The role of families in combating discrimination,

violence and harmful practices against women

and girls

Bahira Sherif Trask, Ph.D. Human Development and Family Studies

University of Delaware bstrask@udel.edu

Myths Around Families from a Global Perspective

Tendency to assume: Homogenization of world Developing world following trends in industrialized world Families do not “matter” anymore

Everyone has “choice” / arena for flexible negotiations Women and children are better off now

Empowered Girls out succeeding boys as sign that gender

discrimination has ended

Academic and Policy Perspectives:

Topic of families is complex, controversial, ignored

Definitions vary making it difficult to use quantitative measures that work within and across societies

Family values vary Politically charged Religion / nationality / history plays a role Economics

In US white middle-class suburban family as normative

In most countries – families symbol as a ‘stable’ institution amidst sea of change

Western vs Non-Western Perspectives on Families

Western feminist assumption: Incorporation into labor force increases women’s status

Research findings: Middle class women in U.S. and industrialized world benefit from ideologies

that emphasize female empowerment through wage work Women in developing world not benefiting in same manner

Western perspective: “Traditional” family as oppressive to women

Non-Western perspective: Family can be shield from external oppression

Gender Inequality

Gender issues vary between industrialized vs developing world

Industrialized world:

Child care

“Glass ceiling”

Sexual harassment at the workplace

Work-family balance

Western feminist discourse masks realities for low-income girls and women in West and in developing world

2014, a girl from Cameroon told an interviewer from Plan “The girls are like servants of boys and men. Their issues don’t really matter.” (PLAN: Because I Am A Girl 2015)

“Shadow Side of Globalization” (Penttinen, 2008)

Specific effects on girls and women in developing world / former countries of the Soviet Union:

Structural Adjustment Policies Neoliberal policies Limited social service programs Rise in unemployment Increased poverty

Girls and Women are Vulnerable

Especially poverty creates specific vulnerabilities for girls and women

Loss of educational and employment opportunities

Trafficking Approx. 800,000 per year / 80% female

Susceptible to economic shifts

Cultural Contexts Affect the Roles and Status of Girls and Women

Initiatives, programs and policies need to account for: Social relationships in families Socialization to gender roles Child marriage Harmful practices such as Female Genital

Mutilation Sexual / reproductive concerns / HIV/AIDS

Barriers for Girls and Women

In recent study of seven African countries carried out by Plan 2015, several key barriers to education were identified: Girls household responsibilities affected their ability to learn

and concentrate High levels of poverty led to poor nutrition, which affected their

ability to concentrate in school. (Plan International 2015 The State of the World’s Girls)

Women and girls often lack access to or control over resources, both within and outside of the household For example, fewer than 20 percent of the world’s landholders

are women (UNWomen, http://www.unwomen.org/how-we-work/csw/csw-56/facts-and-figures/2012)

Socialization to Gender Roles

Puberty: Girls ‘protected’ vs treated as ‘different’

Movements restricted Study from Egypt (Mensch, 2003): 68 percent of girls 16 – 19

were involved in domestic work vs. 26 percent boys

In many parts of the world, during adolescence, the world expands for boys but contracts for girls (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former managing director of the World Bank

and finance minister, Nigeria)

Parents believe investing in boys has greater benefits

Specific Issue of Girls in Families

Differential valuing of boys and girls in families

Illiteracy: of the 130 million children worldwide not in school, 2/3 are girls

Girl’s domestic labor not accounted for

Girl’s without an education forced to marry under 20 in some places

Bruce and Chong (2006) “Perhaps the most widespread human rights violation of children in the adolescent group is child marriage. If present patterns continue, over the next decade over 100 million girls will be married as children” (p. 3).

Child Marriage

UNFPA (2012) report, approximately 142 million girls will be married off by 2020.

Currently, approximately 15 million girls marry before the age of 18 every year, which equals about 41,000 girls marrying every day.

Child marriage is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa

Forces girls into adult roles before they are physically and psychologically prepared

Girls are likely to experience early childbearing

Girls are more likely to experience a lack of autonomy

Girls are often coerced into unwanted or unsafe sexual relations which put them at risk for sexual diseases including HIV/AIDS

Perpetuates cycle of poverty

Harmful Practices /Sexual and Reproductive Concerns

125 million girls and women have undergone female genital mutilation despite a section in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which commits governments to “take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolish traditional practices prejudicial to the health of the child.” (UNICEF, 2013) 98 percent of women in Somalia; 96 percent in Guinea

16 million women are living with HIV According to the World Health Organization, HIV/AIDS is the primary

cause of death in developing countries among women of reproductive age

2013, almost 60 percent of all new infections occurred among adolescent girls and women, with the highest percentage (58 percent) found among girls and women in Sub-Saharan Africa (UN Women, 2015

Gender Inequality Persists

UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund, 2014): review of progress on gender equality 176 member states and seven territories 9/10 countries committed to ensuring sexual and reproductive

health 25 percent achieved their targets

Most frequently cited obstacles: Low status of women Limited empowerment Local customs, beliefs, practices

