GENDER,
JUSTICE AND
DEMOCRATIZATION
DEVCO Gender module, 2012
EU Gender Advisory Serivices 2012
1
Objective of this course module:
Getting familiar with strategies to
promote gender equality and
women's empowerment in justice and
democratization.
2
Table of Contents
i.
What is gender About?
ii.
International Commitments on Gender, Justice and
Democratization
iii. EU comprehensive Approach
iv. Gender dimension: Legal Frameworks
v.
Gender dimensions: Access to Justice
vi. Entry points for gender equality in Justice sector
vii. Gender analysis of Democratization
viii. Strategies to promote gender equality in
democratization processes
3
i. What is gender about?
GENDER:
A concept that refers to the social differences
between women and men that have been
learned are changeable over time and have
wide variations both within and between
cultures.
(European Commission, 1998)
EU Gender Advisory Services - 2011
gender and sex
Sex
Gender
Biological differences (man/women)
Socially constructed differences
(masculinity/femininity)
Chromosomal and physiological
characteristics of men and women do
not vary much among different cultures
Social, political, and economic roles
may vary much among different cultures
No much difference in time and place
Huge changes in time and place
rather static
dynamic
Socially constructed inequality
Everything associated
with masculinity is
valued higher
The problem is not that men
and women are different, but
the traditionally assigned roles
are valued differently and men
and women are stereotyped
The result is
inequality in
opportunities,
benefits,
gender
discrimination
Gender, Justice and Democracy
“(…) with sound legal and justice
systems, women can flourish and
contribute to the advancement of
society as a whole, including by
helping to improve those very same
systems for future generations –
daughters and sons alike.”
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations
7
Factsheet (justice)
Justification of Domestic violence
In 17 out of 41 countries a quarter or more people think
that is justifiable for a man to beat his wife
Existence of laws prohibiting each forms of
violence
Domestic violence 60%
Sexual harassment 55%
Marital rape 15%
Discriminatory Legal codes and customary practices
limiting women’s ability to control land
(UN Women index on OECD data 2010:
No access (0) to Full Access (1)
Latin America and the Caribbean 0,87
Middle East and North Africa 0.63
Sub-Saharan Africa 0.41
South Asia 0.56
East Asia and the Pacific 0.84
Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia 0.88
Underreporting of rape cases
A study on 57 countries in European countries
reports:
- 10% of women have experienced sexual
assault; out of which only 11% reported it
- 8% of women experienced robbery, out of
which 38% reported it
The same pattern is evident at global-level.
Failure of justice services for women and lack of
confidence in justice may explain this
pattern.
Legal Reforms
173 Countries guarantee Paid maternity leave
139 constitutions guarantee gender equality
125 countries outlaw domestic violence
117 countries outlaw sexual harassment
117 counties have equal pays
115 countries guarantee women’s equal
property rights
8
Factsheet (democracy)
WOMEN IN NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS
In national parliaments, the global average of seats
held by women is only 20.2 percent : Women
make less than 20,2% of legislators (men still have
78.8.% and women only 20.2% of parliamentary
seats)
WOMEN HEAD OF STATE
Only 16 women are Heads of State or Government
around the globe. (2012)
Legal Reforms
Example of Rwanda:
Rwanda superseded Sweden at the number
one in the world in terms of women’s
parliamentary representation — 56.3
percent women against Sweden’s 47.3
percent. Rwanda is an example of the
use of electoral gender quotas as a fast
track to gender balance in politics
Rwanda recently approved important legal
reforms on women rights:
 the Succession Act (1999) establishing
gender equality in inheritance and
property ownership;
 the National Land Policy (2004) and
Land Law (2005) providing equality in
statutory and customary land
ownership;
 the Law on Prevention and Punishment
of Gender-Based Violence was passed
(2008);
 marital rape was criminalized (2009).
