Views are my own only.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on the draft guidelines. I very much like the fact that gender transformative approaches are one of the core principles of the guidelines and that many of the proposed policy areas for discussion call for changing discriminatory social norms. This is in line with the SIGI report 2019 statement that, “reforms can have limited traction unless cultural, social and religious norms and structures are taken into account”. Please find below my main comment and suggestion.
- Clearly explain that gender equality is beneficial to all, not only women and girls. Gender equality is win-win. It is not a zero-sum game where what is given to a particular group is taken from another. On the contrary. This calls for emphasizing that gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment do not only translate into benefits for themselves and their children, but also for their entire households, communities and societies.
- Promote positive masculinity and give more visibility to positive behaviours that promote gender equality (for example equal distribution of household chores, parenting, etc.). Men and boys, as stressed by the guidelines, have a key role to play for gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment. The promotion of positive masculinity has the potential to significantly contribute to women and girls’ empowerment and to improve the well-being of many, parents and children. See for example the work Promundo is doing on masculinity.
- Think of engaging with non-traditional actors and leaders that held norms and are influential as well as stress the importance of addressing gender inequalities and discriminatory social norms at all levels, including the political, legal, institutional level but not only. That is the individual, household/family, group/community, institutions/organizations and policy/legislation levels.
- In addition to the point above, in order to achieve gender equality, transformation needs to go from individual to systemic change and across informal to formal spheres of life. This, the guidelines should pay attention to the role and influence of the informal sphere of life and informal institutions on people’s daily life as well as on formal institutions.
- Lead by example: Ensure parity at the CFS and UN agencies for the equal representation of women, youth, ethnicity, etc., in line with the EU GAP III (see pillar of action number 4). At the same time, ensure men participate in the discussion and implementation of the guidelines and the work on gender equality and women’s empowerment in general. Gender equality is everybody business and responsibility, not only women.
- Be clearer about the role of the CFS for supporting the implementation and monitoring of the use and application of the voluntary guidelines (part 4 of the guidelines). The current draft only mentions that, “Technical agencies of the UN, bilateral cooperation agencies and other development partners can assist in this regard” when referring to building and capacity strengthening for implementation. The CFS should also provide, when needed, support for the policy formulation and implementation of the guidelines and for monitoring its use and application.
- My last comment, maybe the most important in my view, relates to the nature of the guidelines and their intended users (1.3). It is mentioned that, “These Guidelines are intended to be interpreted and applied in accordance with national legal systems and their institutions”, the same that, in some countries, perpetuate gender inequalities. While transformative gender policies and programmes are starting to produce results (measured by the fact that some social norms that are detrimental to equality have become less prominent), the SIGI report 2019 states that, “ Yet improvements are too slow, due to legal discriminations, loopholes and inadequacies, weak implementation of laws, and discriminatory customary laws and social norms. In many countries, political commitments, legal reforms and gender-sensitive programmes are still not being translated into real changes for women and girls. Several interrelated raisons explain why progress is so slow. Among them: legal discriminations and loopholes continue to constrain women’s opportunities; existing laws and programmes are not always adequate; implementation and enforcement of the law is uneven within and across countries and can take time; lack of information, limited legal literacy and restricted access to justice make women unable to claim their rights; where customary laws and social norms still largely determine communities’ and individuals’ behavior, standard policies to promote gender equality are insufficient to create the necessary social transformation”. In addition, the report lists the following fact:
- Comprehensive legal frameworks that guarantee women’s and men’s rights – regardless of their marital status, ethnicity, location, education, religion or income – are not yet the norm. The SIGI data on legal discrimination reveals that women in all countries continue to face legal discrimination in a myriad of places, including courtrooms or in the workplace.
- Laws and programmes are not always appropriate. Countries have been slow, for example, to enact laws to protect women from emerging forms of gender-based violence.
- The implementation and enforcement of laws take time and are uneven within a country. In plural legal systems, where statutory law exists alongside customary, traditional or religious laws, women of certain groups may continue to face discrimination. This exposes the more vulnerable women to higher risk, especially those living in remote areas that are difficult to reach.
- Even when legal frameworks to protect women’s rights exist, the lack of information, limited legal literacy and restricted access to the justice system limit women’s ability to claim their rights.
- Where customary laws still largely determine communities’ and individuals’ behavior, standard policies to promote gender equality are insufficient to create social transformation. Discriminatory customary and religious laws may undermine the implementation of gender-transformative statutory law and expose women and girls to continuing discriminatory practices. This is particularly true in remote areas and some Least Developed Countries with weak rule of law.
- Social norms weaken the implementation of gender-sensitive laws and policies and justify harmful and discriminatory practices.
- Therefore, some national legal systems and their institutions will go against or contradict the guidelines and, will, as a consequence, maintain the status quo and discrimination women and girls are currently facing. Likewise, they will prevent the guidelines from meeting its purpose. For this reason, I suggest revising the sentence above and acknowledge that in some countries gender inequality is partly the result of existing legal systems and their institutions and that such systems and institutions are not in a position to advance gender equality and women and girls' empowerment. Therefore, an alternative needs to be found.
先生 Loïs Archimbaud