3 New focus and new priorities
Women’s rights and gender equality are relevant issues in most sectors of society. We should be aware of this fact and make use of it. We should therefore take a broad approach when promoting these issues in our development policy, but if we are to achieve the ambitions we have set ourselves, we must select partners and use arenas strategically. We must identify the various actors’ strengths and weaknesses when tasks and funds are to be distributed.
The Government’s aim is that Norway should now focus on areas that are vital for promoting women’s rights and gender equality, such as participation in political processes, economic life and education. Women must have control of their own health, bodies and sexuality. They also have the right to a life free from violence. This means that Norway must help to ensure that conflict-prevention, conflict-resolution and peacebuilding efforts take the interests of women into account. The same applies to efforts to address climate change. We will not be able to meet and overcome the most important challenges of our time unless women participate on the same terms as men. At the same time, our efforts must also be broad and inclusive. The fact that certain areas have been singled out as particularly important does not mean that we can relax our efforts in others. In the Government’s view, women’s rights and gender equality should be included as readily in our energy programmes as they are in our health programmes; it should be equally self-evident to include these considerations in our infrastructure programmes as it is in our education programmes.
3.1 Women and men are to participate on equal terms in political processes
Considerable progress has been made since women’s rights and gender equality were put on the international development agenda in connection with the UN’s first world conference on women in 1975. Institutions have been established to promote the empowerment of women in the vast majority of Norway’s partner countries. The issue is on the agenda of international and regional organisations. Many countries have passed national legislation that to a large extent sets out the principles of non-discrimination and equality between women and men. The main challenge is to ensure that the normative framework is implemented in practice at all administrative levels.
Good governance is not just a question of formal democracy and sound economic policy. It is also a matter of having a well-functioning, active and incorrupt state with an effective distribution policy and adequate institutions. Key criteria are having both sexes well represented in elected bodies and equitable distribution of public resources between women and men. In many places, the legal rights of girls and women are poorly safeguarded, particularly with respect to family law, inheritance rights and the right to protection against violence in the family. Norway’s policy aims to promote women’s rights and empowerment in all levels of society. This constitutes part of the support Norway provides for democratic reforms, the free media, legal institutions and judicial reform.
Textbox 3.1 Equal political rights
According to Articles 7 and 8 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), States Parties are to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in political and public life, and to ensure that women have the opportunity, on equal terms to men, to represent their governments at the international level and to participate in the work of international organisations.
In many cases, special measures will be needed to ensure that information about democracy and election processes reaches both men and women, for example through establishing separate forums and meeting places for women. The fight against corruption must also extend to the contact points between poor women and men on the one hand, and public authorities on the other. The practice of bribery hits poor women particularly hard and can prevent them from having access to health, education, police and legal services, and from having the opportunity to register property and businesses. Sexual extortion, demands for sexual services, represent a form of corruption and abuse that affects women in particular.
Textbox 3.2 The fight for gender equality in political life in Kenya
Women are severely underrepresented in Kenyan politics. Only 18 of 222 seats in the Kenyan parliament are held by women. Moreover, only nine of these women have been elected; the others have been appointed. The political culture and system are dominated by men. Huge financial resources are needed to climb to the top of the political ladder. Women who take part in election campaigns are met with violence and deep-seated prejudices. They are overlooked within their own political parties and are given less attention than men in the media. There are many obstacles to gender equality in political life.
Norway is seeking to promote change in this area. The Norwegian Embassy in Nairobi has facilitated broad dialogue between women candidates, women’s organisations and donors. Norway is supporting UNIFEM’s efforts to strengthen gender equality and good governance. It is a matter of reducing the barriers to women’s participation and assisting women who hope to be elected to parliament. This requires long-term efforts on several fronts simultaneously. In the run-up to the election, a broad selection of organisations and other partners were mobilised, and these assisted women candidates by providing support for media training and publicity campaigns and by mobilising voters throughout the country. These activities were developed in close dialogue with the women concerned, across party-political and regional boundaries.
The increasing participation of women in all levels of political decision-making processes is encouraging. The election of women heads of state in Chile and Liberia has broken new ground and gives reason for optimism. This paves the way for more women to take on leading political positions. President Michelle Bachelet has appointed a Government made up of equal numbers of women and men. The symbolic value of the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia in 2006 – the first woman president to be popularly elected in Africa –is significant. Rwanda is at the forefront internationally in this respect, with women making up 49 % of the country’s parliament.