9
ii. International commitments
International and Regional Commitments
 Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW - 1979)
 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PfA) (1995)
 Millennium Development Goals (2000), MDG3
 Protocol to the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol – 2003)
 Inter-American convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of
Violence against Women, 1994 (Belem do Para)
Institutional dimension:
 CEDAW monitoring process on reporting
 CEDAW Optional Protocol (in force since 2000) on the procedures for (a) claims
of violations of rights to the CEDAW Committee, and (b) enquiry procedures
 UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
10
iii. EU approach
EU Commitments on Justice and Democracy
 Treaty of the European Union:
 European Consensus on Development (2006)
 EC Communication on Gender Equality and women empowerment (8
of March 2007)
 EU Guideline on Violence against women and girls (2008)
 EU Comprehensive approach to implementing UNSCR 1325 + 1820
(2008)
 European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights – EIDHR
(2006; 2010)
 Council conclusions on Democracy Support in the EU’s External
Relations (2009)
 EU Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy 20122014 (2012)
11
EU Gender strategy
EU Gender 3 pronged approach
•
•
•
Political and policy dialogue on gender equality
Gender mainstreaming in all sectors and levels
Specific strategic actions for gender equity
EU-Gender Action Plan 2010-2015
•
Specific Objective 8: Strengthen EU support to partner countries in combating gender-based
violence and all forms of discriminations against women and girls
•
Targets:
⇨ Indicator 8.1.1 By 2011 at least 50% of the EU Delegations introduce specific measures on the role
of external assistance and development co-operation in their local strategies for the
implementation of the EU Guidelines on Violence against Women and Girls and Combating All
Forms of Discrimination against them.
⇨ Indicator 8.1.2 By 2015 80% of the EU Delegations introduce specific measures on the role of
external assistance and development co-operation in their local strategies for the implementation
of the EU Guidelines on Violence against Women and Girls and Combating All Forms of
Discrimination against them
⇨ Indicator 8.2-8.3.1 The thematic programmes and instruments (European Instrument for Democracy
and Human Rights, Investing in People etc) will support NSAs to implement the EU Guidelines on
Violence against Women and Girls and Combating All Forms of Discrimination against them
12
iv. Gender dimension of justice: Legal Frameworks
Areas of marginalization
Domestic
violence
Working
environment
violence perpetrated within domestic walls often not
considered
sexual harassment laws (lack of protection laws)
Ethnicity
discrimination based on being from a certain tribe or
indigenous group
Inheritance
laws
in particular related to property and land
Citizenship
and family
laws
Inequalities related to marriage, divorce, custody
Sexual and
reproductive
rights
right to abortion, rights to maternity leave, HIV related
information and treatments, etc.
Work pays
equal pays for equal work, equal treatment, equal
opportunities
13
Strategies to enhance the creation of non-discriminatory legal
frameworks
Capacity building on CEDAW
(Reporting)
Shadow reports on CEDAW
(Awareness raising)
Capacity building for structural changes
Specific targeted action to eliminate the
most flagrant gender discrimination in
legal frameworks or to address
transitional justice
14
v. Gender dimension: Access to Justice
Social and Institutional obstacles to
women’s and girls’ access to justice
BARRIERS
lack of knowledge and social pressures
autonomy: Institutional
lack of gender sensitive expertise of staff
lack of resources and basic equipments
underrepresentation of women as judicial
actors
costs
lack of legal advice
distance from rural areas
bias in judicial decision-making and
discrimination in procedures
Need for gender analysis of justice sector
(micro-meso-macro), including
practical and strategic gender needs
Practical needs (ex. Costs and transports)
Mobile courts (DRC) or transportation facilities;
Free Legal Aid (Kirgizstan; Fiji)
Strategic needs (ex. Gender sensitive
expertise; social pressure)
Gender desks (India)
One-stop shops: integrating services tailor
made to women, in particular victims of
assaults and violence (South Africa)
Capacity building for justice staff
15
Institutional structures and
procedures are often not
adequate to take over
women’s specific needs
Gender mainstreaming in
structures and
organizations
A. Organizations and procedures
B. Women service providers
Example Kenya: Using
international law to
overcome discrimination
in inheritance practices
C. Specialized Courts
D. Gender responsive policing and
judicial decision making
16
NSAs play a key role in
fostering and advocating for
women’s rights and gender
equality in accessing justice
Mapping NSAs which need
capacity building to support
the process of equal access
to justice
Legal clinics
NSA & Access to Justice
- Universities
- Bar/lawyers associations
- Local NGOs/CBOs
- INGOs
- Religious/community leaders
Legal aid/representation
Paralegal programmes and legal aid
Monitoring (international commitments;
use of non formal justice)
Non formal justice provision *
17
vi. Entry points for gender equality in Justice sector
General Overview
1.Programming:
• a. gender profile of justice
• b. dialogue built upon common grounds (CEDAW, BfA, MdG)
• c. including women’s rights CSOs in dialogue
• d. defining process and targets for domestication of international standards
2.Identification:
• GESCi, gender mainstreamed pre-feasibility study
3.Formulation:
• G-marker, gender mainstreamed logframe, gender impact assessment
4. Implementation:
• Sex-disaggregated and gender sensitive monitoring system, promote equal
opportunities in justice system, targets or quotas for women’s
representation in justice (judges, police, etc.)
