WUNRN
UNDP - United Nations Development
Programme
Crisis Prevention & Recovery
The
Eight Point Agenda:
Practical,
Positive Outcomes for Girls & Women in Crisis
1. Strengthen women’s security in crisis: Stop violence against
women
- Violence against women is an affront to the foundations
of human rights, human decency and human dignity.
- Rape and sexual violence are not collateral damage:
they are methods of war. Perpetrators of these war crimes must be
held accountable— by their communities, governments and by the
international community.
- Violence against women also impedes progress in poverty
eradication, combating HIV/AIDS, and peace and security.
- Men and boys have a critical role to play in reversing
the pandemic of violence against women.
2. Advance gender justice: Provide justice and security for
women
- Laws to protect women’s rights must be included and
enforced within legal frameworks.
- Women must know their rights and be able to access
legal systems, e.g. through free legal services.
- Custom, tradition or religious beliefs should never
serve to excuse or justify violence against women.
3. Expand women’s citizenship, participation and leadership: Advance
women as decision-makers
- Women need the skills and confidence to influence the
decisions that directly affect their lives, including through direct
participation in government and the security sector.
- Women are often denied access to business transactions
and excluded from negotiations surrounding land titles. Legislation needs
to change to allow women to access business and land ownership.
- Women need to be represented in social, political and
economic spheres, giving them a voice in the peace and recovery processes.
4. Build peace with and for women: Involve women in all peace
processes
- Women must be involved in all stages of the peace and
recovery processes, including as high-level negotiators in peace talks.
- Peace agreements offer opportunities for inclusiveness,
democratic reform and gender equality. These opportunities must be seized.
- Gender provisions must be included in peace agreements
and given priority as agreements are implemented.
5. Promote gender equality in disaster risk reduction: Support women
and men to build back better
- Women’s unique needs must be incorporated in analyses
of disaster risk and post disaster risk assessments.
- As community structures crumble and violence escalates,
steps must be taken to prevent the increased vulnerability of women and
girls.
- Women’s economic potential goes unrealized as their
interests are not factored into the recovery effort. For example,
cash-for-work schemes often do not specifically target women-headed
households.
- Temporary housing often denies women privacy, increases
their vulnerability to exploitation and discrimination and marginalizes
widows. This has an effect on the well-being of women and children.
- Women’s experience and knowledge must be valued and
incorporated in any plans or policies.
6. Ensure gender-responsive recovery: Promote women as leaders of
recovery
- Women must be given equal opportunities to livelihoods,
including access to land and credit. Rebuilding in key sectors such as
transportation, shelter and health care must specifically benefit women.
7. Transform government to deliver for women: Include women’s issues
on the national agenda
- Women need to be engaged in decision-making on
government budgets and resource mobilization.
- Incentives need be offered to public institutions that
address women’s needs.
8. Develop capacities for social change: Work together to transform
society
- Women organizations and networks need to be
strengthened to ensure responsiveness and accountability on gender issues.
- Men need to be educated to promote gender equality and
support women’s empowerment.
Achievement of this Eight- Point
Agenda will require:
Supporting full implementation
of Security Council Resolution 1325;
Incorporating gender equality priorities into advocacy
and strategic planning in the development,
humanitarian, peace, and security spheres;
Strengthening human resources, policies and programmes to
ensure responsiveness and accountability on gender issues;
Building partnerships to maximize impact
on gender priorities;
Developing gender-responsive funding mechanisms and
resource mobilization strategies;
Supporting data collection that counts
women, counts what women value,
and values what women count; and
Advancing intellectual leadership,
knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation
on gender and CPR issues.
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