Textbox 3.3 How we work in practice
With a view to strengthening the participation of women in political life, Norway is directly involved in efforts to pave the way for women’s participation in elections and other democratic processes. This may involve support for voter registration, information on quota systems and training, or support for building networks of women parliamentarians and election candidates. Other efforts include integration of the gender perspective into reform programmes for good governance, campaigns to raise awareness of women’s capabilities as decision-makers and political actors, and support for building networks between women in politics, administration and NGOs at local, national and international levels. Norway supports concrete efforts to mobilise boys and men as partners in the promotion of gender equality, for example through increasing knowledge and understanding of the benefits of gender equality, with a view to combating male-biased norms and stereotypical gender roles.
Our partners
Natural partners in these efforts are political parties, publicly elected bodies, women’s organisations, and central and local authorities, including the gender equality mechanisms in the country in question. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNIFEM are important multilateral actors.
Since 1990, the proportion of women in national parliaments has tripled in North Africa from 3 % to 9 %, and has doubled in sub-Saharan Africa from 7 % to 14 %. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the proportion has increased from 12 % to 19 %, while it has remained constant at 5 % in western Asia. In comparison, the proportion of women in national parliaments has increased from 15 % to 21 % in developed countries during the same period. The proportion of women in national parliaments globally was still only 17 % in 2005. All the same, the progress that has been made is linked to the introduction of quotas for women in more than 80 countries all over the world. Campaigns, training and gender equality efforts within political parties have also had a positive effect, and continue to do so.
However, women are still significantly underrepresented in governing bodies and decision-making processes at all levels. Formal and informal barriers prevent women from participating. There is often distrust of women’s decision-making abilities, including by women themselves, because there is a socially accepted and generally agreed conception that this is a male domain. Education, training, awareness-raising and mobilisation are key elements in any strategy to increase the political participation of women.
Norway has taken important initiatives to support competence-building for popularly elected women representatives in several parts of the world. The introduction of new quota rules in countries in South Asia in connection with the election of local government representatives has resulted in around one million more women being elected. In Liberia, Norway supported a project that focused on the registration and mobilisation of women voters, among other things. In many countries, taking part in national political life is prohibitively expensive for women candidates. In certain cases, Norway has provided financial support for groups of women candidates across the party-political spectrum, to enable them to run election campaigns on equal terms to men. Norway does not support individual candidates, for obvious reasons.
The Government will:
use the recommendations from the CEDAW Committee and UN country resolutions in our political dialogue with individual countries;
help to ensure that women candidates are able to stand for election on the same terms as men;
help to strengthen the political impact of women who have been publicly elected;
help to increase understanding among both sexes of the importance of women’s participation in political life; and
help to ensure that the rights of women are fully reflected in national legislation.
3.2 Women and men are to participate on equal terms in economic processes
Failure to acknowledge the actual role played by women in the economic sector is slowing economic development in all countries. One of the main objectives of our renewed focus on women’s rights and gender equality in our development policy is to help strengthen the role of women as economic actors and to render the contribution they make visible.
The majority of the world’s poorest people are women; moreover, women have a greater workload in many parts of the world than men. Estimates by UNICEF indicate that women in developing countries in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa have considerably longer working days than men. In India and South Africa, the working day for women is approximately one hour longer than for men. In Benin, women work two and a half hours more than men per day, while in Mexico they work one and three quarter hours more. In Mauritius, however, the difference is less than half an hour. This is related to the fact that women are increasingly taking on paid work, while they still have the main responsibility for unpaid housework and the care of children, the sick and the elderly. Time-use studies show that women in employment in Mexico also spend 33 hours a week on household and care-related tasks, while men spend four hours a week on such tasks.
Many women do not have control of the money they earn. It is estimated that women account for more than half of all economic activity in developing countries, but that only a third of this is registered in public statistics. More women are employed in the informal sector than men. Moreover, women dominate the least secure forms of informal work, such as home-based industrial piecework and employment as domestic workers. Women account for up to 80 % of food production in sub-Saharan Africa, but receive only 1 % of all financial assistance provided in the form of credit. Access to paid work in the formal labour market is important for women’s economic security. Besides, it is only in the formal labour market that labour rights can be fully guaranteed. Norway will promote decent work for both women and men. This means respect for employees rights, dialogue between the social partners, and schemes to protect employees in connection with illness, age and disability.
The role of women in economic development must be seen in the context of other relevant Norwegian efforts. This applies particularly to microfinance and support for the development of trade and industry. The opportunities for women to participate in the formal and informal economies, as well as the conditions for such participation, must be improved. Trade policy and trade agreements must be designed to ensure that women enjoy the same opportunities and benefits arising from increased trade and economic growth as men. Trade liberalisation can help to reduce poverty for women, too, particularly in countries where trade has increased employment levels. However, several studies show that developments in international trade can also have especially negative effects for women as workers, producers and consumers.
