gender

Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Risk Index for Sub-Saharan Africa

carol — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:45:57 -0600

In 2008 the number of African women who died from pregnancy and child birth was much higher than the number of casualties from all the major conflicts in Africa combined. Maternal mortality continues to be the major cause of death among women of reproductive age (15-49) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Most of these women die from complications that can often be effectively treated in a health system that has adequate skilled personnel, a functioning referral system and can respond to obstetric emergencies when they occur.

This report from Population Action International looks at the performance of Sub-Saharan African countries in meeting reproductive health targets in 47 countries and ranks them using a set of ten indicators in order of the highest to lowest risk. It highlights the need to increase the level of investment in reproductive health, step up policy reform and implementation, expand access to services in rural areas, strengthen health systems, promote the realization of rights and abolish retrogressive cultural practices that perpetuate gender inequities and put the lives of women and girls at risk.

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges

UNFPA Toolkit Focuses on Women, Population and Climate Change

carol — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:11:18 -0600

© UNFPA, WEDO14 October 2009: The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), together with the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), has launched a resource kit on climate change connections, focusing on gender and population and advocating that women are uniquely positioned as innovators, educators, caretakers, leaders and agents of change to address the risks of a changing climate.

The resource kit provides policy guidance, finance and adaptation plans, advocacy tools and best practices related to increasing educational opportunities for girls, economic opportunities for women, and access to reproductive health and family planning, recognizing their role in reducing vulnerability to climate change. Women, population and climate change are the focus of the UNFPA's flagship report, State of World Population, to be released on 18 November 2009. UNFPA Resource Kit: Climate Change Connections - Gender and Population https://www.unfpa.org/public/site/global/lang/en/pid/4028

Climate Change Connections

UNFPA and WEDO have developed a comprehensive resource kit on gender, population and climate change. Learn how gender equality can reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts and how women are uniquely positioned to help curb the harmful consequences of a changing climate.

Climate change is already impacting populations and ecosystems around the globe. Exacerbating poverty and leading to infrastructural breakdown, it threatens to set back development efforts by decades, profoundly affecting all of us.

But the impact won't be felt equally. Those with the fewest resources will be most susceptible to its negative effects - particularly women, the majority of the world's poor. At the same time, women's vulnerability can obscure the fact that they are an untapped resource in efforts to cope with the effects of climate change and reduce the emissions that cause it. As innovators, organizers, leaders, educators and caregivers, women are uniquely positioned to help curb the harmful consequences of a changing climate. Incorporating a gender perspective into climate change policies, projects and funds is crucial in ensuring that women contribute to and benefit from equitable climate solutions.

Overview: Women at the Forefront https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2...
Policy that Supports Gender Equality https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2...
Common Ground: In Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal, Senegal and Trinidad and Tobago https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2...
Making NAPAs Work for Women https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2...
Financing that Makes a Difference https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2...
Educate and Advocate https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2009/climateconnections_6_advocacy.pdf

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & the Environment

Sex Politics. Reports from the Front Lines

carol — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:09:27 -0600

This publication from GTZ can be used as an instrument for the application of concepts, approaches and methods for transforming unequal gender relations. Each topic is introduced by a short outline of the issue, followed by subsequent steps of action. A project example illustrates the application of the method in a selected sociocultural context.

From the introduction:

"Gender equality is a necessary element to secure sustainable livelihoods of women, men and their children. Gender Equality is not only a goal in itself, but is also necessary to achieve all eight Millennium Development Goals. In particular, gender equality will ensure success in the areas of poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, HIV/AIDS, child mortality, maternal health and primary education. Many international, regional and national agreements foreground the importance of gender equality to development cooperation, in donor- and partner countries. In their daily work, actors and stakeholders can refer to the following documents:

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)
Beijing Platform for Action (1995)
Millennium Development Declaration (2000)
UN-Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000)
Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality (2004)
BMZ Concept for the Promotion of Equal Participation by Women and Men in Development Process (2001/05)
UN-Resolution 1820 on Sexual Violence against Civilians in Conflict (2008)
Accra Agenda for Action (2008)
BMZ Genderaktionsplan (2009)

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges

Factors associated with attitudes towards intimate partner violence against women

carol — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:06:58 -0600

Factors associated with attitudes towards intimate partner violence against women: A comparative analysis of 17 sub-Saharan countries.

Background: Violence against women, especially by intimate partners, is a serious public health problem that is associated with physical, reproductive and mental health consequences. Even though most societies proscribe violence against women, the reality is that violations against women's rights are often sanctioned under the garb of cultural practices and norms, or through misinterpretation of religious tenets.

Methods: We utilised data from 17 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 2003 and 2007 in sub-Saharan Africa to assess the net effects of socio-demographic factors on men's and women's attitudes toward intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) using multiple logistic regression models estimated by likelihood ratio test.

Results: IPVAW was widely accepted under certain circumstances by men and women in all the countries studied. Women were more likely to justify IPVAW than men. "Neglecting the children" was the most common reason agreed to by both women and men for justifying IPVAW followed by "going out without informing husband" and "arguing back with the husband". Increasing wealth status, education attainment, urbanization, access to media, and joint decision making were associated with
decreased odds of justifying IPVAW in most countries.

Conclusion: In most Sub-Saharan African countries studied where IPVAW is widely accepted as a response to women's transgressing gender norms, men find less justification for the practice than do women. The present study suggests that proactive efforts are needed to change these norms, such as promotion of higher education and socio-demographic development. The magnitude and direction of factors associated with attitudes towards IPVAW varies widely across the countries, thus suggesting the significance of capitalizing on need-adapted interventions tailored to fit conditions in each country.

Authors: Olalekan A Uthman 1,2,3, Stephen Lawoko 1 and Tahereh Moradi 4 Institutions: 1 Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Social Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 2 Department of Public Health & Biostatistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; 3 Center for Evidence-Based Global Health, Ilorin, , Kwara State, Nigeria; 4 Department of Environmental Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Source: BMC International Health and Human Rights 20 July 2009, 9:14.

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges

IASC Gender Handbook Women, Girls Boys & Men Different Needs - Equal Opportunities

carol — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:54:48 -0600

This Handbook sets forth standards for the integration of gender issues from the outset of a new complex emergency or disaster, so that humanitarian services provided neither exacerbate nor inadvertently put people at risk; reach their target audience; and have maximum positive impact.

This Handbook aims to provide actors in the field with guidance on gender analysis, planning and actions to ensure that the needs, contributions and capacities of women, girls, boys and men are considered in all aspects of humanitarian response. It also offers checklists to assist in monitoring gender equality programming. The guidelines focus on major cross-cutting issues and areas of work in the early response phase of emergencies. The Handbook is also a useful tool to make sure gender issues are included in needs assessments, contingency planning and evaluations. It can be used as a tool to mainstreaming gender as a cross-cutting issue in the sectors/clusters. If used correctly, this Handbook will help promote the ultimate goal of protecting and promoting the human rights of women, girls, boys and men in humanitarian action and advancing the goal of gender equality.

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges

Gender in agriculture sourcebook

carol — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:19:29 -0600

Authors: Brown,L.; Lambrou,Y.; Birner,R.
Produced by: International Fund for Agricultural Development (2008)

This sourcebook combines descriptive accounts of national and international experience in investing in agriculture with practical operational guidance on to how to design agriculture-for-development strategies that capitalise effectively on the unique properties of agricultural growth and rural development involving women and men as a high-impact source of poverty reduction.

The Sourcebook adopts the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) to provide a conceptual framework for the complexities and synergies of gender equality, livelihoods, food security, and poverty reduction. It provides practical advice, guidelines, principles, descriptions and illustrations of approaches that have worked so far to achieve the goal of effective gender mainstreaming in the agricultural operations of development agencies.It is intended as a guide for practitioners and
technical staff in addressing gender issues and integrating gender-responsive actions in the design and implementation of
agricultural projects and programmes. Topics covered include:

gender and food security
gender and agricultural livelihoods: strengthening governance
gender and rural finance
gender issues in land policy and administration
gender and agricultural markets
gender mainstreaming in agricultural water management
gender in agricultural innovation and education
gender issues in agricultural labour
gender in rural infrastructure for agricultural livelihoods
gender and natural resource management
gender and crises: implications for agriculture
gender in crop agriculture
gender in fisheries and aquaculture
gender and livestock
gender and forestry
gender issues in monitoring and evaluation

Each chapter includes an overview, thematic notes and innovative activity profiles.

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges

Unequal, Unfair, Ineffective and Inefficient Gender Inequity in Health: Why it exists and how we can change it

carol — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:16:03 -0600

Final Report to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health

Women and Gender Equity Knowledge Network

Submitted by Gita Sen and Piroska Östlin Co-coordinators of the WGEKN1

"...Gender inequality damages the physical and mental health of millions of girls and women across the globe, and also of boys and men despite the many tangible benefits it gives men through resources, power, authority and control.

Because of the numbers of people involved and the magnitude of the problems, taking action to improve gender equity in health and to address women's rights to health is one of the most direct and potent ways to reduce health inequities and ensure effective use of health resources. Deepening and consistently implementing human rights instruments can be a powerful mechanism to motivate and mobilize governments, people and especially women themselves..."

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges

Resource Guide on Gender and Climate Change

carol — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:37:09 -0600

Poor women's limited access to resources, restricted rights, limited mobility and muted voices in shaping decisions make them highly vulnerable to climate change. This resource guide aims to inform practitioners and policy makers of the linkages between gender equality and climate change.

UNDP Website - Women's publications

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & Social Challenges