AU Convention to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Progress and Gaps in the Fight for Gender Justice

While the adoption represents a noteworthy step, the Convention falls short of its potential. It usefully acknowledges new and entrenched forms of violence such as cyberviolence and femicide, highlights the role of men and boys through positive masculinity, and touches on workplace protections. Yet its language and scope leave major gaps. Key harmful practices like FGM and child, early, and forced marriage are not explicitly addressed, family structures are idealized without recognizing them as frequent sites of violence, and state obligations remain weak in areas such as online violence, sexual harassment, and access to survivor-centered services. Without stronger definitions, accountability mechanisms, and alignment with existing regional instruments like the Maputo Protocol, the Convention risks being symbolic rather than transformative. It is against this backdrop that Fòs Feminista and Akina Mama wa Afrika conducted a feminist analysis of AUCEVAWG, examining its progress and shortcomings.

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