Textbox 3.4 Microloans provide opportunities in the agricultural sector
Norway is supporting the Norwegian Mission Alliance’s microloan project for poor women in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The main objective is to increase the income of poor families so that they are in a better position to take charge of their own lives. Some of the money made available is invested in agriculture, for example pig, poultry and fish farming, as well as rice and fruit cultivation. Some is used for small-scale trade and handcraft enterprises. Loans are given to women only. The women borrowers are organised in groups of 10 who act as guarantors for each other. The groups meet once a month to compare notes. These meetings are also opportunities for the Alliance to provide information on such topics as health, economics and family planning.
Microcredit arrangements give the poor better opportunities to engage in income-generating activities, increased access to resources and a better self-image. Women are sought-after customers for microcredit institutions. This is no coincidence. Women have tended to be better at paying back what they owe and are thus more creditworthy than men. Besides, granting loans to women has been found to promote development to a greater extent than granting loans to men. Continued support for microcredit programmes will therefore be an important means of creating economic opportunities for women.
Textbox 3.5 How we work in practice
Norway supports a range of measures to promote the economic empowerment of women. These include gender impact assessments and measures targeting women in connection with the preparation, implementation and monitoring of national poverty reduction strategies, sector strategies and action plans, as well as gender responsive budgeting. The aim is to ensure that the needs of both women and men are taken into account in the administration of public resources and the provision of public services. We are seeking to promote women’s trade union participation, the strengthening of labour rights and gender mainstreaming in work on legal reforms, including those regarding the right of women to inherit and own land, housing and other property regardless of their marital status. It is also important to support women’s entrepreneurship, with particular focus on advisory and financial services, insurance, pensions and cash transfers.
Our partners
Important partners in our efforts to enhance the economic empowerment of women are the authorities at all levels, the social partners, NGOs, women’s networks and research institutions. The International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank and the regional development banks are among our most important multilateral partners.
International migration is having an increasingly profound effect on the economies of countries of origin and recipient countries alike. At the same time, migration entails both opportunities and risks for those involved. Worldwide, roughly equal numbers of women and men become migrants. Migrants send large sums of money back to their countries of origin. It is estimated that these private money transfers, in total, exceed global development assistance. Although women tend to earn less than men, individual studies indicate that women, taken as a group, send larger sums of money home than men do.
Structural and cultural conditions limit the opportunities for women to participate in and influence the economy. One area that is important for boosting the position of women in many societies is that of property rights. In many countries, women are excluded from the management of natural resources, and the ownership of land, housing and other property. Widows in many African and Asian countries do not have inheritance rights, and it is not unusual for their user rights for land, housing or other property to be withdrawn when they are widowed or divorced. This is tantamount to disempowerment, and these women are thus no longer in a position to manage their own affairs and become dependent on others. They are trapped in a vicious circle where there is no legal protection and the strongest prevail. Without formal and equal rights to inheritance, land, housing and ownership, poor women all over the world are vulnerable to abuse.
The Government will:
promote the economic empowerment of women;
promote the employment of women in the formal sector;
promote the right of women to decent work with full labour rights;
promote equal property, land, ownership and inheritance rights for women and men; and
seek to ensure that trade policy increases the economic resources available to women.
3.3 Women and men are to have equal access to education
The MDGs can only be achieved if girls and women have access to education. Education is essential for women’s rights and gender equality.
Textbox 3.6 Equal rights to education
Article 10 of CEDAW sets out that States Parties are to take all appropriate measures to ensure that women have equal rights to men in the field of education, including the same conditions for career and vocational guidance, access to studies and the achievement of diplomas.
Experience shows that educating girls can help to eradicate poverty if the education they receive is good. This depends on having well-qualified teachers, satisfactory teaching materials and adequate premises with good sanitation facilities. Thorough and carefully designed teacher training is important for ensuring that future teachers have knowledge and awareness of gender equality and gender discrimination. Teacher training with an integrated focus on gender and gender equality can considerably boost the opportunities for girls and women to participate in economic and political life and academia. The recruitment of women teachers is important, because women role models can help to change traditional, negative attitudes to girls and women and their role in the education system. Women are the most important care providers in almost all societies. For this reason, the education of women gives added value. Girls who complete a good programme of education get married later, have fewer and healthier children, and are able to provide better care for their families. Children need schooling, care and protection. Education can be a means of giving protection to girls and boys, especially in situations of war and conflict. Education also provides knowledge about health. Primary, secondary and higher education are all important focus areas, and adult education and vocational training must also be included. Education is a priority area both for general development efforts and for Norway’s targeted efforts to promote women’s rights and gender equality.
