International Women's Day.
Women and men united to end violence against women and girls.
"All of us – men and women, soldiers and peacekeepers, citizens and leaders – have a responsibility to help end violence against women. States must honour their commitments to prevent violence, bring perpetrators to justice and provide redress to victims. And each of us must speak out in our families, workplaces and communities, so that acts of violence against women cease."
In February 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched his campaign, “UNite to End Violence against Women,” a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world. In recognition of the urgent need to bring women and men together in this endeavour, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – which falls on 8 March but will be observed with a number of United Nations activities on 5 March – is Women and Men United to End Violence against Women and Girls.
Academy Award-winning actress and activist Charlize Theron (South Africa/United States) has been designated by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on ending violence against women.
Dating back nearly a century, Women’s Day provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women and to highlight the needs and concerns of women on the national, regional and global agenda. This year, the Day provides an opportunity to call women and men everywhere to action by shining a spotlight on the issue of violence against women and the goals of the Secretary-General’s campaign.
Background
In February 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched his campaign, “UNite to End Violence against Women,” a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.
Violence against women not only constitutes a gross violation of human rights but also has enormous social and economic costs, and undercuts the contribution of women to development, peace and security. It poses a serious threat to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.
In recognition of the urgent need to bring women and men together in this endeavour, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – which falls on 8 March but will be observed with a number of United Nations activities on 5 March – is Women and Men United to End Violence against Women and Girls. Dating back nearly a century, Women’s Day provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of women and to highlight the needs and concerns of women on the national, regional and global agenda. This year, the Day provides an opportunity to call women and men everywhere to action by shining a spotlight on the issue of violence against women and the goals of the Secretary-General’s campaign.
Stretching from 2008 to 2015, the campaign calls on governments, civil society, women’s organizations, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing the global pandemic of violence against women and girls. It builds on existing Women and Men United to End Violence against Women and Girls international legal and policy frameworks and harnesses the strong momentum around the issue, reflected in a growing number of initiatives by UN system partners, Governments and NGOs. “There is no blanket approach to fighting violence against women. What works in one country may not lead to desired results in another. Each nation must devise its own strategy,” said the Secretary-General at the launch of the campaign. “But there is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable.”
Violence against Women: The Situation
* Today, many women – in some countries as many as one in three – are beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetimes.
* Worldwide, one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.
* Half of the women who die from homicides are killed by their current or former husbands or partners.
* For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability.
* More than 80 per cent of trafficking victims are women.
* More than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation.
* On the basis of data collected from 24,000 women in 10 countries, between 55 per cent and 95 per cent of women who have been physically abused by their partners have never contacted NGOs, shelters or the police for help.
UNite to End Violence against Women
* The overall objective of the Secretary-General’s campaign is to raise public awareness and increase political will and resources for preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls – in all parts of the world.
* The Secretary-General calls on governments, civil society, women’s organizations, young people, the private sector, the media, the entire United Nations system, and individual International Women’s Day 2009 women and men to join forces in addressing the global pandemic of violence against women and girls.
* The campaign provides a collective platform to engage a wide range of stakeholders in an unprecedented level of global mobilization, linking their initiatives to the Secretary-General’s efforts.
Five key outcomes have been set as the benchmarks which the campaign aims to inspire all countries to achieve by 2015:
* National laws are in place and enforced to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls in line with international human rights standards.
* National plans of action are adopted that are multisectoral and adequately resourced, with implementation under way.
* Data collection and analysis systems are institutionalized and periodic surveys are undertaken on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women and girls.
* National and/or local campaigns are launched and social mobilization engages a diverse range of civil society actors in preventing violence and supporting abused women and girls.
* Sexual violence in conflict situations is systematically addressed in all peace and security policy and funding frameworks and mechanisms for protection and prevention of systematic rape are implemented.
By 2015, the campaign aims to make an impact in terms of an increased number of countries, at both national and local levels, with dedicated laws, action plans, and budgets in place and implemented, including programmes for prevention, and availability of integrated services for abused women and girls. The campaign also hopes to make a significant contribution to awareness-raising and social mobilization to end all forms of violence against women and girls, and to engage men and boys in prevention and response efforts.
The Way Forward: Men and Women Working Together
The engagement of men – both young and old – in the struggle to end violence against women is integral to its success. In this vein, the Secretary-General has announced the formation of a Network of Men Leaders who will workto inspire men everywhere through their commitment to eliminating violence against women and girls.
Promising examples exist of coalitions in which men address the need to end community acquiescence to violence against women:
* The White Ribbon Campaign encourages men and boys to pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women. The campaign has developed educational materials and action kits aimed at transforming men’s attitudes that have been distributed to schools, universities, corporations and labour unions. Since its inception in Canada in 1991, the White Ribbon Campaign has spread to 47 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific.
