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	States must do more to combat discrimination against women by Independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council   Backlash against women’s rights progress hurts us all – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra''ad Al Hussein.   Today we honour the human rights struggle of millions of women who have demanded respect for their rights and the rights of others. The women’s movement has brought about tremendous change but we must also recognise that progress has been slow and extremely uneven.   Progress has also brought its own challenges. In too many countries, we are now seeing a backlash against women’s rights, a backlash that hurts us all. We need to be alert - the advances of the last few decades are fragile and should nowhere be taken for granted.   It is extremely troubling to see the recent roll-backs on fundamental legislation in many parts of the world, underpinned by the renewed obsession with controlling and limiting women’s decisions over their bodies and lives, and by views that a woman’s role should be essentially restricted to reproduction and the family. Such an agenda threatens the gains of the past.   Although the pushbacks are frequently carried out in the name of tradition, they are often a reaction to efforts by broad segments of the same societies to promote change.   In Burundi, a law on violence against women is progressive in many ways as it criminalizes marital rape and prohibits harmful practices. However, it also pins the blame on a woman who suffers gender-based violence for her ‘indecent dress’ or ‘immoral behaviour’. A law on child marriage passed last week in Bangladesh appears to be weaker than the law it supersedes with the inclusion of a provision that allows girls under 18 to marry under undefined “special circumstances.”   In the Russian Federation, campaigners failed to stop the decriminalization of some forms of domestic violence. Efforts of political leaders and civil society to open up access to sexual and reproductive rights in some circumstances in El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua are meeting fierce resistance and prompting legislative and policy counter-proposals.   Debates around such policies have been marked by attacks on, or a disregard for, the evidence that shows the harmful consequences on the lives of women and girls, and on society as a whole. As ever, those paying the biggest price of such policies are the most marginalized women and girls.   With the world’s young population concentrated in developing nations, retrogressive measures denying women and girls access to sexual and reproductive health services will have a devastating effect: more maternal deaths, more unintended pregnancies, fewer girls finishing school and the economic impact of failing to fully include women in the workforce. In short, a generation without choices and a collective failure to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.   So it is time to come together to protect the important gains of the past and maintain a positive momentum. It is heartening that women are mobilising in massive numbers to call for their rights to be respected. In Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico and Peru, the “Ni Una Menos” movement is fighting femicide and violence against women. Some countries in the Americas region continue to register the highest rates of femicide in the world, as well as attacks on LGBT people. In India, we have seen women’s protests against sexual violence and movements to reclaim public spaces. In Poland, thousands of women and men went on strike and marched against a legislative proposal to criminalize some sexual and reproductive rights.   Women''s movements in Saudi Arabia have called for abolition of the legal requirement that all their major decisions be approved by a male "guardian." In January 2017, women and men across the globe marched for equality. And just last week, at the #SheDecides Conference in Brussels, a significant group of States and donors stood up to defend women and girls’ rights, including through committing increased financial resources.   I salute the frequently under-reported and under-funded but absolutely vital work of women’s human rights defenders. These activists are often targeted, even killed, because of their efforts to promote gender equality. My Office has received information from numerous countries about the threats, violence and legal barriers, including criminalization of their work, which these defenders face.   These courageous women, despite many obstacles, stand up for others’ rights, mobilize movements from the grassroots upwards, and potentially have the greatest and most lasting impact on women’s rights and gender equality.   We need to stand beside them and stand up for them, and in so doing we will be standing up for the rights of us all. http://bit.ly/2mUYbs4   States must do more to combat discrimination against women   On the occasion of International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on 29 November, we, independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council, pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of women throughout the world who work tirelessly and with courage to defend women’s human rights as well as all those who work for substantive equality in every sphere of society. These agents of change, fighting against all forms of discrimination and inequality, are recognized today as women human rights defenders.   Women human rights defenders face unique challenges, driven by deep-rooted discrimination against women and stereotypes about their appropriate role. Today’s rising fundamentalisms of all kinds and political populism, as well as unchecked authoritarian rule and uncontrolled greed for profit-making further fuel discrimination against women, intensifying the obstacles facing women human rights defenders.   In addition to the risks of threats, attacks and violence faced by all human rights defenders, women human rights defenders are exposed to specific risks. Those working on rights contested by fundamentalist groups such as women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and those denouncing the actions of extractive industries and businesses are at heightened risk to attacks and violence.   