Textbox 3.7 How we work in practice
Norway gives priority to girls in education from primary school to university. Our main focus is to seek to ensure that all girls have the opportunity to attend school, for example by supporting programmes that teach girls and women to read and write. We also promote the integration of the gender perspective in the curriculum and in the classroom. We support the training of women teachers. The likelihood of parents sending their daughters to school increases considerably where there are women teachers.
In the field of higher education, Norway emphasises support for measures to promote equality between women and men both among students and among the staff. We provide funding for a number of academic courses relating to gender equality. Moreover, we have set gender quota requirements in several of our higher education and research programmes.
Our partners
Norway cooperates with a number of government institutions and NGOs to promote the right of girls to education. Key multilateral partners in this field are the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). These organisations receive significant funding from Norway.
The Government will:
seek to ensure that women have the same access to education as men; and
seek to ensure that education services are designed to promote gender equality.
3.4 Women have the right to adequate health services and to control over their own bodies and sexuality
Norway’s international engagement in the field of health is extensive. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and heads of state and government of countries such as the UK, Indonesia, Tanzania and Mozambique, has established the Global Campaign for the Health MDGs and a Network of Global Leaders to support the Campaign. The aim of this initiative is to accelerate progress in reaching the health-related MDGs (with special emphasis on women and children, in accordance with MDGs 4 and 5). The Campaign and Network were launched on 26 September 2007 in connection with the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, and were developed in partnership with UNICEF and WHO, among others.
Textbox 3.8 Homophobia
«Everyone should have equal rights. Sexual orientation is just a small part of a person and should not cause them problems in any way.»
Comment signed Friicc-93, under the heading Homophobia (« Homorasisme») on the Norwegian national newspaper Aftenposten’s debate page for young people, (Si ;D) 19 September 2007.
Child and maternal mortality are primarily poverty-related. There are particularly close links between a woman’s financial situation and the level of prenatal care she receives. When comparing the richest 20 % of the population with the poorest 20 %, we find that the poorest children are 50 % less likely than the richest to be properly vaccinated. Inadequate health care in connection with pregnancy, childbirth and abortion in developing countries is the main cause of death among women of reproductive age. The contrasts between rich and poor countries are alarming. A woman dies every minute from complications associated with pregnancy or childbirth, adding up to half a million women each year. In Africa, one in 16 women die from complications during pregnancy or childbirth. The equivalent figure for rich countries is one in 4000. The level of maternal mortality is a good indication of the status of women in society.
Today the world is witnessing a feminisation of the AIDS epidemic. Globally, there are slightly more men than women living with the disease, but the proportion of women is increasing dramatically. This trend is particularly pronounced among young people, and girls currently account for three-quarters of all young AIDS victims in Africa. This is largely due to women’s lack of control over their own bodies and sexuality.
Textbox 3.9 Sexual rights
WHO’s working definition of sexual rights was developed at an international technical consultation on sexual health in January 2002 and subsequently revised by a group of experts. The working definition includes all persons’ rights to:
the highest attainable standard of sexual health, including access to sexual and reproductive health care services;
seek, receive and impart information related to sexuality;
sexuality education;
respect for bodily integrity;
choose their partner;
decide to be sexually active or not;
consensual sexual relations;
consensual marriage;
decide whether or not, and when, to have children; and
pursue a satisfying, safe and pleasurable sexual life.
Efforts to protect sexual health are based on fundamental human rights. The right to life and health is key. The Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out firm provisions on the right to health, and as the Convention applies up to the age of 18, it can be used to protect children from being forced into sexual activity, and it gives particular protection to young people who enter into sexual relations and those who become pregnant. CEDAW also contains provisions that protect life and health, with particular reference to the special needs of women.
The Government intends to take a clear and courageous stand on key issues relating to body and health, sexual orientation and gender identity and sexual rights, and family planning and fertility. The concepts sexual orientation and gender identity in this context refer to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals. The concept of sexual rights is not set out in CEDAW, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the programme of action from the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 or the platform for action from the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It is therefore much debated, but it is Norway’s view that this interpretation is in line with the intentions of the various conventions and action plans.
Textbox 3.10 The third sex
In Nepal, Norway is seeking to improve conditions for a group that is locally referred to as the «third sex» – transsexuals. They are discriminated against and often have no other means of income than sex work. This entails a major risk of HIV infection. Norway is supporting a project based on the wishes and needs of this sexual minority, providing funding and training to enable them to work in beauty salons, and thus offering them an alternative way of earning a living. The project gives this group greater self-respect and reduces the spread of AIDS. Norway’s funding is channelled via the Norwegian National Association for Lesbian and Gay Liberation.