5. Evaluation:
• Gender mainstreamed TOR, gender and justice experts in team, etc.
18
Entry points for gender mainstreaming
Country (or Sector)
Gender Profile
CSP
‘Engendered’
TOR
for evaluation
Evaluation
Report
Audit
5. Evaluation
+ Audit
GeSCi
1. Programming
Identification
fiche
4. Implementation
Gender Tools for
Result Oriented
Monitoring (ROM)
NIP
Annual
Operational
Plans
Monitoring
Reports
2. Identification
Financing
agreement
3. Formulation
3. Formulation
Action fiche
G-marker
GeSCf
19
1. Programming:
Gender profile of justice: defining gender issues to be addressed
Dialogue built upon common grounds (CEDAW, BfA, MDG)
Including women’s rights CSOs in dialogue
Defining process and targets for domestication of international standards
20
2. Identification:
Gender mainstreamed pre-feasibility study
GeSC-i (Gender equality Screening Checklist for Project identification Stage)
•
Have gender equality issues relevant to the project been identified?
•
Are the gender equality issues identified supported by reference to partner government’/EU
policy commitments to gender equality?
•
Are statistics for project identification disaggregated by sex?
•
Has qualitative information on gender equality issues been used in the project identification
stage?
•
Does the preliminary stakeholders’ analysis clearly identify women and men stakeholders
and their respective roles?
•
Does the problem analysis provide information on the problems specific to men and women
or common to men and women?
•
Have both women and men been part of the consultative process?
•
Is there a requirement for more-in depth gender analysis to be undertaken?
•
Has the requirement for more in-depth gender analysis been reflected in the tor prepared
for the formulation phase?
21
3. Formulation:
Gender impact assessment
Gender mainstreamed logframe
G-marker
GeSC-f (Gender equality Screening Checklist for Project Formulation Stage)
•
Has a full scale gender analysis been done during the formulation stage?
•
Have gender equality issues relevant to the project been identified?
•
Are the gender equality issues identified supported by reference to the partner
government’s/EU policy commitments to gender equality?
•
Are the statistics used for the project formulation disaggregated by sex?
•
Have qualitative information on gender equality issues been used in the project formulation
phase?
•
Has the logframe been engendered?
•
Do the management systems established by the project respect the principle of gender
equality and equal opportunities?
•
Have all factors potentially affecting the sustainability of gender equality actions been
22
thoroughly addressed?
4. Implementation:
Sex-disaggregated and gender sensitive monitoring system
Equal opportunities in justice system
Targets or quotas for women’s representation in justice
Equal access to justice
23
5. Evaluation:
Gender mainstreamed TOR
Gender and justice experts in team
24
vii. Gender analysis of Democratization
Obstacles
Regulatory framework
Resistance from traditional cultures
Women’s multiple roles /reconciliation
family and professional life
macro-meso-micro
analytical framework
Opportunities
Better mainstreaming of gender needs
in all policies and sectors
Enhanced media role in considering
gender issues
Political parties considering gender
issues in programmes
Social acceptance
Parliament,
Government
macro
meso
micro
District/provincial government
(service offer); public and
private institutions, labour
market; intermediate NGOS
Local government; grass
roots organizations;
companies; communities,
families (service demand)
25
•
•
•
•
•
•
Democracy: “A system of government by and for the people. Literally
means ‘rule by the people’. At a minimum democracy requires
(a) universal adult suffrage;
(b) recurring free, competitive and fair elections;
(c) more than one serious political party; and
(d) alternative sources of information.