The overwhelming majority of UN Member States, by ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), recognize that "the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and peace require the participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields”.   The political and public participation of women in society and the historic work of women''s organizations and feminist groups have been one of the major expressions of democracy and an indispensable engine for the recognition of women as subject with full rights and agency, benefitting millions of women and girls throughout the world, their families and communities.   Every day, more women identify themselves as human rights defenders and undertake, individually and collectively, actions in pursuit of justice, equality, peace, and human rights for all.   However women’s participation in the public space has been curtailed by the discriminatory practices and gender stereotypes experienced by women throughout the world.   The very concept of feminism is too often misunderstood, denigrated and discredited, even by some in the human rights community.   We witness ever increasing threats and harassment including travel bans, as well as assaults, killings, and imprisonment of many women human rights defenders for their work in favour of human rights and especially for their demand for equality.   As established in the CEDAW Convention, “discrimination against women" refers to any “distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality between men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field”.   Discrimination against women human rights defenders and the obstacles they face are expressed in multiple forms:   Misogynistic attacks: Women who decide to break away from traditional gender roles and demand their rights and the rights of their communities are often questioned and stigmatized. Attacks against them, often in and through the media, revolve around the very same stereotypes that women human rights defenders strive to challenge through their work.   They are often labelled as “bad mothers” or “whores”, their sexual orientation is questioned, and they can be ridiculed for their physical appearance or supposed lack of “femininity”.   Gender-based violence: sexual assaults or threats of rape and attacks against the family of the defender are the types of aggressions specific to women human rights defenders.   These assaults are committed both by the authorities and institutions of the State and by private actors, ranging from private companies to their families, communities and organizations.   Lack of protection and access to justice: When a woman human rights defender is attacked, she will probably be unable to count on the support of her family, her community and sometimes even her organization. This is due to the persistence of gender stereotypes which lead to questioning and criticizing the fact that women participate in politics and do not dedicate themselves to domestic tasks.   On the other hand, when a woman defender is assaulted and lodges a judicial complaint, she is likely to face re-victimisation, as the validity of her testimony and the seriousness of the facts are often questioned.   Many of these women also do not have the necessary resources to pursue legal proceedings. Furthermore, the existing protection mechanisms generally suffer from the absence of a proper gender perspective, lacking recognition of the inequality of power between men and women, the discrimination and exclusion faced by women in the society and an effective response to respond to their needs and priorities.   Often protective measures are not sufficiently gender sensitive to take into account women’s particular situations such as their role as care takers in the family.   Lack of resources for women''s organizations and support to women defenders participation in political and public life: Women’s organizations tend to have less access to resources and less political support for the conduct of their work.   Many women defenders are not recognized for their leadership and contribution - even in their own organizations, families and communities and have to bear, alone, the burden of domestic care and tasks while seeking time to participate in public or political activities.   The impacts of discrimination against women on the life and public participation of women human rights defenders are also multiple: increasing the risks they face in carrying out their work; affecting their health, their life, their relationships with their families and communities; diminishing their ability to contribute, thus affecting the work of the organizations in which they participate and the causes for which they struggle.   They also impede more women from exercising their political rights by which they can contribute to the development of a democratic society.   Women defenders who denounce violence against women, in particular in rural or semi-urban areas, women who are socially stigmatized due to their ethnicity, disability or age and women who live in territories in a situation of war or with military presence or in territories controlled by organised crime groups, are particularly affected.   This discrimination also inhibits and discourages women who are agents of change but, out of fear of reprisals, do not even dare to identify themselves as human rights defenders.   Despite these challenges and despite the hostile context, the international community was able to make a milestone achievement, when in 2013 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the "Promotion of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: protecting women human rights defenders", which requires Member States to take concrete measures to eliminate discrimination against women, including:   Stop criminalizing women for their work in transforming society and defending human rights and, on the contrary generate internal legislative and administrative provisions that facilitate their work.   Develop measures to modify social and cultural patterns that are at the roots of violence against women and recognize that the achievement of democracy and development depend on women and on the improvement of their political, social, legal and economic situation.   Develop measures necessary to ensure the protection of defenders which systematically integrate a gender perspective in order to create a safe and supportive environment for the defence of human rights.   