* Instituto ProMundo, a Brazilian non-governmental organization based in Rio de Janeiro, works to engage men – particularly young men in Rio’s favela communities – in promoting gender equality and preventing violence against women, youth and children. Now replicated in more than 20 countries, the organization’s campaign and educational projects help men and boys question traditional “norms” associated with masculinity and to choose not to engage in harmful behaviour.History of the Day
IntroductionInternational Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.
In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day on 8 March. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for women's full and equal participation.History
International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.
1909: The first National Woman's Day was observed in the United States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions.
1910: The Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women's Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women's rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, which included the first three women elected to the Finnish Parliament. No fixed date was selected for the observance.
1911: As a result of the Copenhagen initiative, International Women's Day was marked for the first time (19 March) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million women and men attended rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded women's rights to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job. 1913-1914: International Women's Day also became a mechanism for protesting World War I. As part of the peace movement, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with other activists.
1917: Against the backdrop of the war, women in Russia again chose to protest and strike for "Bread and Peace" on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar). Four days later, the Czar abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.
Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women's conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women's rights and participation in the political and economic arenas. Increasingly, International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
The United Nations and Gender
Equality The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.
Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN's efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe.MESSAGE OF H.E. MIGUEL D’ESCOTO BROCKMANN,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY NEW YORK 8 MARCH 20091. The economic turmoil and ominous social unrest that are rippling through the world today inevitably affect the poor and vulnerable the hardest. Unfortunately, we can expect the harsh impact on women and girls will also escalate disproportionately in the months ahead. For this reason, I welcome the focus on uniting both men and women to prevent violence against women as the theme of International Women’s Day. Sometimes it takes a crisis to raise awareness and mobilize new partnerships. We must seize every opportunity to ensure the advancement of women, in good times and bad.
2. During the last six decades, the UN has played a central role in achieving progress in the field of gender equality, in particular, by establishing an internationally agreed policy framework that guides the efforts of governments and other actors. We are proud of this work and the diversity of UN programmes that have contributed to the advancement of women. I believe this is an opportune moment to step up these efforts by creating an agency for women that consolidates and refocuses the diverse programmes and operations of the United Nations system.
3. Progress in asserting gender equality, the empowerment of women and an end to violence against women has required transformative shifts in attitudes of the United Nations, governments and societies at large. However, despite these crucial achievements and immense efforts, women still suffer discrimination and we remain a long way from achieving the goal of gender equality and solving the closely related problems of widespread violence against women. I believe that we all recognize that we, the United Nations family of organizations included, need to be more coherent and consistent in the implementation of international law, of policies and programmes that fight the complex and ubiquitous challenges to women’s rights.
4. No issue needs or deserves the leadership of the General Assembly more than the pursuit of gender equality. During the 63rd session of the General Assembly, our 192 Member States have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in an historic way. I have committed myself to presiding over the establishment of a new UN entity for women -- one with the authority, presence and resources required to orchestrate the multifaceted campaigns for gender equality.
5. Thanks to the General Assembly’s excellent progress on this score during its last two sessions, the world’s women are now within reach of their own global institution. While we recognize the valuable contributions of the various programmes, funds and offices dedicated to the different aspects of gender equality, a comprehensive entity will be able to better coordinate these diverse and sometimes overlapping mandates.
6. It is entirely possible to change the course of history during this session of the General Assembly – and I am convinced that Member States are determined to replace gender rhetoric with action. We have all agreed that the UN needs new “gender architecture”. And as every architect knows, strong, enduring structures must be balanced. Let’s commit together to consign lip service and tokenism to the past, and create a viable entity for women that will bring equality to the world, and to the UN itself.
7. Let us commit to establishing an entity during this session. It should be fully funded; led by an Under Secretary-General; and equipped with a full complement of expert staff and targeted programmes. It should be represented in all the most important forums, and should have real operational capacity on the ground.
8. A UN women’s agency will not speak for women, but will ensure that at long last, women’s own voices can be heard, at all levels of society, and in the decisions that affect their lives. Its country-level staff should be able to harness the local, national, regional and international expertise and resources needed to assess and address the needs of women. It should have the capacity to collect and analyze data on women’s lives and rights; to develop policy; to provide technical advice and assistance on gender and women’s empowerment in every specialized field; to support and monitor the gender-related work of other UN agencies; and to work closely with government partners to plan and oversee programmes at the national level.
9. The consolidation and rationalization of the UN’s system-wide efforts toward gender equality will be given a new focus and coherence in this time of global crisis. Together, men and women, governments and civil society, we will accelerate the irreversible pace of women’s advancement, of their empowerment, and thus the promises of peace and development for all.THE SECRETARY-GENERAL --
MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 8 March 2009One year ago, I launched a campaign calling on people and governments the world over to unite to end violence against women and girls. The campaign will run through 2015, the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The link with the Goals is clear. We must stop the habitual and socially ingrained violence that mars lives, destroys health, perpetuates poverty and prevents us from achieving women’s equality and empowerment.
