UN Policies and Actions in Ensuring Gender Mainstreaming

1. UN Policies and Actions in Ensuring Gender Mainstreaming International Conference on Humanitarian Assistance and Gender Oslo, Norway May 5th, 2008

2. What is Gender Mainstreaming? It is a process that helps to ensure that everyone – girls,boys, men and women – are accounted for equally and equitably in all aspects concerning their lives

3. Humanitarian and Emergency Situations • Armed conflict • Disaster • Recovery • Reconstruction

4. What does GM have to do with Humanitarian Work? • It ensures that no one is excluded, marginalized or discriminated against because of their sex in: • Protection measures (e.g. GBV) • Services (e.g. education) • Opportunities (e.g. loans and employment) • Basic needs (food, water, sanitation, health, shelter, justice)

5. What does GM have to do with Humanitarian Work? • To prevent and relieve suffering of those affected by a humanitarian context • Protect the rights and freedoms of women, girls, boys and men • Promote equal opportunities and rights of all free from any discrimination based on sex and gender ascribed roles due to social norms

6. How do Humanitarian Situations and Emergencies Affect Gender? • Armed conflict and other forms of crisis negatively affect gender imbalances that predate the humanitarian situation • Conflict exaggerates and emphasizes gender stereotypical roles • Gender-based violence and forced migration and displacement destabilize societies • Laws and other public institutions as well as private social networks fail to protect in conflict • Men and women are affected by the conflict differently

7. When does gender equality need to be integrated into institutional work? • Gender equality should be taken into consideration at all programmatic levels • Contingency planning: including analysis and risk reduction • Immediate onset response following crisis: ensuring basic needs are met equitably • Early recovery: community participation, involvement of women’s groups • Reconstruction: peace process, social reunification, retribution and preventing impunity • Transition: for economic development and equal opportunity

8. Gender Mainstreaming Done Right • Better meet needs and priorities of affected population in a targeted manner • Ensures that all people affected by crisis are acknowledged • Ensure everyone’s vulnerabilities are accounted for (very important for protection issues, especially GBV) • Facilitates design of more appropriate response(i.e. more equitable)

9. Interagency Standing Committee Policy Statement on Gender ``The IASC is committed to achieving gender equality, ensuring human rights of women, girls, boys and men are equally promoted and protected in humanitarian action, and ensuring that women, girls, boys and men have equitable, safe access to services provided``

10. IASC Five-Way Strategy (2006) • Set standards: handbook on Gender in Humanitarian Situations • Build Surge Standby Capacity: • Sex and Age Disaggregated Data for Analysis: consultant work to then work with clusters on improving data quality and availability • Capacity-Building Measures: Distance Learning Module for field staff for UN, NGOs and other partners (Internet/CD Rom based) • Building Partnerships: Interaction

11. UN Commitment to Gender Equality • Work of GM began in 1995 following Beijing 4th International Conference on Women • Gender Task Force converted to an IASC Sub-Working Group that includes UN, NGO and other individual organizations (OXFAM, CARE) • UN Humanitarian Reform (Cluster Approach) recognizes gender as a cross-cutting issue (health, education, shelter…etc.) with accountable cluster leads

12. UN Commitment to Gender Equality • Integration of gender in Humanitarian Coordinators system • CERF (central emergency response fund) is a priority issue and critical requirement for funding Example: Kenya CERF received funding for training and coordination of gender through Gender sub-working group and combatting GBV also funded as a result

13. Role of NGOs • Building partnerships with other UN and NGO actors in the humanitarian field • Ensure actors understand the application of gender equality in humanitarian context (Ref: IASC handbooks on Gender and GBV in Humanitarian Action) • Mobilization of like-minded humanitarian actors

14. Role of NGOs • Ensure collaboration with other actors (Tell others what you are doing and work with them) • Surge Standby Capacity: Deployment of staff and experts to help apply Gender Equality action (e.g. GENCAP) • Operational Action: service provision (e.g. eduation projects from Norway Save the Children) • Advocate: keep gender equality as a right and protection from GBV and gender discrimination on the forefront • Ensure Accountability of UN and other actors

15. Examples • Protection from Gender Based Violence • Use GBV guidelines checklist • Ensure confidentiality • Protect survivor’s right to choice • Provide choice of options for counseling, treatment and seeking justice • Advocate to ensure there is no impunity for perpetrators

16. Examples • Provision of services: • Camp establishment: toilets protected? In a safe area? Separate for girls/boys? • Schooling: girls are going as well as boys? Located in a safe place? Affordable to everyone? • Health: Affordable? Accounts for the special needs of women, particularly those of reproductive age?

17. Examples • Coordination: • Ensure codes of conduct for good gender practice are adhered to by all actors • Data on age and sex dissaggregated basis available and used in analysis • Coordinate with all partners for better targeted actions • Get everyone’s opinion! Ensure that women, men, girls and boys participate

18. Examples • Capacity-building: • GenCap • ProCap • Use Cluster System to ensure integration of gender principles, tools and guidelines applied Example: CD rom/Internet based module on gender in humanitarian action with certificate for preparation in the field (with American Council for Voluntary International Action –Interaction)

19. Resources • IASC Policy Guidelines on Gender Equality in Humanitarian Situations (draft) • IASC Handbook on Gender Mainstreaming in Humanitarian Situations • IASC Handbook on Gender Based Violence in Humanitarian Situations

20. Standard Operating Procedures for Prevention and Response to SGBV In Name of Location: ___ Country: ___ Resources

21. Thank you!