This historic resolution of the UN General Assembly recognizes the indispensable role played by women human rights defenders in society and their need for support, protection and empowerment.   Given the particularly hostile current context, in which the term of human rights defenders itself is questioned and crushed in international fora, this resolution was a considerable achievement.   To commemorate the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day this year, we urge Member States, the United Nations and society as a whole to combat discrimination, to recognize publicly and make visible all efforts that women human rights defenders deploy individually and collectively to preserve peace and to achieve equality.   We also urge States to resolutely support initiatives which are defined by women defenders themselves and their organizations and to ensure an enabling environment for their work.   In the face of rising populism and fundamentalisms and deplorable setbacks on the women’s human rights agenda, we need more than ever to unite our forces to preserve the democratic space in which women human rights defenders represent an essential counter-power and a colossal force of action.   * Access the latest news from UN Special Rapporteurs in Geneva: http://bit.ly/2fiv258 Visit the related web page
	Funding for women’s rights groups in poor countries falls by more than half by Association for Women''s Rights in Development   Funding for women’s rights groups in poor countries falls by more than half, reports Liz Ford.   Funding to women’s rights organisations has fallen by more than half over the past five years, despite recent studies that suggest the work of such groups brings the greatest long-term improvement to women’s lives.   A review of financial support given by major donor countries, conducted by Gendernet, a subsidiary body of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) development assistance committee, found that just 0.5% – $192m (£144m) – of the billions of dollars allocated to promote gender equality in poorer countries in 2014 was reported as going to women’s rights organisations. The figure was down from 1.2% in 2011.   In 2014, $35.5bn of bilateral aid was devoted to gender equality programmes and related efforts, said the study. While roughly $9.8bn went to civil society groups, the majority of the money ended up with NGOs in donor countries. Only 8% of the funds earmarked for civil society went directly to groups in developing countries, and only a fraction of this amount went to local women’s groups, according to the review, due to be published later this year.   Campaigners are calling on donors to increase their share of funding to small, local groups, either directly or through women’s funds specifically set up to channel money to grassroots organisations.   “There’s often an assumption that civil society funding is going to automatically reach women’s organisations. We need to challenge that. All evidence shows reaching women’s organisations requires deliberate effort,” said Emily Esplen, who leads on gender equality and women’s rights at the OECD’s development cooperation directorate and carried out the funding review.   “A lot of donors say, ‘We have civil society funding – we’re sure that reaches women’s organisations,’ but they don’t track or incentivise it. They don’t know what is going to women’s organisations.”   A 2012 study that examined 40 years of data on violence against women in 70 countries found that the mobilisation of strong, autonomous feminist groups was the key factor in driving policy change, eclipsing other considerations such as the number of women in parliament, national economic conditions or the political leanings of the government.   Similarly, a paper published in 2014 by the World Institute for Development Economics Research concluded that donor-driven projects, policies and programmes were “not the basis for meaningful, sustainable change”.   This week, more than 1,800 women’s rights activists from about 140 countries will meet in Brazil for the Association for Women’s Rights in Development’s (Awid) forum. The forum, held every three to four years, is widely seen as an opportunity to put funding for women’s rights organisations at the top of the agenda.   “There have not been any major changes on gender equality and women’s rights historically that didn’t have organised women’s groups pushing for them,” said Lydia Alpízar Duran, Awid’s executive director.   “There is very clear evidence that having organised women with a progressive agenda on the ground pushing for this and doing very important work at community level is crucial for the transformation that we need,” she added.   “There is no real commitment to gender equality and women’s rights work if we don’t start by recognising the central role of women’s rights groups and feminist groups and supporting them.”   A 2013 Awid report found that the average income of 740 women’s organisations surveyed was $20,000 a year. Groups in sub-Saharan Africa received an average of just over $12,000 a year.   Small organisations often miss out on funding from big donors because they do not have the staff or language skills to access application forms that are frequently complex and bureaucratic. Donors also tend to offer short-term grants tied to specific projects, rather than funds that can be spent on core costs, like rent and building upkeep.   Meanwhile, donors view smaller groups in the global south as a greater risk than larger organisations.   Activists want donors to consider channelling more money through women’s funds, such as the Global Fund for Women or Mama Cash.   Esplen said channeling money through women’s funds was a “win-win” for donors and grassroots organisations, simplifying the application process for organisations while ensuring “donors can get money to the grassroots and sub-contract the administrative workload”.   http://untf.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2017/03/generating-funds-to-end-violence-against-women-and-girls http://untf.unwomen.org/en http://www.unwomen.org/en/trust-funds/un-trust-fund-to-end-violence-against-women   * International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net): The intersection between land and women’s economic, social and cultural rights 2016 (12pp): http://bit.ly/2TEr3k5 Visit the related web page
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