Restoring Dignity: A Toolkit for Religious Communities to End Violence Against Women

From the Introduction:

"This toolkit is designed to help equip religious leaders and communities for multi-religious cooperation around needed education and advocacy to defend the dignity and rights of women and girls....The toolkit offers religious leaders and communities the tools to act together in partnership within and across faiths as powerful agents of prevention, protection and support to end all forms of violence against women and girls.

This toolkit is divided into two sections:

The first section of this toolkit, Understanding Violence Against Women, affirms the centrality of mobilizing religious infrastructures, assets and resources for action in response to this urgent crisis. This section includes background information on violence against women that can help people of faith educate themselves about the issue, as well as enable them to educate others. The second section of this toolkit, Restoring Dignity: Religious Communities in Action, provides practical resources and tools for people of faith to use their religious background and moral and spiritual capital to take actions to eliminate violence against women. This section is broken up into different action areas that can help end violence against women including: education and awareness; prevention; advocacy; organizing an inter-religious retreat; support and care; addressing justice: ending impunity; partnering with the media; and monitoring and evaluation. There is a sample tool corresponding to each action area that may help carry out the action.

INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF RELIGION IN ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

• Working Together to Uphold the Dignity of All
• Multi-Religious Collaboration to End Violence Against Women
• How to Use this Toolkit

SECTION 1: UNDERSTANDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

• Defending the Inviolable Dignity and Rights of Women and Girls
• Overview of Violence Against Women
• Different Forms of Violence Against Women
• The Intersection of Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS
• The Intersection of Violence Against Women and Poverty
• The Intersection of Violence Against Women and War and Conflict

SECTION 2: RESTORING DIGNITY - RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN ACTION

• The Religious Imperative to End Violence Against Women
• Education and Awareness
• Prevention
• Advocacy
• Inter-Religious Retreat
• Support and Care
• Addressing Justice: Ending Impunity
• Partnering with the Media
• Monitoring and Evaluation

APPENDIX

• Religions for Peace
• The Global Women of Faith
• Resources
• Acknowledgements