Sexuality is a controversial issue in many of our partner countries and in international forums, where powerful forces are undermining efforts to strengthen women’s rights. This is hampering efforts to give advice on contraception, ensure access to condoms, prevent AIDS and combat unsafe abortions, and is making an integrated sectoral approach to health impossible. Norway will speak out where others are silent. We will do so in clear, unambiguous language, but where necessary we will speak softly. We have to accept that these are controversial issues in many parts of the world, and that our approach must be adapted when necessary to ensure that our efforts are not counter-productive.
Textbox 3.11 How we work in practice
The measures that will be adopted to promote Norway’s policy in this area include support for the implementation and follow-up of national, regional and international plans for sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as information and awareness-raising efforts. We will use several channels, including the education system, the health system and workplaces.
Norway will also contribute to efforts to provide family-planning and contraception advice for both sexes, and will advocate the decriminalisation of abortion as well as research relating to abortion and associated issues. We will support the development of health services at primary and district level, and advocate that safe abortion and the treatment of any complications from abortions are given priority and followed up in sector programmes and health sector reforms.
Our partners
Important partners in the health sector include the authorities, NGOs and other civil society actors. Long-standing multilateral organisations such as WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are key partners, together with more recent initiatives such as the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Bill & Melinda Gates and William J. Clinton Foundations. The International Planned Parenthood Federation is also an important partner.
Efforts to promote greater tolerance for different sexual orientations and gender identities constitute an important element of Norway’s policy in this field. The decriminalisation of homosexuality and the fight against all forms of discrimination and stigmatisation on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity are important in this context. In many countries, lesbians are discriminated against along similar lines to gay men.
Political will and national efforts are needed to strengthen health systems and provide adequate integrated health services that fully meet the needs of all target groups, including women and girls and sexual minorities. Developing and implementing a national health plan that takes into account women, sexual minorities and gender equality is a vital step in this work.
The Government will:
intensify its efforts to reduce pregnancy-related mortality;
combat feminisation of the AIDS epidemic;
strengthen health services that reduce child mortality;
seek to win international acceptance of the concept of sexual rights;
fight fearlessly for the right of women to control their own bodies and sexuality;
promote access to contraception and safe abortion on demand; and
fight against criminalisation, discrimination and stigmatisation on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
3.5 Women are entitled to a life free of violence
Violence against women and sexual minorities is a global phenomenon; it is found in all kinds of societies, in times of war and in times of peace. But the form and the scope of such violence varies from one society to another. Violence against women and sexual minorities may have a basis in local beliefs, culture and tradition, and in many cases is tolerated and even sanctioned by society. Violence prevents women from living full lives and participating in society throughout their life course. Violence deprives women of choices, it undermines their self-confidence and self-esteem, and damages their health. Violence against women must be regarded as one of the main social mechanisms that force women into a subordinate position in relation to men. Gender-based violence and the use of force are very much a question of gaining control over women and failing to respect their human rights. Violence helps to perpetuate discrimination of women and sexual minorities in education, politics, culture and society as a whole and in relation to access to and control of financial resources. This has grave societal consequences.
Textbox 3.12 An alternative to female genital mutilation among Masai girls
Norway is contributing to efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) among the Masai, a minority group in Kenya. This support is being channelled through Masai groups that are seeking to prevent the mutilation of girls and young women. The Masai have traditionally carried out FGM in connection with the rituals that mark the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Now an alternative ceremony is being offered without mutilation, where all the other local customs and traditions are retained. The girls who choose the alternative ceremony are also offered a grant for schooling.
First of all, a study of attitudes and practices in relation to FGM, other harmful traditions and AIDS was carried out with support from Norway. This was followed by an information campaign targeted at girls, families and religious and political leaders. The first alternative ceremony for girls and their families was held in December 2007, in cooperation with the local community. All the girls in the relevant age group in the villages taking part in the project chose the alternative ceremony. It is also important to underline that the families and local leaders have given their full support to this work. We hope that this is the start of a real change of attitude.
Women employees at the Norwegian Embassy have also agreed to be personal support persons for these girls. They will take part in the alternative ceremony and maintain contact with the girls through letters and personal visits.
Norwegian People’s Aid estimates that one in three women worldwide will be subjected to violence during the course of their lives. Violence against women varies in form and severity. It includes violence in close relationships, child marriage and other forms of forced marriage, harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual abuse and harassment. It includes rape both in times of peace and in times of war, when it may be used systematically as a weapon. Trafficking in women and children for sexual exploitation is also a form of violence against women. Among the most grotesque forms of violence are female infanticide, dowry murders and «honour» killings.
