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111. Gender and the Right to Non-Discrimination in International Human Rights Law

Author:
Bistra Netkova
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
Discrimination against women based on the fact that they are women is a deeply rooted practice in all societies. However, the level of discrimination varies greatly with the level of development of the given society and strongly influences and vice versa it is influenced by the status of women in a given society. Addressing this gender-based discrimination is a difficult task because it is closely linked to the concept of equality, and the state's action and inactions. The article establishes that the state parties' obligation is to ensure that there is no direct or indirect discrimination against women in their laws, sanctions, and other remedies, and those women are protected against discrimination in the public, as well as, in the private spheres.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, International Law, Discrimination, and Affirmative Action
Political Geography:
Global Focus

112. Enhancing Women Migrant Workers' Rights and Mainstreaming Gender in Global Migration Governance

Author:
Bethlehem Daniel and Michael Gordon
Publication Date:
08-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
According to the International Organization for Migration, female migrants constituted approximately 50 percent of the share of the total migrant stock in 2013. The feminization of migration is an ongoing cross-border phenomenon that requires both attention and cooperation to minimize risk and increase protection for vulnerable populations. With women amounting to half of the number of global migrants, migration and gender can no longer be seen as separate silos in policy. Gender mainstreaming must be injected into high-level dialogue to reduce vulnerability and enhance human rights. This brief examines the problems associated with human trafficking, and identifies legislative and legal gaps in anti-trafficking policy through a compliance analysis of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In order to facilitate gender mainstreaming efforts, member states party to CEDAW are encouraged to ensure that national anti-trafficking policies comply with CEDAW and adopt a rights-based approach to combatting human trafficking through the entrenchment of CEDAW principles in national legislation.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, International Law, and Migration
Political Geography:
Global Focus

113. Today's challenges for girls' education

Author:
Elizabeth King and Rebecca Winthrop
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Educating a girl is one of the best investments her family, community, and country can make. We know that a good quality education can be life-changing for girls, boys, young women, and men, helping them develop to their full potential and putting them on a path for success in their life. We also know that educating a girl in particular can kick-start a virtuous circle of development. More educated girls, for example, marry later, have healthier children, earn more money that they invest back into their families and communities, and play more active roles in leading their communities and countries.
Topic:
Development, Education, Gender Issues, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Global Focus

114. Pitching a Level Playing Field: Women and Leadership in Sports

Author:
Barbara Kotschwar and Tyler Moran
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
While women's presence in the leadership ranks of international sporting bodies has increased over the past decade, women continue to be underrepresented relative to their involvement in sports. Seeing qualified women in sports leadership positions can serve as a strong motivator for female athletes, which is important given the strong link between girls' participation in sports and positive outcomes in education, health, and positioning in the workforce. The important multiplier effects that sports can have for girls and women, and the important effects that positive female outcomes can have for economic growth, makes promoting gender equality in sports leadership a wise societal investment.
Topic:
Education, Gender Issues, Human Welfare, and Social Movement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

115. An Old Boys' Club No More: Pluralism in Participation and Performance at the Olympic Games

Author:
Marcus Noland and Kevin Stahler
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
Decades ago, the Summer Olympic Games were an old boys' club; by many measures the Winter Games still are. Now, however, this old boys' club must compete with talented athletes from almost every country on earth, large and small, rich and poor, many of whom have found their comparative sporting niches. Looking forward, the image of the incumbent champion—rich, European, and male—will become ever more antiquated. This paper models the historical determinants of success at the Olympic Games in the context of their growing pluralism, evolving from their aristocratic and largely European male roots to the more gender-inclusive and geographically diverse showcase of athletic talent that is seen today. A wide set of socioeconomic variables is correlated with winning medals, particularly with respect to the Summer Games and women's events. Host advantage is particularly acute in judged contests such as gymnastics. However, there is evidence that the influence of correlates such as country size, per capita income, and membership in the communist bloc is declining over time as competition becomes increasingly diverse. These effects are less evident in the Winter Games, events that require significant capital investments, and judged contests.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, Gender Issues, and Sports
Political Geography:
Global Focus

116. Implementing the PWDVA: Safeguarding women from domestic violence

Author:
Pooja Parvati
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, and yet the least recognized, human rights violations across the world. It can manifest in many forms, but the most common form experienced by women globally is physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner. Documenting this continues to be a challenge due to lack of reliable, timely datasets. In 2005, the government of India enacted the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), which came into force in 2006. Nine years later, progress in its implementation is insignificant as it remains plagued by challenges such as inadequate funds and human resources, poor coordination across implementing agencies and ineffective monitoring mechanisms. Addressing these would go a long way in strengthening the Act and making it effective. This also corresponds with the Indian government’s wholehearted commitment to ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’ by the year 2030 through its adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, Gender Based Violence, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
India, Asia, and Global Focus

