Legal reform to address comprehensively VAWG is needed but is not enough as VAWG is widely practiced because social norms and attitudes have not sufficiently changed. As gender inequality and unequal power relations between women and men are the root cause of VAWG, social change that corrects these is vital for eliminating VAWG.
VAWG often generates feelings of shame and guilt among the victims, particularly in the case of sexual assault. These explain why women often do not report the crime. That is why it is important to carry out campaigns so that the shame and guilt change side and are felt by the perpetrators not by the victims.
The State has a primary role in raising awareness about the root causes of VAWG to achieve this change. However, the role of civil society, whether local or international, is also especially important in raising awareness about stereotypes and discrimination against women.
All index countries report the existence of campaigns, mostly linked to the 16 days global campaign to eliminate violence against women. In Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, they are conducted by NCW, JNCW, and NCLW respectively. In Algeria, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia, campaigns are organised by the ministries of women affairs. In all countries the CSOs are involved.
