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	Girls and young women’s right to make their voices heard by Plan International, Dublin City University   State of the World's Girls 2023, a report from Plan International   Activism comes in many forms and is a vital part of the democratic process. At a time when civic space is both shrinking and shifting, progress on gender equality is stalling and, in several of the countries where this research was conducted, the right to protest is severely restricted, girls and young women’s right to make their voices heard must be protected. This study seeks to understand both the barriers that girl and young women activists face and the motivation and inspiration that drives them forward, in order to strengthen and support girl-led activism.   The research provides a unique insight from over 1,000 participants into what it’s like to be an adolescent girl or young women activist in 2023: how are they treated, do they feel safe, what keeps them going?   http://plan-international.org/publications/turning-world-around/   July 2023   Social media: the harms to women and girls, by Debbie Ging and Kirsty Park - Dublin City University Institute for Media, Democracy and Society   ‘Social media’ have become rapidly integrated into almost all aspects of human life and social organisation, from product marketing and political communication to health, fitness and dating. Despite their many positive affordances, it is however increasingly clear that women and girls experience online disproportionate and different harms online, compared with boys and men.   These include: sexist stereotyping in online-advertising content and algorithmic targeting, negative body images induced by comparison with idealised images of women, misogyny and gender-based abuse, technology-facilitated coercive control, economic and political marginalisation, and side-effects of the dehumanisation and degradation of women in misogynistic pornography.   Our study, ‘The impact of the use of social media on women and girls’, was commissioned by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) of the European Parliament—to which we are presenting today—in response to growing concerns about the scale of digitally mediated harms experienced by women and girls. Academics, policy-makers and activists have recently devoted increasing attention to gender-based and sexual digital harm, with various large-scale surveys indicating its alarming scale and intensity.   This study uses data, reports and analyses from a wide range of sources—from academic scholarship as well as the European Union, national and other international institutions.   It covers sexism and gender stereotypes in online advertising and the impact of pro-anorexia and ‘thinspiration’ content (images and text promoting thinness). It addresses gender-based and sexual abuse and harassment, coercive control and targeted hate campaigns against female politicians, journalists and other professionals.   And it takes in algorithmic bias and radicalisation, misogyny in gaming and the general rise of male supremacism and pornography.   Targeted and judged   All these activities impair democracy and civic participation more widely and should therefore be of urgent concern to policy-makers, activists, legislators and educators. Among the most disturbing of our findings are the ways in which women are being targeted and judged on their appearance, subjected to image-based sexual abuse and silenced in public debate.   The research shows that internet usage, particularly on image-based ‘social media’ platforms, is associated with increased body-image and eating anxiety, and that adolescents appear particularly vulnerable. Because girls grow up in a (real) society in which women’s bodies are routinely sexualised and used by others to assess their value, women tend to be more self-conscious of how they present themselves.   Exposure to idealised body types, ‘thinspiration’ and pro-anorexia imagery, as wel as ‘likes’ and other feedback, puts girls at a higher risk of experiencing body dissatisfaction.   Importantly, however, the research also shows that strong feminist beliefs—measured as agreement with attitudes that would further gender equality—acts as a strong protective factor against this sense of constant body surveillance.   Girls and women are also significantly more likely to experience sexual and gender-based abuse on ‘social media’, including by receiving unsolicited images, being asked to send nudes or having their own images shared.   This is especially acute among young people and is underpinned by gender-unequal power dynamics in youth image-sharing, the persistence of a sexual double standard and a tendency toward victim-blaming in public discourse and educational interventions.   Female politicians and journalists also experience higher incidence of online gender-based and sexual abuse and harassment than their male counterparts. This can result in self-censorship and a ‘chilling effect’, causing public figures to retreat from ‘social media’ or to restrict the topics they post about, thus inhibiting their professional and civic participation.   According to many experts, gendered online violence against journalists now needs to be tackled as a multilevel, online-governance issue, rather than one of personal safety, with improved support from peers, employers and legal and political institutions.   