117. Strategic Blindspots: Essentializing, Securitizing, and Empowering Women and Men to Counter Violent Extremism

Author:
Sahana Dharmapuri
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Today, the international community has at its disposal an underutilized tool to address the multidimensional problem of violent extremism: UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security. October 2015 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the resolution, and the first time that the Security Council recognized that gender equality is a critical component of maintaining international peace and security. It is now widely recognized that conflict and peacebuilding are highly gendered activities, and that women and men experience violence and security differently. Recognizing that the roles of women vary greatly from perpetrators or victims of violence, to their role as peacebuilders and political actors, is an important first step by security actors to take into account women’s different experiences and perspectives in international security and peace decision-making. However, basing preventative approaches to violent extremism on a narrow understanding of what it means to be male or female—e.g. solely focusing on the roles of women or men—not only limits policy options but perpetuates two strategic blindspots: essentializing women and securitizing women’s roles in CVE. Both essentializing and securitizing prevents a diverse examination of how both men and women are affected by and influence the promotion and the prevention of extremist violence in of CVE policies and programs. This is because a narrow focus on the roles of women and men excludes an examination of the context-specific, socially and culturally relevant opportunities and constraints that both men and women experience. As such, an exclusive focus on men and women’s roles obscures the entry points available to understand and counter violent extremism more effectively. UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security can help shed light on these blindspots in CVE because it requires both the participation of women and a gender perspective in policies and programs related to international security and peace. As such, the resolution offers analytical tools to help CVE practitioners analyze the complex issue of violent extremism, namely the use of a gender perspective. A gender perspective helps to reveal solutions and courses of action that would otherwise be overlooked in highly localized, context-specific, socially and culturally sensitive conflicts.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Violent Extremism, Counter-terrorism, and Women
Political Geography:
United Nations and Global Focus

118. NATO and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Time to Bring It Home

Author:
Marriet Schuurman
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The year 2015 is a year of global reflection: celebrating the seventy years of the United Nations, the twenty years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for gender equality and women’s empowerment, the end year of the Millennium Development Goals, and the fifteenth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325). Together, these milestones urge us to reflect on what difference these groundbreak­ing international institutions and collective efforts have actually made.
Topic:
Gender Issues, United Nations, Feminism, and Diversity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

119. Gender and the Security Sector: Towards a More Secure Future

Author:
Julie L. Arostegui
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
In recent decades, the nature of war has changed dramatically. Internal conflicts are be­ing waged by opposing armed groups, often divided along ideological or ethnic lines that increasingly target civilians and wreak havoc on society with severe physical, psychologi­cal, social, political, and economic consequences. With the changed nature of conflict has come an increasing demand to consider its var­ied effects on women and girls, men and boys, and to address their specific needs be­fore, during, and after conflict. There is also an increasing awareness of the importance of including women in peace and security processes. Women are 50 percent of the popula­tion and a critical part of society and, without them, real and sustainable peace cannot be achieved. They are not merely victims of conflict; they also play active roles as combatants, peace builders, politicians, and activists, and are often in the strongest posi­tion to bring about peace in their communities. Women around the world have emerged as voices of peace, mobilizing across communities and using their social roles and networks to mediate and mitigate violence. They have demanded attention to the com­plex issues of peace and peace building, and the needs of the communities involved, rather than to just cease-fires and power sharing. The international community has responded with a framework for addressing women, peace, and security, which includes United Nations (UN) Security Council resolu­tions and binding international law. Regional bodies such as the European Union, NATO, and the African Union have also developed strong frameworks around gender equal­ity and women’s rights in order to build sustainable peace, driven by advocacy by women’s groups and the experiences of conflict.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Peace, and Social Roles
Political Geography:
Global Focus

120. What Role for the Security Sector? An SSR Approach to Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Author:
Aiko Holvikivi
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The United Nations Security Council resolutions on “Women, Peace and Security” identify security sector reform (SSR) as a tool for their implementation.[1] Nonetheless, the resolutions are often seen as the purview of women’s organizations and the responsibility of ministries of foreign affairs, leaving the role of security sector institutions and their obligations for reform murky.[2] On the other hand, a body of literature oriented toward practitioners and policymakers charts out the rationale and practical tools for ensuring SSR interventions are gender responsive. This literature tends to view the women, peace and security resolutions as a tool for integrating gender perspectives in SSR interventions.[3] However, this literature’s ultimate goal remains the good governance of the security sector. In this article, I seek to bridge this gap through an examination of the roles and responsibilities of the security sector in implementing the women, peace and security agenda.[4] More precisely, I examine the processes and principles associated with security sector reform, and argue that its technical components and ultimate objectives are key to the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda. In other words, I ask what SSR can bring to the women, peace and security agenda, rather than how the integration of gender furthers SSR. As other contributions in this volume have already introduced the women, peace and security agenda, the following section focuses on the concept and key tenets of SSR and engages in a brief discussion on mainstreaming gender into SSR interventions. The analysis that follows is structured around the four pillars of the women, peace and security agenda, and examines what reform and good governance of the security sector can contribute to the realization of these goals. In other words, it identifies roles and responsibilities for the security sector in implementing this agenda. The final section summarizes how SSR is key to the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, and how SSR approaches can complement its further development.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Reform, Women, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus