Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, CEO of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, speaking at the 19th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in New York, NY. Credit: Katrina Leclerc/GNWP

By Maria Victoria (Mavic) Cabrera Balleza
NEW YORK, Mar 5 2021 (IPS)

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future, including an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

From our work at the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, we know that local women peacebuilders are the first responders in this pandemic. They distribute food packs, face masks, hygiene and sexual health products to internally displaced people, refugees, indigenous communities and other groups that often lack access to aid provided by governments and international organizations.

They work with mental health experts to provide online counseling to women who are victims of, or at risk of gender-based violence. They disseminate factual information on how to prevent the spread of the virus. They speak on local radio to counter fake news about the pandemic.

Local women peacebuilders were out on the frontlines at the outset of the pandemic, even as governments did not yet know what to do, or were paralyzed by their own politicking and heavy bureaucracy.

Today, almost a year after COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic, they remain on the frontlines: advocating for strengthening of health care systems, dismantling institutional inequalities, addressing the long-term impacts of the crisis on livelihoods and peace in their countries and communities, and promoting sustainable recovery.

The success of women-led governments such as Finland, Germany, New Zealand, and Taiwan in managing the pandemic presents yet additional evidence that women’s leadership makes a positive difference.

Despite this, the norm remains that women are not the leaders and decision-makers. Only 24.7 per cent of the world’s health ministers are women even though they make up 70 per cent of health care workers. At the sub-national and local levels, women are often excluded in COVID-19 Task Forces.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (SG) has stated “the #COVID19 response has highlighted the power of women’s leadership. Yet women remain marginalized from many decision-making spaces. We need to act now to ensure women have an equal voice in our response to the pandemic and other crises facing our world.”

Members of GNWP’s Young Women+ Leaders for Peace – Philippines distributing COVID-19 relief packages to local community members in Marawi, Philippines. Credit: YWL-Phillippines/GNWP

Signs of hope in the Security Council, but much remains to be done

As civil society, we join the SG in demanding Member States to institute measures to support women’s leadership!

There are some hopeful developments and opportunities that could be seized. The election of Ireland, Mexico and Norway as non-permanent members of the Security Council can provide a much-needed boost to the calls for women’s leadership.

All of these countries have demonstrated global leadership on women’s rights and gender equality as well as the women, peace and security agenda. Mexico takes pride in its adoption of a feminist foreign policy.

It co-chairs the Informal Expert Group on Women, Peace and Security with Ireland, and is a co-host of the Generation Equality Forum, a civil society–centered global convening for gender equality wherein one of the outcomes is the Action Coalition on Feminist movements and leadership. France, a permanent member of the Security Council, is the other co-host of the Generation Equality Forum, and one of four countries that have adopted feminist foreign or international development policies.

The other two are Canada and Sweden. It should however be noted that there does remain a disconnect between these countries’ aspirations and leadership on the global arena and the actual state of women’s rights.

The confirmation of Linda Thomas-Greenfield as the new US Ambassador to the UN is another key development. With the US having elected the first woman Vice President and other female leaders appointed to key positions in the Biden administration, women’s influence in US Foreign Policy looks to be changing for the better.

It is also important to mention that there are now five women Permanent Representatives to the Security Council namely, Ireland (Geraldine Byrne Nason), Norway (Mona Juul), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Inga Rhonda King), United Kingdom (Barbara Woodward) and Thomas-Greenfield. Probably the biggest number of women taking up seats in the Security Council in the recent years—if not ever.

A few questions beg to be asked. How can these handful of countries influence the rest of the world and make women’s leadership a priority? How can the UN be the model of women’s leadership when, 76 years since its founding, there has still never been a woman Secretary-General?

Local Women and Youth Peacebuilders Demand to Participate in the Afghan Peace Process. Credit: GNWP

Security Council members need to unite behind the call for a woman SG and remove the gap between what is stipulated in the Women and Peace and Security resolutions and leadership in the UN.

All Member States should seriously pay attention to the letter sent by Ambassador Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake of Honduras on 03 February 2021 urging her fellow diplomats “to look genuinely at your commitments to the United Nations and present women candidates…”

It is also high time to demonstrate that the most important action that male leaders can take to support women’s leadership is to step back, and share power. This will require men to sacrifice their personal ambitions and set their egos aside for the bigger goal of achieving gender equality and a better world for all.

Electing a woman SG is much more than a symbolic gesture. It is about the UN leading by example which is crucial to its credibility. It is also about fulfilling the promise to nominate candidates for appointment to senior posts in the UN made by 189 Member States during the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing.

Civil society groups such as Equality Now have been advocating for a woman SG. While the next opportunity to elect a woman to the highest position in the UN is still five years away, our advocacy should NOT stop.

Our advocacy should start from the capitals of the 193 Member States and continue through the Permanent Missions in New York. Women’s rights organizations from around the world should demand their governments to nominate and elect a woman as the next SG. And who are the “right” women for this role?

I think we can agree on this set of qualifications: feminist values, strong connectedness with and appreciation of civil society, excellent leadership track record, managerial abilities, extensive experience in international relations, and outstanding diplomatic skills.

From the looks of it, Antonio Guterres is already a shoo-in for a second term. China and the United Kingdom, two permanent members of the Security Council have already expressed their support to the incumbent SG.

For now, and throughout his second term, women’s rights activists need to have discussions with SG Guterres to seek his assurance that he will do everything in his power to pave the way for a woman SG, and integrate feminist values in the work of the UN.

As the UN calls on Member States to ensure women’s leadership at all levels, it needs to practice what it preaches. Echoing SG Guterres, “the #COVID19 response has highlighted the power of women’s leadership.” The world needs women at the decision-making table in order to build back better and equal.

The author is Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. She also serves as a consultant to UN Women.

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
  

Excerpt:

The United Nations is conducting a 16-day social media campaign from 25 November to 9 December for its 2020 Campaign: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The 16 Days of Activism is a worldwide campaign calling for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence (GBV). Credit: International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)

By Maria Victoria (Mavic) Cabrera Balleza
NEW YORK, Dec 10 2020 (IPS)

The COVID-19 pandemic is NOT the biggest pandemic the world confronts at the moment, despite over 69 million cases and 1.5 million deaths worldwide.¹ If it’s not COVID, what is it then? It is violence against women!

Globally, 243 million women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the past 12 months alone.² The figure increases by 30 per cent if the violence experienced by women and girls in their lifetime is added.³

These numbers are likely underestimates, since many women do not report sexual and intimate partner violence due to stigma associated with it. The UN Women policy brief on COVID-19 and VAW points out that less than 40 per cent of the women who have experienced violence seek help.

Those who do, often turn to family and friends, and less than 10 per cent report to the police. This perpetuates a culture of impunity as perpetrators go unpunished.

The data clearly shows that violence against women and girls is a global emergency, which requires urgent action. It can take many forms, from human trafficking and sexual slavery, through rape and forced sexual acts, to bettering and sexual harassment—on the street, at workplace, school and online.

Harmful cultural practices – such as female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage are also forms of violence against women and girls. The list goes on.

Gender-based violence can happen to anyone, anytime, and anywhere. However, some women and girls are particularly vulnerable. Some of them are young girls and older women, women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrant, refugee and displaced women and girls, indigenous women and girls, women and girls from ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls with disabilities, and those living in situations of conflict and humanitarian crises.

The threat of violence faced by millions of women and men around the world has been compounded by the security, health, and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are trapped at home with their abusers, while women’s shelters and domestic violence hotlines are struggling to meet demands.

As the world grapples with COVID-19, it is also past time to take concrete action to address the shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls.

United Nations response

There is no shortage in UN campaigns, programs, task forces and initiatives that all aim to end violence against women and girls

Groups such as the Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls and the Action Coalition for Gender-based violence bring together civil society, Member States, UN agencies, international organizations, and philanthropies provide space for sharing lessons learned, coordinating action and mobilizing resources to end violence against women and girls.

The Spotlight Initiative, a global, multi-year partnership between the European Union and the United Nations launched in 2019 has committed a record €500 million to end violence against women and girls.

Advocacy and communications campaigns such as the UNiTE by 2030 campaign managed by UN Women, call 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.

There is also the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee), all of which have specific but related mandates that address violence against women and girls.

How effective is the UN response to violence against women and girls? The effectiveness of the UN response was put to a major test by the outbreak of COVID-19. The massive increase in the incidence of violence against women and girls is an indication that the response is ineffective—or at best—insufficient.

While one could argue that the weakness of individual Member States both in managing the pandemic and addressing violence against women and girls cannot be attributed to the UN, the shortcomings brought to light by the pandemic beg the question: how can the UN improve Member States’ compliance with and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Labour Organisation’s Violence and Harassment Convention, and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and its supporting resolutions?

All of these are powerful international laws that call on the UN and Member States to take concrete actions on this issue. However, the pandemic has demonstrated that actions taken to date have barely scratched the surface of the complex and pervasive issue of violence against women and girls. An effective and sustainable response requires structural changes, and a re-evaluation of global priorities!

The UN Secretary-General’s call

The current global priorities are most clearly visible if we follow the money. USD $1.9 trillion! This is how much the world spent to run military institutions in 2019, the largest annual increase in military expenditure since 2010.⁴ Let that sink in!!!

Meanwhile, women’s shelters are underfunded, many women—including victims of sexual violence—do not have access to quality healthcare, including maternal and reproductive health, and many women’s rights organizations are struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To end violence against women, Member States and donors need to put their money where their mouths are. It is not only the right and necessary choice—it is also a smart investment.

According to the World Bank, violence against women is estimated to cost countries up to 3.7% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—more than double what most governments spend on education.⁵

UN Women estimates that cost to be approximately $1.5 trillion⁶ – almost at the level of the record-high military expenditures. Preventing violence against women and girls first and foremost saves lives—but it can also save money.

In his 2020 report on Women and Peace and Security, the Secretary-General drew attention to the stark difference between soaring rates of military spending and the strains in social protection systems including the unavailability of necessary health care that disproportionately impact women and girls. It also underlined how bilateral aid to women’s organizations in fragile or conflict-affected countries has stagnated at 0.2 per cent of total bilateral aid ($96 million on average per year).

The Secretary-General’s report marks the 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325, arguably the most important international law that address violence against women and girls in conflict situations. It presents five goals for the next decade.

It called on the international community to “Reverse the upward trajectory in global military spending with a view to encouraging greater investment in the social infrastructure and services that buttress human security.”

Moreover, the Secretary-General urged Member States to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty, control the availability of armaments; to promote the participation of women in all arms control and disarmament processes and forums; and to reduce excessive military expenditures.

The current context calls for renewed efforts to curb military spending, which has been a chief strategic objective of the women’s movement for peace, he further stressed.

Complementing his call for reduced military spending, the other goal presented by the Secretary-General is to galvanize the donor community for universal compliance with a minimum of 15 per cent of ODA to conflict-affected countries dedicated to advancing gender equality, and the remaining 85 per cent to integrate gender considerations, including multiplying by five the direct assistance to women’s organizations.

The reduction of military spending does not only represent the possibility of financial resources that could support women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence as well as predictable core funds to women’s rights organizations.

It is also an opportunity to generate stronger political commitment to disarmament and arms control and eliminate the threats posed by the estimated one billion small arms that are circulating globally. It can also lead to preventing the use of arms to commit or facilitate serious acts of violence against women and girls.

We, in the women, peace and security community as well as all actors working on gender equality, human rights, and the elimination of violence against women and girls must waste no time.

Let us all come together and seize the moment to present our evidence-based analysis, and policy recommendations in order to influence policy outcomes and decisions that divert weapons spending to fund civil society’s initiatives to end violence against women and girls, and COVID-19 response and recovery.

¹ Worldometer, “COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic”, Updated 9 December 2020. Accessed from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
² UN Women, “COVID-19 and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls”, 2020. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/issue-brief-covid-19-and-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5006
³ World Health Organization, “Global and Regional Estimates of Violence Against Women: Prevalence and Health Effects of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Partner Sexual Violence”, 2013. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/85239
⁴ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, “Global military expenditure sees largest annual increase in a decade—says SIPRI—reaching $1917 billion in 2019”, 27 April 2020. Available at: https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2020/global-military-expenditure-sees-largest-annual-increase-decade-says-sipri-reaching-1917-billion
⁵ World Bank, “Gender-Based Violence (Violence Against Women and Girls)”, 25 September 2019. Available at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialsustainability/brief/violence-against-women-and-girls
⁶ UN-Women, “COVID-19 and ending violence against women and girls”, 2020. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/issue-brief-covid-19-and-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf?la=en&vs=5006.

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
  

Excerpt: