The United
Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women
Beijing, China - September 1995
Action for Equality, Development and Peace
PLATFORM FOR ACTION
The
Girl-Child Diagnosis
Strategic
objective L.1. Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the
girl-child. Actions to be taken.
Strategic
objective L.2. Eliminate negative cultural attitudes and practices
against girls. Actions to be taken.
Strategic
objective L.3. Promote and protect the rights of the girl-child and
increase awareness of her needs and potential. Actions to be taken.
Strategic
objective L.4. Eliminate discrimination against girls in education,
skills development and training. Actions to be taken
Strategic
objective L.5. Eliminate discrimination against girls in health and
nutrition. Actions to be taken.
Strategic
objective L.6. Eliminate the economic exploitation of child labour and
protect young girls at work. Actions to be taken.
Strategic
objective L.7. Eradicate violence against the girl-child. Actions to be
taken.
Strategic
objective L.8. Promote the girl-child's awareness of and participation in
social, economic and political life. Actions to be taken.
Strategic
objective L.9. Strengthen the role of the family in improving the status
of the girl-child. Actions to be taken.
Women
and armed conflict follow-up (Under construction)
Go back
to Index
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes
that "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth
in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction
without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his
or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin,
property, disability, birth or status" (art. 2, para. 1). [11] However, in many countries available indicators show that
the girl child is discriminated against from the earliest stages of
life, through her childhood and into adulthood. In some areas of the
world, men outnumber women by 5 in every 100. The reasons for the
discrepancy include, among other things, harmful attitudes and
practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference - which
results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection - early
marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual
exploitation, sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food
allocation and other practices related to health and well-being. As a
result, fewer girls than boys survive into adulthood.
- Girls
are often treated as inferior and are socialized to put themselves last,
thus undermining their self-esteem. Discrimination and neglect in
childhood can initiate a lifelong downward spiral of deprivation and
exclusion from the social mainstream. Initiatives should be taken to
prepare girls to participate actively, effectively and equally with boys
at all levels of social, economic, political and cultural leadership.
- Gender-biased
educational processes, including curricula, educational materials and
practices, teachers' attitudes and classroom interaction, reinforce
existing gender inequalities.
- Girls
and adolescents may receive a variety of conflicting and confusing
messages on their gender roles from their parents, teachers, peers and
the media. Women and men need to work together with children and youth
to break down persistent gender stereotypes, taking into account the
rights of the child and the responsibilities, rights and duties of
parents as stated in paragraph 267 below.
- Although
the number of educated children has grown in the past 20 years in some
countries, boys have proportionately fared much better than girls. In
1990, 130 million children had no access to primary school; of these, 81
million were girls. This can be attributed to such factors as customary
attitudes, child labour, early marriages, lack of funds and lack of
adequate schooling facilities, teenage pregnancies and gender
inequalities in society at large as well as in the family as defined in
paragraph 29 above. In some countries the shortage of women teachers can
inhibit the enrolment of girls. In many cases, girls start to undertake
heavy domestic chores at a very early age and are expected to manage
both educational and domestic responsibilities, often resulting in poor
scholastic performance and an early drop-out from schooling.
- The
percentage of girls enrolled in secondary school remains significantly
low in many countries. Girls are often not encouraged or given the
opportunity to pursue scientific and technological training and
education, which limits the knowledge they require for their daily lives
and their employment opportunities.
- Girls
are less encouraged than boys to participate in and learn about the
social, economic and political functioning of society, with the result
that they are not offered the same opportunities as boys to take part in
decision-making processes.
- Existing
discrimination against the girl child in her access to nutrition and
physical and mental health services endangers her current and future
health. An estimated 450 million adult women in developing countries are
stunted as a result of childhood protein-energy malnutrition.
- The
International Conference on Population and Development recognized, in
paragraph 7.3 of the Programme of Action, [14] that "full attention should be given to the
promotion of mutually respectful and equitable gender relations and
particularly to meeting the educational and service needs of adolescents
to enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their
sexuality", taking into account the rights of the child to access
to information, privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent,
as well as the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents and legal
guardians to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving
capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the
exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and in conformity with the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In all actions
concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary
consideration. Support should be given to integral sexual education for
young people with parental support and guidance that stresses the
responsibility of males for their own sexuality and fertility and that
help them exercise their responsibilities.