Violence against women is also linked to the spread of HIV/AIDS. In some countries, as many as one in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Women and girls are also systematically and deliberately subject to rape and sexual violence in war.
Violence against women stands in direct contradiction to the promise of the United Nations Charter to “promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” The consequences go beyond the visible and immediate. Death, injury, medical costs and lost employment are but the tip of an iceberg. The impact on women and girls, their families, their communities and their societies in terms of shattered lives and livelihoods is beyond calculation. Far too often, crimes go unpunished, and perpetrators walk free. No country, no culture, no woman, young or old, is immune.
Increasingly, men, too, are speaking out against this stain on our society. Global examples include the White Ribbon Campaign and the V-Day Campaign’s “V-Men” counterpart. And at community workshops, men are teaching other men that there is another way and that “real men don’t hit women”.
Changing mindsets and the habits of generations is not easy. It must involve all of us – individuals, organizations and governments. We must work together to state loud and clear, at the highest level, that violence against women will not be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance.
We need economic and social policies that support women’s empowerment. We need programmes and budgets that promote non-violence. We need a positive image of women in the media. We need laws that say violence is a crime, that hold perpetrators accountable and are enforced.
The “Unite to End Violence against Women” campaign encourages men and women to join hands to oppose violence against women. Only by acting together can we create more equal and peaceful societies. Let us all, on this International Women’s Day, resolve to make a difference.International Women’s Day 2009 “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls”
Statement by Inés Alberdi, Executive Director, UNIFEMInternational Women’s Day is an occasion to reflect on where we are in our struggle for equality, peace and development, and a chance to unite and mobilize for meaningful change. This year there is much to celebrate. The vision women marched for over a century ago, of a life free of poverty and violence, has spread to countries around the globe. People everywhere believe that lives of men and women can be different, and governments have the fundamental obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights.
For over two decades, women’s rights advocates have lobbied, campaigned and marched to put gender equality on the public policy agenda, demanding recognition that women’s rights are human rights, and that violence against women and girls be addressed within the human rights framework.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979, recognized gender discrimination as the root of violence against women. In 1993, at the World Conference on Human Rights, governments recognized women’s rights as human rights, and that violence against women is an abuse of these rights.
Violence against women undermines poverty reduction and development efforts; hampers women’s agency and productivity; destroys their health; prevents girls from attending school, and being safe; and has been a silent driver of the rapid feminization of HIV and AIDS. It is no coincidence that the deadline for the Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign is 2015, the deadline to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals. In doing so, the campaign locates ending violence against women alongside the eight Millennium Development Goals—and basic to their achievement.
The 2000 Millennium Declaration recognized the global potential to realize a new vision, and the dangers that threaten it, including gender-based violence. The same year, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325, recognizing the impact of war on women and women’s role in peace-building. This was strengthened in 2008 by Resolution 1820, recognizing sexual violence in conflict as a security issue, demanding a security response.
Mid-way to 2015, the momentum is building. A total of 185 states have ratified the CEDAW Convention, and 90 have ratified its optional protocol, giving individuals and groups of women the right to take complaints about violations of their rights directly to the Commission and request an investigation. Most states have adopted laws and policies to eliminate gender discrimination in health and education, employment and political life and at least 89 states have some legislative provisions to address domestic violence. Rape is now a crime in almost all states, and marital rape can be prosecuted in at least 104 states.
Today it is vital to sustain this momentum. Gains can be reversed, as we witness every day. While the implementation gap narrows, new threats arise, including climate change, widespread food insecurity and a global financial crisis that is expected to push 46 million more people into extreme poverty. The crisis has intensified the struggle for resources—both across and within countries—fueling the resurgence of fear and armed conflicts and endangering progress on women’s rights. Despite more commitments, including at the highest levels, the gaps on the ground are vast: violence against women continues, and impunity remains the norm, rather than the exception.
This year on International Women’s Day the UN system is mobilizing to sustain the momentum of the Secretary-General’s Campaign, focused on global advocacy, national and regional partnerships, and UN leadership. This year is also the 30th anniversary of CEDAW, and we need a renewed push for universal ratification without reservations if the international community is to fulfill the MDGs and put an end to violence against women and girls.
UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women campaign echoed the UN call to action, mobilizing over 5 million signatures to demand governments take action. Nearly 70 governments, including 30 Heads of State, signed on. Some have already taken needed action—withdrawing CEDAW reservations, acceding to its Optional Protocol, funding national action plans against gender-based violence and training judiciaries and police to provide needed support. This year we are taking the campaign to the regions, working with inter-agency teams in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, demanding women’s right to a life free of violence.Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO
on the occasion of International Women’s Day 8 March 2009Each year, International Women’s Day (IWD) provides an occasion for taking stock of progress and reflecting on the challenges that remain in the pursuit of gender equality. IWD 2009 is my tenth and last as Director-General of UNESCO and it is a matter of regret that although gender equality was enshrined in the United Nations Charter in 1945, and targeted as specific Millennium Development Goal (MDG 3) in 2000, it still remains an aspiration rather than the reality in too many areas of public and private life.
It is therefore apt that as the world marks IWD 2009, the 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will be considering “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care-giving in the context of HIV/AIDS”. It will also review progress on the implementation of the agreed conclusions of its 50th session on “Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels”. There is a clear link between the two themes and collective efforts to identify enduring solutions to the world’s most challenging social, economic and political problems. Quite simply, it will be impossible to construct – let alone implement - appropriate responses without the full involvement of women as well as men.
We do not need to scratch too far beneath the surface of the CSW themes to realize that for every little gain, serious challenges remain. Regarding the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men including care-giving in the context of HIV and AIDS, significant commitments have been made by Governments at the international level, starting with the International Conference on Population and Development (1994), the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995), the World Summit for Social Development (1995) and continuing with the twenty-third special session of the United Nations General Assembly (2000), and the Beijing +10 Review in 2005. Yet, women and girls continue to assume a disproportionate share of responsibilities in the household and in care giving, and the public sphere and workplace continue to be based on male models of work and public involvement. This limits women’s access to economic, professional and decision-making opportunities.
We need to make more systematic and concerted efforts to explore the underlying causes of unequal sharing of responsibilities between women and men in the public and private spheres. Only then will we be able to identify and redress the consequences of such inequalities for the labour market, governance and decisionmaking, and to develop more effective policy responses.
A close look at the participation of women in decision-making processes in different areas reveals a similar picture. For example, while the latest figures from the Inter- Parliamentary Union reveal some progress in the area of women’s representation in political decision-making, with women accounting for 18.4 per cent of parliamentarians around the world in 2008, significant regional differences indicate that there is little room for complacency. Furthermore, women remain a minority in the highest positions. For example, at the start of 2008, they accounted for only 4.7 per cent of Heads of State; and only 4.2 per cent of Heads of Government. At the Ministerial level, women held only 16.1 per cent of ministerial portfolios around the world.
The challenge is more significant when we look at women’s participation in key areas of economic decision-making, an area that has serious implications for the distribution of assets. For example, the number of women Ministers of Finance is negligible while at the international level, only 12 Chief Executive Officers of Fortune 500 companies are women. We can no longer be diffident or claim lack of knowledge.
We can no longer pretend that discrimination against women and girls does not affect us or somebody we know. We see it on television, we read about it in the media, and millions of women experience it in their daily lives. With knowledge comes responsibility.
That is why gender equality has been designated as one of UNESCO’s two global priorities for 2008-2013. We are implementing this commitment through the Priority Gender Equality Action Plan, a six-year plan with concrete actions, expected results and budget allocations. Globally, we are paying particular attention to two of the MDGs which address the situation of women and girls, namely, MDG 2 (achieve universal primary education) and MDG 3 (promote gender equality and empower women). Internally, UNESCO is committed to achieving gender parity in decision making levels within the Secretariat by 2015.
UNESCO is convinced that sustainable development, human rights and peace can only be realized if women and men enjoy expanded and equal opportunities, choices and the ability to live in freedom and dignity. Gender equality will exist when both women and men are able to share equally in the distribution of power and knowledge, have equal opportunities, rights and obligations in terms of work or income generation, are given equal access to quality education, capacity building opportunities throughout life and in all domains, and the possibility to develop to their full potential.
On International Women’s Day 2009, I call on all UNESCO’s partners to intensify their efforts and commitment to achieving gender equality in education, the sciences, culture and communication and information and to contributing to the sustainable future of our world.Koïchiro Matsuura
Statement of Mr. Antonio Maria Costa,
Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, for International Women’s Day,
8 March 2009Human trafficking is one of the worst kinds of violence against women, made even more repulsive by the fact that people make money from it. This is a crime that shames us all.
Around the world women, girls and even men and boys are being coerced into sexual exploitation and forced labour. There is still a lot of ignorance and denial about this crime.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has just issued a Global Report on Trafficking in Persons that provides an overview of the problem.
First, the number of convictions for human trafficking is increasing, but not proportionately to the growing awareness (and probably, size) of the problem. Most convictions still take place in only a few countries. As of 2007/08, more than one third of all UN Member States had not recorded a single conviction against human trafficking. Either they are blind to the problem, or they are ill-equipped to deal with it.
