Cummins Supported Initiative Develops Tool To Address Domestic Violence
Cummins Inc.’s initiative to power gender equity around the world has partnered with Global Rights for Women, other corporations and a multi-national law firm to develop a tool for users to view laws, rights, policies, and penalties around the world related to domestic violence.
The tool is now available to non-governmental organizations, victims of domestic violence, victims’ support services and others.
“By users becoming better informed about the laws and their rights pertaining to those laws, they can make meaningful decisions on how to take action,” said Kate Teixeira, Senior Counsel, Asia Pacific at Cummins and sponsor of Cummins Powers Women for Asia Pacific.
“With its easy access and encouraged usage, the online tool has gained momentum and been instrumental in helping women have access to information about the complex legal systems of their respective countries,” Teixeira added. “Progress is being made and, ideally, these efforts will eventually aid in modifying the laws and government policies to support the rights of women everywhere.”
According to U.N. Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, at least one in three women in the world are victims of domestic and sexual assault. In many countries across Asia and the Pacific, the proportion of women having experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime is believed to be substantially higher than the 27% global average. As many as 75% of women are thought to have experienced some form of sexual harassment in their lifetime.
“We are fortunate to have some of our employees engaged in skilled volunteering to help address the dire need of protecting women experiencing domestic violence in this area of the world,” Cummins’ Teixeira said. “We have been working on a number of projects in partnership with Global Rights for Women, a non-profit working with more than 60 international partners to identify obstacles to justice and safety for survivors of domestic violence. Although there is much work to do, the progress we are making through this partnership is inspiring.”
In all, the partnership had 500 lawyers working on aspects of the research. Other partners included Google, 3M, HP, Accenture and Merck Sharp & Dohme as well as Baker McKenzie, a global law firm. The result is that anyone in the world can view country laws, rights, policies, services, and penalties related to domestic violence.
Cummins Powers Women was launched by the global power technology leader in 2018 to advance gender equality in the communities where Cummins has a presence around the world. It has evolved into a $23 million initiative, resulting in 47 gender equality law and policy changes potentially impacting millions of women and girls. The program has funded more than 250 advocacy grants through its 10 global partners in 18 countries.