- More
than 15 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth each year. Motherhood at
a very young age entails complications during pregnancy and delivery and
a risk of maternal death that is much greater than average. The children
of young mothers have higher levels of morbidity and mortality. Early
child-bearing continues to be an impediment to improvements in the
educational, economic and social status of women in all parts of the
world. Overall, early marriage and early motherhood can severely curtail
educational and employment opportunities and are likely to have a
long-term adverse impact on their and their children's quality of life.
- Sexual
violence and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, have a
devastating effect on children's health, and girls are more vulnerable
than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual
relations. Girls often face pressures to engage in sexual activity. Due
to such factors as their youth, social pressures, lack of protective
laws, or failure to enforce laws, girls are more vulnerable to all kinds
of violence, particularly sexual violence, including rape, sexual abuse,
sexual exploitation, trafficking, possibly the sale of their organs and
tissues, and forced labour.
- The
girl child with disabilities faces additional barriers and needs to be
ensured non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. [30]
- Some
children are particularly vulnerable, especially the abandoned, homeless
and displaced, street children, children in areas in conflict, and
children who are discriminated against because they belong to an ethnic
or racial minority group.
- All
barriers must therefore be eliminated to enable girls without exception
to develop their full potential and skills through equal access to
education and training, nutrition, physical and mental health care and
related information.
- In
addressing issues concerning children and youth, Governments should
promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender
perspective into all policies and programmes so that before decisions
are taken, an analysis is made of the effects on girls and boys,
respectively.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic
objective L.1.
Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments:
- By
States that have not signed or ratified the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, take urgent measures towards signing and ratifying the
Convention, bearing in mind the strong exhortation made at the World
Conference on Human Rights to sign it before the end of 1995, and by
States that have signed and ratified the Convention, ensure its full
implementation through the adoption of all necessary legislative,
administrative and other measures and by fostering an enabling
environment that encourages full respect for the rights of children;
- Consistent
with article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, [11] take measures to ensure that a child is registered
immediately after birth and has the right from birth to a name, the
right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to
know and be cared for by his or her parents;
- Take steps to ensure that children receive
appropriate financial support from their parents, by, among other
measures, enforcing child-support laws;
- Eliminate the injustice and obstacles in relation to
inheritance faced by the girl child so that all children may enjoy
their rights without discrimination, by, inter alia, enacting, as
appropriate, and enforcing legislation that guarantees equal right to
succession and ensures equal right to inherit, regardless of the sex of
the child;
- Enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that
marriage is only entered into with the free and full consent of the
intending spouses; in addition, enact and strictly enforce laws
concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for
marriage and raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary;
- Develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans
of action and programmes for the survival, protection, development and
advancement of the girl child to promote and protect the full enjoyment
of her human rights and to ensure equal opportunities for girls; these
plans should form an integral part of the total development process;
- Ensure the disaggregation by sex and age of all data
related to children in the health, education and other sectors in order
to include a gender perspective in planning, implementation and
monitoring of such programmes.
- By
Governments and international and non-governmental organizations:
- Disaggregate information and data on children by sex
and age, undertake research on the situation of girls and integrate, as
appropriate, the results in the formulation of policies, programmes and
decision-making for the advancement of the girl child;
- Generate social support for the enforcement of laws
on the minimum legal age for marriage, in particular by providing
educational opportunities for girls.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.2.
Eliminate negative cultural attitudes and practices against girls
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments:
- Encourage
and support, as appropriate, non-governmental organizations and
community-based organizations in their efforts to promote changes in
negative attitudes and practices towards girls;
- Set
up educational programmes and develop teaching materials and textbooks
that will sensitize and inform adults about the harmful effects of
certain traditional or customary practices on girl children;
- Develop
and adopt curricula, teaching materials and textbooks to improve the
self-image, lives and work opportunities of girls, particularly in
areas where women have traditionally been underrepresented, such as
mathematics, science and technology;
- Take
steps so that tradition and religion and their expressions are not a
basis for discrimination against girls.
