key factor to implementation of the Convention in El Salvador was social stereotypes. But they were working on that, the delegation said, and major strides had been made in the last 15 years.
Concluding Remarks
ZOILA DE INNOCENTI, Executive Director of the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women, in concluding remarks, thanked the Committee for their time and questions and looked forward to the Committee's concluding observations and recommendations. She reaffirmed the commitment of the Salvadoran Government and people to working hard to implement the Convention.
Also in concluding comments, GLENDA P. SIMMS, acting Chairperson of the Committee, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue.
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CEDAW08026E