Finally, the mainstreaming and normalisation of male-supremacist misogyny among youth poses a significant and urgent threat to women and girls on ‘social media’. Girls report that easy access to violent pornography is affecting boys’ understandings and expectations of sex.   Much of the misogyny experienced by women online originates in the ‘manosphere’, a loose network of anti-feminist and male-supremacist men’s communities, which has flourished thanks to the technological affordances of ‘social media’.   The ‘manosphere’ and its asociated male and white-supremacist formations exploit these opportunities—not only to spread their gender-political beliefs but also to attack, threaten and harass women, people of colour and LGBT+ individuals. While it is difficult to determine the precise scale of this, recent research indicates that male-supremacist ideas and followings are spreading.   Digital Services Act   The Digital Services Act promises to improve the safety of women and girls on ‘social media’ platforms through its focus on systemic risks. Careful monitoring and evaluation will however be required to ensure it meets these goals.   We recommend that a gender-based review is conducted of the act, a year from the first risk assessments, to ensure it is functioning as intended and that the ‘social media’ companies are complying with their obligations on access to data and algorithmic transparency.   We also recommend that those companies exercise stricter content moderation with harsher sanctions for instances of abuse, harassment and hate speech. And there should be greater regulation of ‘social media’ advertising, with expansion of the act to include gender in the restriction of targeted advertising.   Finally, improving critical digital-media literacy is crucial. EU member states should review their educational curriculua to ensure that all young people receive relatable, evidence-based education around ‘social media’ literacy, digital consent and ethics, image-based sexual abuse, online gender-based violence and gender stereotyping.   * Debbie Ging is professor of digital media and gender at Dublin City University Institute for Media, Democracy and Society. Kirsty Park is a postdoctoral researcher at DCU Institute for Media, Democracy and Society.   http://www.socialeurope.eu/social-media-the-harms-to-women-and-girls http://www.article19.org/equally-safe/ Visit the related web page
	Gender bias is a pervasive problem worldwide by U.N. Development Program (UNDP), agencies   According to the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) new Gender Social Norms Index report, 9 in 10 people worldwide hold biases against women.   Without tackling biased gender social norms, we will not achieve gender equality or the Sustainable Development Goals. Biased gender social norms—the undervaluation of women’s capabilities and rights in society—constrain women’s choices and opportunities by regulating behaviour and setting the boundaries of what women are expected to do and be. Biased gender social norms are a major impediment to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.   Covering 85% of the world's population and incorporating data from 2017-22, the report shows "a decade of stagnation" across four dimensions explored by researchers: political, educational, economic, and physical integrity.   "Nearly half the world's people believe that men make better political leaders than women do, and two of five people believe that men make better business executives than women do," the publication states, highlighting how few women hold roles in both areas.   "Only 11% of heads of state and 9% of heads of government are women, and women hold only 22% of ministerial posts," while "in the paid economy women hold only 28% of managerial positions". "Even when women reach leadership positions, gender biases lead to unequal treatment and judgment," the report underlines.   "All biased gender social norms are potentially harmful, but perhaps none has a more direct impact on women's agency and well-being than those leading to violence against women and girls," the report stresses.   Over a quarter of people "believe that it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife," and a similar share of women and girls over age 15 have endured intimate partner violence.   The report highlights that "the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030," which is among the 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the U.N. in 2015. Targets on the gender equality goal include ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls, including violence and harmful practices such as forced marriage, ensuring access to economic resources and reproductive healthcare, recognizing unpaid domestic work, and boosting female leadership in politics and beyond.   “These views persist because of social and cultural norms that devalue women and reinforce men’s power, control and feelings of entitlement, as well as promoting beliefs that trivialise and normalise violence against women and even blame victims for their own abuse,” said Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition. “It is these attitudes that can drive violent acts and behaviours and we can only truly prevent this violence by shifting these attitudes.”   Anam Parvez, head of research at Oxfam Great Britain, responded with alarm to the UNDP report.   "This is truly alarming and explains why the world is completely off track in achieving gender equality by 2030," she told The Guardian. "In 2021, 1 in 5 women were married before they turn 18, 1.7 billion women and girls live on less than $5.50 a day, and women continue to take on three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men around the world."   "At the current rate of progress it will take 186 years to close gaps in legal protections," Parvez pointed out. "It also explains why, while there has been some progress on enacting laws that advance women's rights, social norms continue to be deeply entrenched and pervasive."   The report says that "the gender-based biases we carry into voting booths, board meetings, interview panels, and assemblies present barriers to women's ability to fulfill their full potential. Policies to achieve comprehensive gender equality have to be designed and implemented to address biased gender social norms."   Raquel Lagunas, director of UNDP's Gender Team, explained that "an important place to start is recognizing the economic value of unpaid care work. This can be a very effective way of challenging gender norms around how care work is viewed."   "In countries with the highest levels of gender biases against women," Lagunas noted, "it is estimated that women spend over six times as much time as men on unpaid care work."   Pedro Conceicao, head of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, emphasized that "social norms that impair women's rights are also detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development."   "In fact, lack of progress on gender social norms is unfolding against a human development crisis: The global Human Development Index (HDI) declined in 2020 and again the following year," he said. "Everyone stands to gain from ensuring freedom and agency for women."   The UNDP report calls for women’s economic contributions to society to be better recognised, including unpaid work, for laws and measures that ensure political participation to be enacted, and for more action to fight stereotypes.   http://hdr.undp.org/content/2023-gender-social-norms-index-gsni#/indicies/GSNI http://www.unicef.org/mena/press-releases/geneva-summit-garners-action-tackle-gender-discriminatory-nationality-laws   July 2023   Less than 1 percent of women and girls live in a country with high women’s empowerment and high gender parity   No country has achieved full gender parity and fewer than 1 percent of women and girls live in a country with high women’s empowerment and a small gender gap, according to a new global report launched by UN Women and UNDP. The report provides a more comprehensive picture of progress in women and girl’s human development.   The report sees UN Women and UNDP join forces to propose the Women's Empowerment Index (WEI) and the Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI) as the twin indices for measuring gender parity and women’s empowerment.   The twin indices offer different but complementary lenses for assessing progress in advancing women's human development, power, and freedoms. Together, they shed light on the complex challenges faced by women worldwide and pave the way for targeted interventions and policy reforms.   Analysis of 114 countries has found that women’s power and freedom to make choices and seize opportunities remain largely restricted. Low women’s empowerment and large gender gaps are commonplace.   The WEI measures women's power and freedoms to make choices and seize life opportunities across five dimensions: health, education, inclusion, decision-making, and violence against women.   Similarly, the GGPI evaluates the status of women relative to men in core dimensions of human development, including health, education, inclusion, and decision-making.   Globally, women are empowered to achieve on average only 60 percent of their full potential, as measured by the WEI. They achieve, on average, 72 percent of what men achieve across key human development dimensions, as measured by the GPPI, reflecting a 28 percent of gender gap. These empowerment deficits and disparities are harmful not just to women’s well-being and advancement but also to human progress.   Commenting on the report's findings, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous stated, “With the Sustainable Development Goals, the global community has made a strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, we can see clearly with these new indices that across countries, women’s full potential remains unrealized, and large gender gaps continue to be commonplace, thereby obstructing and slowing progress in the realization of all the Goals”.   “Sustained efforts are therefore needed to deliver on the promise of gender equality, secure the human rights of women and girls and ensure that their fundamental freedoms are fully realized”, she underlined.   The Report also highlights that less than 1 percent of women and girls live in countries with both high levels of women's empowerment and high gender parity, while more than 90 percent of the world's female population —3.1 billion women and girls — live in countries characterized by a large women’s empowerment deficit and a large gender gap..   http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2023/07/press-release-less-than-1-percent-of-women-and-girls-live-in-a-country-with-high-womens-empowerment-and-high-gender-parity http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/07/the-paths-to-equal-twin-indices-on-womens-empowerment-and-gender-equality Visit the related web page
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