- By
Governments and, as appropriate, international and non-governmental
organizations:
- Promote
an educational setting that eliminates all barriers that impede the
schooling of married and/or pregnant girls and young mothers,
including, as appropriate, affordable and physically accessible
child-care facilities and parental education to encourage those who
have responsibilities for the care of their children and siblings
during their school years to return to, or continue with, and complete
schooling;
- Encourage
educational institutions and the media to adopt and project balanced
and non-stereotyped images of girls and boys, and work to eliminate
child pornography and degrading and violent portrayals of the girl
child;
- Eliminate
all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes
of son preference, which result in harmful and unethical practices such
as prenatal sex selection and female infanticide; this is often
compounded by the increasing use of technologies to determine foetal
sex, resulting in abortion of female foetuses;
- Develop
policies and programmes, giving priority to formal and informal
education programmes that support girls and enable them to acquire
knowledge, develop self-esteem and take responsibility for their own
lives; and place special focus on programmes to educate women and men,
especially parents, on the importance of girls' physical and mental
health and well-being, including the elimination of discrimination
against girls in food allocation, early marriage, violence against
girls, female genital mutilation, child prostitution, sexual abuse,
rape and incest.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.3.
Promote and protect the rights of the girl child and increase awareness of
her needs and potential
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments and international and non-governmental organizations:
- Generate
awareness of the disadvantaged situation of girls among policy makers,
planners, administrators and implementors at all levels, as well as
within households and communities;
- Make
the girl child, particularly the girl child in difficult circumstances,
aware of her own potential, educate her about the rights guaranteed to
her under all international human rights instruments, including the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, legislation enacted for her and
the various measures undertaken by both governmental and
non-governmental organizations working to improve her status;
- Educate
women, men, girls and boys to promote girls' status and encourage them
to work towards mutual respect and equal partnership between girls and
boys;
- Facilitate
the equal provision of appropriate services and devices to girls with
disabilities and provide their families with related support services,
as appropriate.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.4.
Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skills development and
training
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments:
- Ensure
universal and equal access to and completion of primary education by
all children and eliminate the existing gap between girls and boys, as
stipulated in article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; [11] similarly, ensure equal access to secondary education by
the year 2005 and equal access to higher education, including
vocational and technical education, for all girls and boys, including
the disadvantaged and gifted;
- Take steps to integrate functional literacy and
numeracy programmes, particularly for out-of-school girls in
development programmes;
- Promote human rights education in educational
programmes and include in human rights education the fact that the
human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral
and indivisible part of universal human rights;
- Increase enrolment and improve retention rates of
girls by allocating appropriate budgetary resources and by enlisting
the support of the community and parents through campaigns and flexible
school schedules, incentives, scholarships, access programmes for
out-of-school girls and other measures;
- Develop training programmes and materials for
teachers and educators, raising awareness about their own role in the
educational process, with a view to providing them with effective
strategies for gender-sensitive teaching;
- Take actions to ensure that female teachers and
professors have the same possibilities and status as male teachers and
professors.
- By
Governments and international and non-governmental organizations:
- Provide education and skills training to increase
girls' opportunities for employment and access to decision-making
processes;
- Provide education to increase girls' knowledge and
skills related to the functioning of economic, financial and political
systems;
- Ensure access to appropriate education and
skills-training for girl children with disabilities for their full
participation in life;
- Promote the full and equal participation of girls in
extracurricular activities, such as sports, drama and cultural
activities.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.5.
