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KEY REPORTS

 

Our general reports section includes various United Nations and other International organizations reports related to the topic of gendercide and the rights of women and children.

On 18 December 2013, the General Assembly adopted resolution 68/191, entitled “Taking action against gender-related killing of women and girls”, which originated at the 2013 session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Next steps includes an expert group meeting to discuss ways and means to more effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish gender-related killing of women and girls, with a view to making practical recommendations, and drawing on current best practices in consultation with relevant United Nations entities and human rights mechanisms.

New 2nd Edition of Femicide: A Global Issue that Demands Action 2014

The Academic Council on the United Nations System Vienna Liaison Office is proud to launch the Second Edition of Femicide: A Global Issue that Demands Action. Not only did the ACUNS Vienna Femicide Team assist in drafting and pushing through the General Assembly Resolution 68/191: Taking action against gender-related killing of women and girls, but they organized and actively participated in numerous important events throughout the year.

Femicide: A Global Issue That Demands Action 2013

Femicide is the ultimate form of violence against women and girls and takes multiple forms. For a case to be considered femicide there must be an implied intention to carry out the murder and a demonstrated connection between the crime and the female gender of the victim. So far, data on femicide have been highly unreliable and the estimated numbers of women who have been victims of femicides vary accordingly.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women last year, the Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized a one-day symposium on femicide.

This publication is the result of this symposium and comprises the speeches and presentations of the various experts who attended. They discussed the issue of femicide from different perspectives, addressed the problems related to femicide including impunity and proposed comprehensive ways to fight this crime efficiently. In addition to the speeches this publication gives an overview of the various crimes, including a description of the extent of the respective form of femicide and best practice examples to fight this crime

Current trends, consequences and policy implications (UNFPA Asia and Pacific Regional Office)

 

This report offers an updated review of the various facets and the latest trends and differentials in sex selection in Asia. It includes a set of recommendations to combat gender discrimination and prenatal sex selection at the national and regional level.

Education, urbanization and economic development have significantly improved opportunities for Asian women and girls over the last two decades. Yet, this has coincided with a fall in the proportion of girls among children in many countries. The decline, caused to a large extent by an increase in prenatal sex selection in the past 20 years, is leading to an alarming demographic masculinization. This intensifying gender imbalance will have an adverse impact at many levels on men, women and families over the next half century.

Prenatal sex selection

UN Women: Hearts and Minds: Women of India Speak

Authors/Editor(s): Divya Gupta, Swapna Bist-Joshi, Anubha Singh

UN Women’s report, “Hearts and Minds: Women of India Speak” acknowledges the “lived experiences” of women and girls in India at the grassroots level and ensures that the voices of those who remain socially, economically and geographically marginalized are meaningfully reflected in the emerging post-2015 development discourse and agenda. The analysis contained in this report is based on in-depth interviews with women and focus-group discussions with almost 200 elected women representatives. The report addresses issues that resonate with women all over the globe, such as women's empowerment, poverty, employment, health and education. The key findings from this report can be used to influence the global agenda setting, ensuring that the post-2015 framework does not make the same mistakes that the MDGs did.

UN Commission on the Status of Women Report on the fifty-seventh session (March 2013)

The Commission expresses concern about violent gender-related killings of women and girls, while recognizing efforts made to address this form of violence in different regions, including in countries where the concept of femicide or feminicide has been incorporated in national legislation.

 

ABSTRACT:

 

Some countries have for many years witnessed distorted sex ratios in the sense that the share of male population is larger than one would expect based on “natural” gender ratios at birth and mortality rates. This imbalance is often the result of son preference, rooted in cultural and economic experiences, and accentuated by declining fertility and pressures to have smaller families. With a focus on China and India, where skewed sex ratios have been highlighted by the international community and recognised by their governments, this study reviews the key literature exploring the causes, current trends and consequences of sex selective practices from infanticide and neglect to more modern sex determining and selective practices such as ultrasound tests and consequent sex selective abortions. Despite legislation regulating sex selection in both China and India, these practices are difficult to monitor, with medical practitioners and equipment suppliers reaping profits from the procedures. Skewed ratios have also been observed in other countries, such as Vietnam, Albania, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Normalisation of sex ratios cannot be achieved by simply controlling the use of sex selective technologies. A sustainable way to reduce sex selection requires strategies which focus on countering the gender inequality that drives son preference. An issue already addressed by the European Assembly, the European Parliament has a role to play in highlighting the issue through its relevant committees, such as Committee of Development, Human Rights, International Trade and Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, as well as through their country-specific delegations, as well as in the upcoming Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2014-2020.

This OHCHR, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and WHO joint interagency statement reaffirms the commitment of United Nations agencies to encourage and support efforts by States, international and national organizations, civil society and communities to uphold the rights of girls and women and to address the multiple manifestations of gender discrimination including the problem of imbalanced sex ratios caused by sex selection. It thus seeks to highlight the public health and human rights dimensions and implications of the problem and to provide recommendations on how best to take effective action.

Gender equality is not a women’s issue; it concerns men and boys as well as women and girls. Garnering sufficient support for the profound social changes required by the gender equality agenda cannot be achieved by women alone. It also requires the active involvement of men, all the more so as they often control the resources needed for this work. Moreover, the maintenance of an unequal gender order is likely to have negative consequences on men, for exemple the suppression of emotions to stay "in control" or the absence of nurturing relations with children. Recognition of these costs is an important rationale for men’s involvement in gender equality work.

 

This publication discusses entry points and opportunities for engaging men in work on gender equality, focusing on issues of violence, health, fatherhood, the workplace and the need to engage youth. Strategies for and lessons learned from male engagement in these areas are presented, covering both modifying men's personal attitudes and behaviours; and mobilizing men to take action on the political, economic and social structures that maintain gender inequalities.

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Over 117 million women were “missing” in Asia today -  “Improving gender equality and supporting national policies to address sex ratio imbalance require urgent, concerted efforts by all segments of the government and society.”    "Collaborative International and national actions to end prenatal sex selection and discrimination against women should remain a priority for all," Nobuko Horibe, the Director of UNFPA’s Asia and Pacific Regional Office (2011)

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