THREATS WILL NOT DISAPPEAR WITH SILENCE: CHALLENGING CORPORATE ACTORS TO SPEAK OUT FOR & SUPPORT WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
By Sarah Brooks
In this article, Sarah Brooks, the Women Human Rights Defenders Focal Point for the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), explores the role of corporate actors in conflict. Suggestions are given for a way forward that state and non-state actors can contribute to an enabling environment for the work women human rights defenders.
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PRIVATE SECTOR, PUBLIC ABUSE, EXTRACTIVE COMPANIES & WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In many countries, at the heart of the three complementary areas of work are women. Often from indigenous or minority groups, these women defend the rights of those affected by the extractives sector. It is therefore important to acknowledge that:
• Women are often more dependent on access to land. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), women engage in unpaid agricultural work at a rate that is three to eight times higher than men and are thus likelier to have their livelihoods directly linked to land access.3 Extractives companies, in particular, have significant impacts on local communities’ arable land use, access to natural resources, and integrity and security, including claims to land.
• Women are often more exposed to certain corporate abuses. Most company codes of conduct require community engagement before the beginning of a major project; in the case of indigenous peoples, international law has set a minimum standard of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). However, in some cultures women may not be at the table, and their interests therefore not taken into account. Women are vulnerable to GBV from workers, managers, and contractors engaged in a project, and – along with their children – more exposed to environmental hazards in their daily household tasks.
• Women are often more constrained in their ability to seek remedy. Many countries continue to have laws on the books that limit women’s ability to legally inherit, control, or manage land. If a woman seeks to be involved with 3 www.womenpeacemakersprogram.org project planning or to file complaints or suits to defend her rights, she may risk verbal harassment, damage to her reputation, and social exclusion for crossing lines that demarcate acceptable gendered behaviors. “Our meetings are interrupted by officials and we suffer moral attacks, including being called prostitutes,” said one partner in Tunisia.
Извор: WUNRN – 30.11.2015