Eliminate discrimination against girls in health and nutrition
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments and international and non-governmental organizations:
- Provide
public information on the removal of discriminatory practices against
girls in food allocation, nutrition and access to health services;
- Sensitize
the girl child, parents, teachers and society concerning good general
health and nutrition and raise awareness of the health dangers and
other problems connected with early pregnancies;
- Strengthen
and reorient health education and health services, particularly primary
health care programmes, including sexual and reproductive health, and
design quality health programmes that meet the physical and mental
needs of girls and that attend to the needs of young, expectant and
nursing mothers;
- Establish
peer education and outreach programmes with a view to strengthening
individual and collective action to reduce the vulnerability of girls
to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, as agreed to in
the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population
and Development and as established in the report of that Conference,
recognizing the parental roles referred to in paragraph 267 of the
present Platform for Action;
- Ensure
education and dissemination of information to girls, especially
adolescent girls, regarding the physiology of reproduction,
reproductive and sexual health, as agreed to in the Programme of Action
of the International Conference on Population and Development and as
established in the report of that Conference, responsible family
planning practice, family life, reproductive health, sexually
transmitted diseases, HIV infection and AIDS prevention, recognizing
the parental roles referred to in paragraph 267;
- Include
health and nutritional training as an integral part of literacy
programmes and school curricula starting at the primary level for the
benefit of the girl child;
- Emphasize
the role and responsibility of adolescents in sexual and reproductive
health and behaviour through the provision of appropriate services and
counselling, as discussed in paragraph 267;
- Develop
information and training programmes for health planners and
implementors on the special health needs of the girl child;
- Take
all the appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional
practices prejudicial to the health of children, as stipulated in
article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. [11]
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.6.
Eliminate the economic exploitation of child labour and protect young girls
at work
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments:
- In
conformity with article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, [11] protect children from economic exploitation and from
performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with
the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or
physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development;
- Define a minimum age for a child's admission to
employment in national legislation, in conformity with existing
international labour standards and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, including girls in all sectors of activity;
- Protect young girls at work, inter alia, through:
- A minimum age or ages for admission to employment;
- Strict monitoring of work conditions (respect for
work time, prohibition of work by children not provided for by
national legislation, and monitoring of hygiene and health conditions
at work);
- Application of social security coverage;
- Establishment of continuous training and education;
- Strengthen, where necessary, legislation governing
the work of children and provide for appropriate penalties or other
sanctions to ensure effective enforcement of the legislation;
- Use existing international labour standards,
including, as appropriate, ILO standards for the protection of working
children, to guide the formulation of national labour legislation and
policies.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.7.
Eradicate violence against the girl child
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments and, as appropriate, international and non-governmental
organizations:
- Take
effective actions and measures to enact and enforce legislation to
protect the safety and security of girls from all forms of violence at
work, including training programmes and support programmes, and take
measures to eliminate incidents of sexual harassment of girls in
educational and other institutions;
- Take
appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational
measures to protect the girl child, in the household and in society,
from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect
or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual
abuse;
- Undertake
gender sensitization training for those involved in healing and
rehabilitation and other assistance programmes for girls who are
victims of violence and promote programmes of information, support and
training for such girls;
- Enact
and enforce legislation protecting girls from all forms of violence,
including female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, genital
mutilation, incest, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child
prostitution and child pornography, and develop age-appropriate safe
and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological
support services to assist girls who are subjected to violence.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.8.
Promote the girl child's awareness of and participation in social, economic
and political life
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments and international and non-governmental organizations:
- Provide
access for girls to training, information and the media on social,
cultural, economic and political issues and enable them to articulate
their views;
- Support
non-governmental organizations, in particular youth non-governmental
organizations, in their efforts to promote the equality and
participation of girls in society.
Go back to
the top of the page
Strategic objective L.9.
Strengthen the role of the family* in improving the status of the girl child
Actions to be taken
- By
Governments, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations:
- Formulate
policies and programmes to help the family, as defined in paragraph 29
above, in its supporting, educating and nurturing roles, with particular
emphasis on the elimination of intra-family discrimination against the
girl child;
- Provide
an environment conducive to the strengthening of the family, as defined
in paragraph 29 above, with a view to providing supportive and
preventive measures which protect, respect and promote the potential of
the girl child;
- Educate
and encourage parents and caregivers to treat girls and boys equally
and to ensure shared responsibilities between girls and boys in the
family, as defined in paragraph 29 above.
* As defined in paragraph
29 above.
|