Textbox 3.13 How we work in practice
Efforts to combat violence against women include integrating the gender perspective into work on legal reform and reform of the justice sector. The aim is to ensure that women’s rights are respected, to protect women against violence and sexual abuse within and outside the family, and to prosecute the perpetrators. We will support awareness-raising and education campaigns, including efforts to mobilise boys and men join the fight against violence of this kind. Proactive efforts and low-threshold legal services for poor women in rural areas and deprived city areas will also be important. In addition, it is essential to ensure the rights of girls and women in the interface between state (secular) law on the one hand, and traditional or religious law and legal practices on the other. A multi-donor fund has been established in the UN to support the fight against female genital mutilation. Norway also provides funding for the UNFPA’s Campaign to End Fistula. With regard to human trafficking, priority will be given to information efforts, shelters and temporary accommodation, health services, social services, and repatriation and resettlement in the country of origin. It is important to strengthen judicial systems and police efforts. We also contribute, through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to the implementation and follow-up of the Palermo Protocol (to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime), to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
Our partners
Key partners in these efforts are national organisations that work with women and women’s health, and authorities at all levels. Norwegian NGOs play an important role in this area. Important UN organisations include UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, ILO and UNIFEM. Other key partner organisations are the OSCE and NATO. In addition, Norway aligns itself with the efforts under the auspices of the EU and other international forums to combat human trafficking.
The perpetrators of violence and their victims are found at all levels of society. The overwhelming majority of perpetrators are men. Moreover, women are at greater risk from their husbands, fathers and other male relatives than they are from men they do not know. Violence against women also has serious consequences for the lives and welfare of children. It increases the probability that violent behaviour will be transferred to the next generation. It creates a vicious circle. Sons often copy their fathers’ violent behaviour.
Both women and men contribute to perpetuating gender discrimination. It is women who carry out FGM, but the tradition has deep roots in families and local communities. FGM is practised in 30 countries in Africa, and in some countries in Asia and the Middle East. FGM also takes place in some immigrant communities in rich countries. In 2006, WHO estimated that some three million girls fall victim to this practice every year. This means that more than 8 200 girls are mutilated every day. WHO has also estimated that there are between 130 and 140 million girls and young women worldwide who are living with the effects of this practice. Considerable progress has been made over the last 10 – 20 years in gaining recognition, both at international level and in the countries involved, for the fact that FGM is unacceptable. Nevertheless, the scope of the problem is more or less the same as it was 10 years ago in some of the worst affected countries. Boys are also circumcised, but the consequences of male circumcision cannot be compared to the serious effects of FGM.
The Government regards FGM as an expression of the social injustice and suppression many girls and women are subject to in communities where the practice occurs. FGM is a way of gaining control of girls’ and women’s sexuality. The fight against FGM is thus a fight for human rights, gender equality, human dignity and integrity. Local women, men and leaders who have the courage to challenge long-standing traditions must spearhead the efforts to combat FGM. Norway must provide moral and economic support. This is a huge task that we must approach with great humility. We are convinced that it is both right and possible to eradicate FGM. But it will be a long process, not a short-term project. Our own efforts are to be stepped up. We will support our partners and carry out sensitive advocacy work. Norway and the organisations we cooperate with can provide resources, expertise and new ideas for the fight against FGM.
Human trafficking is the second largest form of organised crime in the world. The UN estimates that the total income from human trafficking amounts to some NOK 40 billion, and that around four million women and children become victims of trafficking every year. The victims live in slave-like conditions. They include men as well as women and children, and they are exploited by means of violence, threats, the use of force and degradation. Victims are forced to beg, or to work as prostitutes or forced labourers, often in private households. The trade in human organs is another grotesque example of exploitation.
Textbox 3.14 Mobilising Sudanese women
In the same week that the parties in the civil war in Sudan signed the peace agreement in 2005, a conference, Sudanese Women and the Peace Process: Priorities and Recommendations for Women’s Inclusion and Empowerment, was held in Oslo on the role of women in building peace in the country. The participants were women from Southern Sudan. The objective was to identify women’s own priorities in the efforts to build lasting peace and discuss what the role of the international community should be. The conference was initiated by the Ministry and arranged and facilitated by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. UNIFEM also took part.
The conference was useful. The Sudanese women made it clear that they would like a symposium to be arranged in parallel to the Donors’ Conference on Sudan where women from North and Southern Sudan could discuss issues relating to gender and gender equality in the country. They also expressed a clear wish that Norway should exert pressure on the Sudanese parties to include women in the official delegations. Norway did so, but in the first instance this target was not achieved.
The Symposium on Women’s Rights and Leadership in Post-conflict Sudan that was duly held in connection with the Donors’ Conference in Oslo in April 2005 was a success. Some 50 women from North and Southern Sudan took part, in addition to representatives from the UN system.
The main objective was to bring these women together so that they could identify ways of promoting women’s rights and leadership, and gain recognition of women’s rights and needs from the Donors’ Conference. The Sudanese women drew up a document setting out their joint priorities, which included the need for security, amendments to legislation, economic support and health services. The two Vice Presidents of Sudan took part in the concluding session of the symposium, and committed themselves to promoting women’s rights. The women also had the opportunity to read out their joint priorities at the Donors’ Conference. Never before has a conference of this type put such strong focus on the needs and capacity of women. As a result of the efforts of the women themselves, Norwegian pressure and intense media coverage, several of these women were finally included in the formal delegations. According to UNIFEM, this has set a precedent for the participation of women in future donor conferences and has set a new benchmark for the inclusion of women’s rights and gender equality on the agenda. The conference was a milestone for UNIFEM itself; it was the first time the Fund had the opportunity to send a separate delegation and take part in a donor conference with full rights.
The ILO maintains that around 12 million people worldwide are trapped in forced labour or have been subject to what is known as social dumping. Some 2.4 million of these are estimated to be victims of human trafficking. Most of these end up in western industrialised countries where there is a high demand for cheap labour coupled with restrictive immigration policies, and criminal groups can make huge profits from human trafficking. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable. The OSCE has estimated that at least 500 000 girls and women are sold into prostitution in Europe every year.
The Government will seek to combat the increasingly extensive trafficking in persons. The Government’s policy platform stakes out the course for these efforts, which focus on the underlying causes of human trafficking, such as poverty, conflicts, social exclusion and marginalisation. These affect women in particular and make them vulnerable to recruitment by traffickers. The fight against human trafficking is part of the Government’s increased focus on development policy. The projects supported seek to give victims the opportunity to lead a decent life, free from coercion and exploitation.
In order to fight human trafficking, it is essential to limit recruitment and demand, provide assistance and protection to victims, increase the numbers of perpetrators that are exposed and prosecuted, and improve knowledge and cross-sector cooperation. Better international cooperation and frameworks are also necessary. Political and diplomatic initiatives in the international arena will be among Norway’s main priorities.
The Government will:
contribute to combating violence against women;
help to ensure effective prosecution of perpetrators of all forms of violence against women;
play both a leading and a supporting role in the fight against female genital mutilation;
take part in efforts to combat forced marriage; and
give clear support to the fight against human trafficking at the international level.
3.6 Women are to have an equal role in peace and reconciliation efforts
A common feature of most violent conflicts today is that the civilian population is subjected to gross and often systematic abuse. Women and children make up most of the civilian population, and they are particularly severely affected. Their everyday lives are brutalised through the lawlessness that characterises conflict situations and many post-conflict situations. Systematic rape is widespread. Large numbers of children are abducted in many conflict areas. Boys are forced to become soldiers, and girls are forced to become «soldiers wives» or sex slaves.
Textbox 3.15 Rape is a war crime
«Impunity for perpetrators and insufficient response to the needs of survivors are morally reprehensible and unacceptable. Sexual violence in conflict, particularly rape, should be named for what it is: not a private act or the unfortunate misbehaviour of a renegade soldier, but aggression, torture, war crime and genocide.»
Rachel Mayanja, UN Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, 24 October 2007.
Women tend not to be included in decision-making processes in connection with conflict resolution and peace settlements. They are usually excluded from all forums – local, national and international – where decisions on peace and security are taken.
Textbox 3.16 How we work in practice
Relevant measures include carrying out analyses to make it possible for the needs of girls and women to be taken into account during post-conflict reconstruction and in connection with demobilisation and reintegration. We will direct attention to ensuring opportunities for children to attend school even during times of war and conflict. We will also implement extensive measures to combat violence in the family and the local community. Emphasis is also to be given to women’s needs in connection with security sector reform.
Norway has contributed to strengthening the UN’s Peacebuilding Support Office through providing expertise on gender equality issues. In connection with its responsibility as Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission’s work in Burundi, Norway has taken steps to facilitate the active participation of women’s groups in the peacebuilding process. Norway requires that the humanitarian organisations, other NGOs, church networks and other faith-based organisations that it supports make active and focused efforts to safeguard the rights of women and children before, during and after conflicts.
Our partners
Key partners in this work include several UN organisations, such as UNHCR, UNIFEM and UNICEF, in addition to NATO and civil society.
War and conflict affect women, men, boys and girls in different ways. The Norwegian Government’s Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security is to serve as a guide for all Norwegian conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. Norway will integrate this perspective into the planning, implementation and evaluation of Norwegian conflict prevention and peace and reconciliation work.
Women’s initiatives for peace and reconciliation are to be recognised and followed up. The needs and interests of girls and women are to be safeguarded during armed conflicts and humanitarian crises. In order to create a good and equitable foundation for peace, democracy and development, it is absolutely necessary to utilise the experience, knowledge and resources of both sexes.
Textbox 3.17 Sexual abuse as a weapon of war in Eastern Congo
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The humanitarian situation is critical. The lack of protection for civilians is the most pressing humanitarian problem, especially in Eastern Congo, where a culture of sexual and gender-based violence has developed. Rape and other forms of abuse of women and children are common, and are being used as a weapon by all armed groups. Obstetric fistula is common among women who have been subjected to these crimes. Rape causes serious trauma. Families and local communities are destroyed. The failure of the legal system and the fact that the perpetrators of these crimes enjoy impunity further exacerbates this problem in Eastern Congo.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Christian Relief Network (CRN) are two of several humanitarian organisations that receive support from Norway for humanitarian efforts among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in DR Congo. CRN seeks to identify, advise, evacuate, treat and rehabilitate rape victims in IDP camps. It carries out this work through a local network of churches that is extensively involved in health projects in the country. It has used Norwegian funds to support a dedicated fistula department at the local hospital and to provide emergency equipment for pregnant women and women who give birth in IDP camps.
The Norwegian Refugee Council concentrates on internally displaced persons in the camps around Goma. The majority of IDPs are women and children. In its work on camp management, NRC has carried out analyses and taken into consideration the needs and roles of both men and women. For example, it is necessary to know who is the head of the family in connection with distribution of food and emergency relief supplies. NRC ensures that both men and women are given training in camp management, and that they are equally represented in the administration of camps. Special protection measures are implemented for women and children, including separate sanitation facilities. The security situation is being evaluated with a view to preventing violence against women and children. Having access to water and schools within walking distance is also important.
The Government will:
seek to ensure that women’s expertise and capacity are fully utilised in conflict prevention and peace and reconstruction processes;
seek to ensure the protection of women and children in armed conflicts;
combat the use of sexual violence and rape as weapons of war and armed conflicts; and
exercise zero tolerance for sexual abuse on the part of international peacekeeping forces, aid workers and humanitarian relief workers.
3.7 Women and men are to participate on equal terms in efforts to combat climate change, environmental degradation and humanitarian crises
Adaptation, preparedness and vulnerability reduction are central to efforts to address climate change and ensure sustainable management of resources. It is the poorest countries that will be hardest hit by climate change and that have the least capacity for adaptation. Adaptation is an integral part and a natural extension of the development cooperation that has aimed to reduce vulnerability. Women often have extensive knowledge of local natural resources, food security and strategies for preventing and reducing vulnerability to extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and landslides. This knowledge should be utilised when developing climate adaptation strategies. At the same time, women are among the groups that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, partly because they often have the main responsibility for food production, water and fuel for the family. Women therefore have an important role to play in reducing vulnerability and addressing the effects of natural disasters and climate change, and their participation will be vital.
Textbox 3.18 How we work in practice
Important measures to strengthen the role, empowerment and rights of women with regard to natural resources management and adaptation to climate change include carrying out analyses and collecting information about the situation of women in vulnerable areas. Furthermore it is important to ensure women’s property and user rights to land, and to focus on capacity-building and education to strengthen women’s position in decision-making processes. In order to improve the position of women in disaster risk reduction efforts, it is important to ensure that information on traditional strategies for survival and food security is systematically gathered from women. It is also important to promote support and credit schemes for women affected by natural disasters.
Our partners
Important partners in these efforts are NGOs in Norway and in our partner countries, UNEP and UNDP.
As a result of climate change, the number and scale of humanitarian disasters will increase. Women are important actors, and should be involved in efforts to reduce risk and make local communities more resilient, at all levels. Women have acquired experience in dealing with extreme weather situations such as droughts and floods. In many situations, women’s traditional knowledge of food security and emergency preparedness will be decisive for reducing vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Women must therefore participate more fully than they do today in work related to climate change, the environment, and humanitarian disasters.
Disasters tend to affect women more severely than men. A simple statistic from the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 illustrates this point. Between 70 % and 80 % of those who died as a result of the tsunami were women. One of the reasons for this disproportionate figure is the low status of women and the lack of gender equality in the societies affected. The greater vulnerability of women is also due to social norms. Women and children tend to spend more time than men indoors, in poorly constructed homes. In some societies, tradition forbids women to leave home unless they are accompanied by a man, even when a disaster strikes. In societies where women’s rights and freedom of movement are limited, a higher proportion of women and children will die in disasters.
The Government will:
promote women’s influence within natural resources management and adaptation to climate change;
seek to ensure that women’s needs are met in emergency situations; and
seek to ensure that women’s knowledge and resources are utilised in humanitarian crises.