It is a system or form of government in which citizens are able to hold
public officials to account”
•
[International IDEA]
Representative democracy
Political parties, elections, parliaments
Example: Barriers to
women’s participation in
elections
Participative democracy
• Access to information and media role
• Civic participation
26
viii. Strategies to promote gender equality in
democratization processes
a. Women’s empowerment
b. Awareness raising among political parties
c. Capacity building for gender mainstreaming in
governmental institutions
d. Gender budgeting in state reform and
decentralisation
e. Quotas
f. Role of Women’s Machinery to promote gender
equality through democratisation processes
27
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (a)
Women’s and citizens empowerment
Capacity to participate in elections and electoral reforms
Active participation and networking
Capacity to engage policy information and claim rights
Capacity to monitor/oversight parliament
Example Women in
Parliament project
28
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (b)
Awareness raising among political parties
UNDP Key suggestions to political parties for including more women in the political process:
1. Adopting a statement on gender equality in the party’s founding documents;
2. Internal quotas for women’s participation and candidature;
3. Setting targets for female participation in party conventions. Can include separate forums for women;
4. Establishing women’s wings and sections within parties;
5. Ensuring that gender is included in all of the party’s policies;
6. Ensuring women are allocated safe seats;
7. Working with civil society organizations to oversee the implementation of quotas;
8. Expanding and training the pool of women candidates;
9. Sharing experiences with other parties across countries and regions;
10. Providing training to women candidates in such skills as fundraising, message development, media
relations and communicating with voters;
11. Training and promoting women in campaign leadership positions (e.g. in campaign management);
12. Ensuring women’s visibility in the campaign by providing additional media exposure;
13. Identifying and disseminating party positions that are priorities for women, which could also attract
more women’s votes for their party;
14. Monitoring elections, including by recruiting women as party agents to be present at polling stations,
particularly if those polling stations are allocated for women only; and
15. Providing information to voters that include specific messages highlighting the importance of women’s
29
votes and women’s right to vote as equal members of society.
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (3)
30
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (c)
Capacity building for gender mainstreaming in
governmental institutions
Public administration
Decentralization and local governance
Parliamentary Development
Electoral bodies
31
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (d)
Gender budgeting in state reform and decentralisation
Gender budgeting: restructuring revenues and expenditures to promote
gender equality
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
TOOLS FOR GRB:
1. Gender-aware policy appraisal
2. Gender-disaggregated beneficiary assessment
3. Gender-disaggregated public expenditure incidence analysis
4. Gender-disaggregated analysis of the impact of the budget on time use
5. Gender-aware medium term economic policy framework
6. Gender-disaggregated tax incidence analysis
7. Gender-aware budget statements
32
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (e)
Quotas
1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at
accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be
considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in
no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate
standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of
equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.
2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those measures
contained in the present Convention, aimed at protecting maternity shall
not be considered discriminatory.
CEDAW Art. 4
Example national
level: Rwanda
Example local
level: India
33
Strategies to promote gender equality in democratization processes (f)
Role of Women’s Machinery to promote gender
equality through democratisation processes
“A national machinery for the advancement of women is the central policycoordinating unit inside government. Its main task is to support
government- wide mainstreaming of a gender equality perspective in all
policy areas.”
Beijing Platform for Action (Para. 201)
Follow–up of international commitments related to gender issues
and women’s rights (CEDAW, Peijing PfA, MDGs).
34
EXERCISE
***Find the proper strategies and main target groups***
1. Which strategy would be the most appropriate to address this problem?
2. To which target group(s) should this strategy be focused?
1. The fully implementation of CEDAW (Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) is
hampered due to lack of awareness and expertise at
institutional level (police, courts, lawyers)
A Women’s empowerment
B Capacity Building
C Equal Opportunities Policy
D Women’s Machinery
E Temporary special measures
F Gender mainstreaming
G Specific Actions to enhance gender equality
H Gender budgeting
I Political and policy dialogue
2. Gender-disaggregated statistics show that women from
rural areas suffer seriously from domestic violence, although
there is a low rate of denounce to public authorities.
3. Inheritance rights are hampered by the existence of
customary practices: women do not know how to get equal
access to and effective control over ownership of land/house
.
4. There is a serious underrepresentation of women in local
assemblies; women have already received training for
political participation at local level, however the traditional
local politicians are not willing to share decision making
power at community level with women
35