Why Have Gender Equality Movements not had Greater Success

Locally based

Patchworked across societies Various NGO’s, for-profits, government agencies

Gender equality is perceived as part of economic package that forces countries to emulate Western life styles

Sometimes understood as part of larger Western style ‘domination’

Key: Family Perspective Missing

Debates on families are widely divergent depending on whom one is focusing: women, men or children

initiatives to “strengthen” families in order to ensure the safety and care for children

Families are often ignored in policy recommendations and initiatives that are thought to empower girls and women

Family As Foundational For Promoting Gender Equality

Family is the intermediate group that connects individuals to the larger society including economic and political systems and policies

Center of social life and continues to be the primary mechanism for coping with social, economic and political adversity and the socialization and education of children

In all societies families are the primary locale for the integration of individuals with society

Family Perspective Critical

In order to create successful initiatives and policies we need to account for:

Culture

Context

Familial relationships

Stage of the life course

Intergenerational relationships

(Relationship between girls and women often ignored)

Individual circumstances

Targeting family relationships is key strategy

Leads to creating supports for vulnerable children and women and men

Critical Piece in Policy Formation

It is important to note that policies need not always target families specifically

Instead, policies and initiatives need to acknowledge and incorporate the understanding that:

Families are the mechanism through which policies are enacted

Families Continue to be Central

Multiple forms as focus / point of debate deviates discussions about processes and resources

Families provide opportunities or constrain choices

Family resources and family processes determine life chances

Gender Equity & Gender Empowerment

Need to be understood as a human right

Must be protected through legal frameworks

Rights need to be understood as embedded in constellation of social relationships

Ability to make choices is crucial Part of human development approach advocated by A. Sen (1999)

“Development is about expanding people’s choices, allowing them to

realize their potential, and encouraging them to live lives that they value” (Desai, 2010)

Accessing Opportunities

Social relationships allow girls and women access and choice

Research shows that educating girls and women has significant societal implications: Delayed age of marriage

Lower fertility levels

Better health for young women and their children

Increased political and societal participation

Formal and informal education of boys and men critical Focus on appropriate male behaviors

Example from Kenya

HIV / AIDS programming

Emphasis on mass media, community education, and female mentoring Targets women and men through varying strategies

Magnet Theater to teach local drama troupes about health concerns that come with early marriage, HIV, and issues around reproduction

20,500 males and 17,300 females have been contacted, and nearly 100,000 individuals have been reached through the mixture of mentors, religious leaders, radio spots, and the theater pieces (Ochieng & Erulkar, 2008)

Families and the Future

The family is still the primary group that provides nurturance, love, and emotional sustenance

Humans are hard wired to belong to groups / evolutionary behavior- Despite alternatives, most people still marry or live in natal families (OECD: Changing Families, 2011)

Families the world over provide social capital

Policies can only be instituted if family perspective is used

Families are at the front line of preventing discrimination and violence against women

Incorporating family relationships is pivotal to success of gender equality and gender empowerment initatives

Policy Recommendations

Target campaigns about the equal worth of girls and boys to men and women in families. In many cultural contexts older women also perpetuate gender

stereotypical behaviors that devalue the worth of girls and lead to discriminatory and violent behaviors against them

Encourage and adopt family focused practices that promote equal access for both girls and boys to high quality education, and ensure opportunities to successfully complete schooling, and to making educational choices

Policy Recommendations

Raise awareness among boys, girls, women, men, parents, and teachers about gender-stereotypical attitudes towards academic performance and the consequences of overall educational choices for future employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, career advancements and earnings

Review and adapt early childhood, primary and secondary school curricula, teaching and school practices to eradicate gender discrimination and stereotyping

Policy Recommendation

Create educational, accessible multi-media campaigns (such as community theater, cartoons, music) about the worth of girls and women. Include in these campaigns educational units about harmful practices such as early marriage and risky sexual behaviors.

Mainstream the gender equality viewpoint in the design, development and evaluation of pertinent policies and budgets, for example by conducting systematic gender-impact assessments and producing appropriate data and evidence. Create a standard for future assessments as well as a compilation of best practices for governments and government agencies to use in creating local initiatives. (Adapted from the OECD 2013 recommendation)

Policy Recommendations

Investigate what local gender focused programming is already in place and build on this by using feedback from women and men in that region

Increase the emphasis on cultural contexts in all initiatives, programs and policies and include as targets and as participants in design, marginalized groups such as rural girls and young married women

Policy Recommendations Specifically for Girls / Young Women

Prioritize girl’s education

Girls need to be accounted for in aid budgets

Maintain investment in girl’s training and work opportunities

Invest in girls’s leadership

Support grass roots movements for young women

Monitor and evaluate macro-economic policies and programs and social spending from a gender and age perspective to ensure that young women’s needs are met.

Thank You !!!