Second, sexual exploitation is by far the most commonly identified form of human trafficking (79%). The victims are predominantly women and girls.
A third finding of the Report – and this may surprise you – is that in 30% of the countries that provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. Indeed, female offenders have a more prominent role in trafficking in persons than in any other crime. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, females account for more than 60% of TiP convictions. We need to better understand the psychological, financial and coercive reasons why women recruit other women into slavery.
Fourth, the 2nd most common form of human trafficking is forced labour. It is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation. One reason is that sexual exploitation is highly visible in cities or along highways while forced labour is hidden. How many thousands of victims are slaving away in sweat shops, fields, mines, factories, or trapped inside houses as domestic servants? We still don’t know, and until we do, our ability to reach them will be disjointed and inadequate.
Fifth, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. In some regions, like Africa and the Mekong region, the majority of trafficking victims are children - like the boys of Lake Volta who are forced to dive down with stones around their ankles to untangle fishing nets; or children in West Africa who pick cocoa until their hands bleed; or kids, working long hours in sweatshops in Southeast Asia, whose nimble fingers are used to sew luxury goods, garments or sports shoes that many of us wear.
Children are also enslaved in war zones: boys who learn to shoot before they can read; girls who become sex slaves before they become women. I met some of these kids in northern Uganda a few weeks ago – and the memories still haunt me. Like Evelyn, who is now 16, whose face has been disfigured by a rebel who put a gun in her mouth, fired, and left her for dead. Or Anna, bartered for a bundle of uniforms and raped by a rebel commander when she was 15. She is now bringing up a child on her own in the jungle.
Sixth, exploitation takes place close to home. Intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking in persons. A large proportion of the traffickers detected were nationals of the countries where the trafficking took place. The fact that criminals traffic their own kin is particularly revolting. What possesses parents to sell their children into slavery or into forced marriages? Why do teenagers – so-called “lover boys” – pimp their girlfriends?
Why does such inhumanity and exploitation exist in the 21st century?
Poverty is a factor: poor people are vulnerable to exploitation. Greed and depravity also play a role.
But gender discrimination and societal attitudes are also to blame. Many senior officials – even Presidents – that I meet laugh off human trafficking as if it were no big deal. I’m not surprised that our women make money in the sex trade – don’t you think they are beautiful?, was one comment. Or, what’s the fuss – they’re just prostitutes, was another response that I was given.
These kinds of attitudes demonstrate how violence against women starts in the mind.
I am not only pointing my finger at developing countries. Look at the way that women are portrayed in rich societies in advertising, on TV and in movies, song lyrics or pornography.
Whether its burkas or bikinis, the humiliation of women as property or sex objects is an affront to human dignity and creates a market for women and girls who are traded like commodities.
So what can be done to stop human trafficking?
One year ago, the Secretary-General of the United Nations launched a campaign calling on people and governments all over the world to “Unite to End Violence against Women”. He has called on everyone to work together to demonstrate – in words and deeds – that violence against women will not be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance. This is his message for International Women’s Day, March 8th.
Practically, how can we unite to end violence against women, particularly human trafficking? Networking is crucial.
We need to open people’s eyes to the problem – to stop the ignorance and apathy. Here the media and entertainment industry can play a key role, along with social networking – using new media like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter to spread the word.
We must use all available channels – as parliamentarians, community leaders, concerned citizens – to fight against gender-based exploitation, and all forms of exploitation.
Networks among social scientists and government agencies can increase the pool of data on this crime so that policy is evidence-based.
We need to use inter-governmental networks (like the UN and regional organizations) to push governments to pass laws that make human trafficking a crime, and to enforce those laws.
Crime fighting networks of police working across borders can identify trafficking routes, smash the trafficking rings, and rescue the victims.
Business-to-business networks should keep slavery out of supply chains, and slave-made products off their shelves. As consumers, make sure that you are not creating demand for the goods and services of trafficking victims.
Civil society networks can help to raise awareness, and assist victims to reintegrate.
To spread the word even farther, and to mobilize people to act, we have launched the Blue Heart campaign. Just as the distinctive Red Ribbon is a strong symbol to show compassion for people living with AIDS, we want the Blue Heart to be a symbol of solidarity with the victims of human trafficking, and a sign of our commitment to fight this modern form of slavery.
Let’s keep up the fight to achieve women’s equality and empowerment.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay
issued the following statement to mark International Women’s Day“Deeply rooted discrimination against women in all spheres of society – political, economic, social and cultural – weakens society as a whole.
“The negative effects of discrimination and flawed social structures are inevitably magnified – often dramatically – by conflict, and natural or manmade disasters. The current global economic crisis, for example, is likely to have a disproportionate impact on millions of women who already formed the majority of the poor and the disenfranchised before the crisis developed.
