An explosion in extreme wealth and income is exacerbating inequality and hindering the world’s ability to tackle poverty, Oxfam warned today in a briefing published ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.
The $240 billion net income in 2012 of the richest 100 billionaires would be enough to make extreme poverty history four times over, according Oxfam’s report ‘The cost of inequality: how wealth and income extremes hurt us all.’ It is calling on world leaders to curb today’s income extremes and commit to reducing inequality to at least 1990 levels.
The richest one per cent has increased its income by 60 per cent in the last 20 years with the financial crisis accelerating rather than slowing the process.
Oxfam warned that extreme wealth and income is not only unethical it is also economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive and environmentally destructive.
Violence against women represents a violation of dignity, safety, and human rights. The issue of violence against women is immense, particularly in the context of domestic violence, conflict and war, and human trafficking. Yet it is often seen as a private matter, something that goes on behind closed doors. It is not - it is a crime, and the state has a responsibility to protect women that are victims of violence.
Some countries lack laws that criminalize violence against women. Others have the laws, but fail to implement them. In order to assist Member States to enact and implement laws in this area, the United Nations has produced the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice services. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish NEW!
2014 saw an unprecedented increase in conflict, militarism and rising fundamentalisms across the globe, negatively affecting women in a plethora of ways. And while negotiations on the new development agenda - to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that expire this year – took center stage, women’s rights activists had to fight hard to advance women's human rights.
Извор: WUNRN – 16.01.2015
By Rachel Larris
The Women’s Media Center today released its 2015 review of the status of women as nominees for non-acting Academy Awards.
Julie Burton, president of the Women’s Media Center stated, “The Women’s Media Center congratulates all Academy Award nominees – it is a great day of recognition for their talent and artistic vision. However, we are concerned that for the fourth year in a row, fewer than one in five of all non-acting nominees are women.” Burton continued, “The stark disparity in the Oscar nominations this year – particularly in the categories of Directing and Writing – demonstrates that male voices and perspectives are largely responsible for what we see on screen. The Los Angeles Times conducted a study that showed that 94% of Academy voters are white and 77% are male – we wonder if these numbers have something to do with the fact that talented directors like Ava DuVernay (Selma) and Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) did not make the final cut.”
The Barbershop Conference. UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz
Looking to promote change in how men and boys think and talk about women’s empowerment and gender equality, the United Nations is hosting at its New York Headquarters a two-day high-level “Barbershop” event, which this afternoon focused on initiatives that aim to support non-sexist male attitudes and behaviours between men.
The Barbershop Conference aimed at reflecting the casual setting in which men get their hair cut, while delving deeper into gender stereotypes perpetuated by social norms, and helping dispel the fallacy that women and girls cannot be equals in the economic, social or political life.
The event also highlighted that while historically women and girls have led the fight against gender inequality, discrimination and gender-based violence, the recent UN HeforShe initiative encourages men and boys to stand at forefront of the global discourse.