“In many societies – indeed probably in all societies – women’s economic and social rights risk being further curtailed as the crisis deepens. Reports are already indicating that as job opportunities in general decrease, access to employment for men is better safeguarded than it is for women. To an even greater extent than usual, women are being forced to accept more marginal and illpaid employment and forego basic rights and services, including education and health, in order to secure food and shelter.
“Unless gendersensitive policies are adopted, I fear we may well witness a serious setback in areas where progress has taken decades to achieve. To give just one example, over the past decade certain forms of microcredit schemes that provided small loans to the poorest women in various countries have proved successful. Unfortunately it is likely that these small unsecured loans will be under as much threat as other forms of credit, if not more so. This could have a devastating impact on women who do not have any other source of financing to enable them to establish a sustainable livelihood.
“The vast majority of government ministers and financial advisors who are today drawing up plans to grapple with a financial crisis that is, to a greater or lesser degree, affecting every country on the planet – are still men. The success of their complex plans to prevent the crisis worsening, and subsequently to stimulate a recovery, will depend to a significant extent on the degree to which their policies take full account of the shortterm and longterm economic rights, needs and abilities of the female half of the population. For that to happen, clearly, women must be able to exercise their right to participate in the decisionmaking processes.
“Numerous studies have shown that, in times of hardship, women and girls are exposed to a greater risk of violence as a result of the frustrations and despair affecting families and communities. Clear links have – to give just a few examples – been traced between homelessness and violence, inadequate housing and violence, and unemployment and violence. So, in addition to gendersensitive and nondiscriminatory economic measures, policies will need to accommodate women’s demands for justice and for remedial action.
“If anything, the financial crisis should be seen as an urgent reason to speed up the advancement of women’s rights, and not as a reason to postpone fundamental legislative and policy improvements and implementation until financially calmer times. The drive towards equal rights and equal opportunities is not a luxury, it is an economic must and the cornerstone of universal human rights. It is no coincidence that some of the world’s poorest, most conflictridden nations are also the ones where women’s rights are least respected.
“And, it should go without saying, for all – or any – of the above to materialize, full cooperation between men and women will be vital.
“Most of the stunning succession of financial failures over the past year can be laid at the door of maledominated financial institutions and ministries. They will need the help of qualified women in policymaking and managerial positions, as well as at all levels and all corners of the general workforce, if we are to get out of a predicament that is affecting all societies, all races, women and men, in ways we never imagined possible only one year ago.”UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women calls on women and men to unite in times of economic crisis
On the occasion of International Women's Day (8 March),
the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, Yakin Ertürk, issued the following statement:
“The scale and impact of the current crisis is still largely unknown, but it is expected that women and girls in both developed and developing countries will be particularly affected by job cuts, lose of livelihoods, increased responsibilities in all spheres of their life, and an increased risk of societal and domestic violence. A systematic gender analysis of the current economic crisis is critical for developing viable solutions and upholding human rights standards”, recommends the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences.
The World Bank predicts that up to 53 million more people will be driven to poverty in developing countries this year, bringing the total number of those living on less than $2 a day to over 1.5 billion. This will seriously jeopardize the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals which aim to slash poverty, hunger, infant and maternal mortality, and illiteracy by 2015. These worrisome signs are likely to result in serious setbacks to the realization of gender equality.
“Studies have shown that violence against women intensifies when men experience displacement and dispossession related to economic crises, migration, war, foreign occupation or other situations where masculinities compete and power relations are altered in society. This makes it crucial to challenge norms of masculinity in times of global economic and financial crisis” continues Ms. Erturk.
If women are to live a life free of violence, efforts to change attitudes must include strategies to challenge notions of masculinity based on policing women’s sexuality and /or on sustaining male supremacy in public and private life. Violence is not only an act of individual men but is embedded in the way manhood is constructed, reinforced and challenged under societal pressures, social approval mechanisms and crisis situations. The struggle for gender equality is not about a battle of the sexes but rather a battle against oppression, which men also have a stake in. Therefore, men and women working together to end violence against women can be a step forward for greater emancipation for all.
“After six years of extraordinary endeavours which took me to some 18 countries and afforded me the privilege of meeting many remarkable women of great courage and resilience, I will be submitting my final report to the 11th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in June this year”, states the Special Rapporteur. Appointed by the HRC in August 2003, Ms. Erturk will be completing her term with the submission of her country mission and thematic reports to the HRC in June 2009.
This year the thematic report will focus on the political economy of women’s rights and its implications for violence against women. The report discusses the current limitations of human rights discourse and practice in responding to the socioeconomic conditions that produce and sustain genderbased violence. “I believe this report will prove particularly relevant in the current economic and financial crisis that is affecting people worldwide”, states Ms. Erturk.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day and in anticipation of the upcoming 30th anniversary of CEDAW, the women’s bill of rights, the Special Rapporteur takes this opportunity to call on states parties to ensure full compliance with its provisions.REMARKS BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF UNOG
TO EVENT COMMEMORATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2009Following are the opening remarks delivered by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, DirectorGeneral of the United Nations Office at Geneva, at an event held at the Palais des Nations today commemorating International Women's Day 2009. The theme of the commemoration event was "The Economics of the Financial Crisis: Gender Equality and the Role of Women":
"It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Palais des Nations to celebrate International Women's Day 2009. Allow me, first of all, to extend a warm welcome to our eminent speakers and panellists. They represent our Member States, many parts of the United Nations system and civil society partners. Their participation today shows that empowering women and advancing towards gender equality is very much a collective task that can only be realized through a firm partnership among all stakeholders. I should also like to thank our cohosts, the Geneva Committee on the Status of Women of the Conference of NGOs in consultative relationship with the United Nations. Since its establishment, the Committee, through advocacy and by holding Governments to their promises, has not only made a practical difference to the lives of women around the world. It has given a voice to those who cannot speak up for themselves. You serve as role models and as an illustration of what can be accomplished through the inclusion of women. We can all be inspired by your activism and your achievements, and it is a pleasure to be holding this event with you.
The empowerment of women is not only a fundamental objective in its own right. It is essential to addressing the range of complex challenges before us – from instability and conflict, poverty and hunger, to environmental degradation and climate change. Gender equality is at once a key Millennium Development Goal – and a prerequisite for achieving all the Goals together.
The United Nations has, over the years, played a central role in setting strategies for gender equality, generating commitments from all stakeholders. I know that my colleagues from the United Nations system will speak of these efforts in a few minutes. The SecretaryGeneral has given particular emphasis, during the past twelve months, to ending violence against women and girls, which has helped to raise the visibility of this major obstacle to women's empowerment.
We have a long way to go yet. Despite impressive gains in achieving parity in primary school education, girls still account for over 55% of children not in school. Improving maternal health is key to development and to better public health. Yet, among all the Millennium Goals, this is where we have made the least progress. Every year, more than half a million mothers around the world die during pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks of delivery.
Women continue to be underrepresented in political decisionmaking at all levels. While they are slowly gaining a greater share of parliamentary seats, this progress remains erratic and marked by regional differences. And women are largely absent from the highest levels of governance. We need greater involvement of women in the area of peace and security – from conflict prevention, too peace negotiations, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. As SecretaryGeneral of the Conference on Disarmament, I would also like to encourage more women to engage more directly in promotion of disarmament.
Job opportunities have opened up for women in many sectors, but many are trapped in lowincome, insecure employment. They are disproportionately represented in seasonal and shortterm informal jobs that are poorly paid and unsafe, and are deprived of benefits. As the SecretaryGeneral has repeatedly warned, the current economic and financial crisis is likely to have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable – on the "bottom billion". Given the considerable proportion of women in precarious job situations, they are likely to be among the hardest hit through higher unemployment, lower social benefits and decreased remittances. This would compound existing inequalities.
We must work together, therefore, to ensure that the crisis does not undo hardwon gains in reducing gender gaps in education, health and employment. The empowerment of women is not an objective to be pursued only when the economies of the world are strong. On the contrary, the inclusion of women, and of their talent and resources, has to be part of the solution to the current crisis. If we lose our focus on the empowerment of women, we miss one of the principal remedies. Indeed, we must turn this crisis into an opportunity for innovation and gender equality. In a climate of economic uncertainty, this is one investment we know will pay longterm dividends.
Women are powerful agents of change – when they are given the opportunity. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that they are given that opportunity. This requires not only adjusting policies and practices, but most importantly, changing attitudes and habits. And here, each one of us must play a vital role.
I wish you all a productive International Women's Day celebration."Message from the UNAIDS Executive Director
Gender equality must become part of our DNA – at the core of all of our actions. This will require a social revolution. Addressing gender inequality as a human right and development imperative constitutes a main plank of this social revolution. This is not only necessary for social justice but also for achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
The lives of girls and women are still simply not valued on a par with those of boys and men. Diminished opportunities for women and girls should not be acceptable. Violence, including rape and sexual abuse against women and girls, should not be tolerated in any circumstances, be it in conflict or war or at home in our own communities.
Actual violence or the threat of violence often deters women and girls from accessing health services including life saving services for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Just as the world is compelled to respond to AIDS, we have a moral imperative to speak up to decry acts which discriminate against or undermine the rights of women and girls, and act up to protect and empower them. We must put an end to all forms of violence against women and girls.
The needs of women and girls cannot be addressed if we do not address the intersection of gender inequality and HIV. Yet we cannot address this intersection if we do not talk about it, challenge it politically and take innovative programmes to scale.
Social norms that are harmful must be challenged. Laws that block women and girls from realizing their full potential have to be changed. We have to speak out when women and girls do not have access to primary health care, education and equal work opportunities or control over their lives. For this we have to be bold.
In some countries and communities, people are making these things happen; and today, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, we salute these brave women and men. We need to add to their numbers.Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman
Violence against women and girls: International Women’s Day 2009 8 March 2009This year, International Women's Day addresses an issue which shames the world.
Every day, around the world, women and girls face domestic violence, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and trafficking. Too often, these crimes go unpunished. Rape and sexual violence are increasingly used as a weapon of war in conflict situations.
In places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where five million people have died in the conflict, sexual violence leaves many survivors with horrific injuries, emotional wounds, HIV and AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. It can inflict devastating longterm consequences on the lives of the affected women and girls, and on entire societies.
Mothers who survive violence are often less able to meet the physical and psychological needs of their children. This, in turn, adversely impacts the development of their children’s social skills and emotional welfare.
Men and boys have a significant role to play in ending violence against women. One important way to make this happen is to institute programs and activities that educate men and boys to take responsibility and to abandon the attitudes and practices that perpetuate violence.
Throughout my travels, I have met many women and girls who are victims of violence, including sexual violence. The pain in their eyes is unforgettable. There is no doubt their lives have changed forever.
It is both an obligation and a moral imperative that people everywhere work together to end violence against women and children.Gender Equality, Women's Empowerment Crucial for Industrial Development,
says UNIDO Director-GeneralVIENNA, 6 March (UN Information Service) - UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella, said today that empowering women through entrepreneurship development and gender mainstreaming were key factors for effective industrial development.
"Gender equality and the empowerment of women in the countries of the 'bottom billion', where people live on less than a dollar a day, are not only crucial components in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease but also key for effective and sustainable industrialized development," said Yumkella.
He welcomed the international colloquium on women's leadership, empowerment, peace and security that will be held in Monrovia, Liberia, on 7 and 8 March. The event is supported by several United Nations agencies, including UNIDO. Fatou Haidara, a former Mali minister and now a UNIDO Director, will head the Organization's delegation to the event.
UNIDO is helping create economic opportunities for young men and women in the Mano River Union countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone), including by training them in various skills required by sectors such as mining, forestry, agriculture, agro-industries and construction, and setting up a sub regional information system on supply and demand in labour markets.
"On Sunday, 8 March, we will mark International Women's Day, and reflect on the economic, political and social achievements of women. But there is still a lot of work to be done, because no enduring solution to society's most threatening social, economic and political problems can be found without the full and equal participation of the world's women," said Yumkella.
He called for combined efforts by all international players and institutions to overcome the inequities that create serious impediments to women's entrepreneurial activities. He said concrete actions were needed to develop women's economic independence, access to economic resources, and increase women's participation in political decision-making.
Since the late 1980s, UNIDO has been paying special attention to gender issues in its support activities in the small and medium-size entrepreneurships sector and developing special programmes for the promotion of women entrepreneurs.
In its work, UNIDO focuses on achieving 4 of the 8 United Nations Millennium Development Goals, including on promoting gender equality and empowering women.***
UNIDO is a specialized agency of the United Nations system that works towards improving the quality of life of the world's poor by helping countries achieve sustainable industrial development. UNIDO views industrial development as a means of creating employment and income to overcome poverty. It helps developing countries and economies in transition to produce goods they can trade on the global market. It also helps provide the tools - training, technology, and investment - to make them competitive. At the same time, it encourages production processes that will neither harm the environment nor place too heavy a burden on a country's limited energy resources. UNIDO has 172 Member States and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
Past Observances
* 2008: International Women's Day 2008: Investing in Women and Girls
* 2007: 2007: Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls
* 2006: International Women's Day 2006: Women in Decision-Making: Meeting Challenges, Creating Change
* 2005: International Women's Day 2005: Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future
* 2004: International Women's Day 2004: Women and HIV/AIDS
* 2003: International Women's Day 2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals
* 2002: International Women's Day 2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities
* 2001: International Women's Day 2001: Womens's Rights and Intenrnational Peace
* 2000: International Women's Day 2000: Women Uniting for PeaceSource:
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/background.shtml
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/history.shtml
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/final_PGA_message_on_International__Women's_Day_8_March_2009.doc
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/S-Gs_message_Intl_womens_day2009.doc
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/IWD2009_UNIFEM_message.doc
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/Message%20from%20Director-General%20of%20UNESCO.pdf
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/world_women_s_day_text.pdf
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/InternationalWomen.pdf
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/UNSpecialRapporteur.pdf
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/Unog.pdf
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/20090304_IWD_en.pdf
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/docs/AMVStatement.pdf
http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2009/unisinf323.html
http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2009/observances.shtml
