Report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte
The present report, the first annual report to be submitted by a mandate holder, was prepared in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 24/20, in which the Council decided to establish the mandate of Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.
In the report, the Independent Expert describes the activities undertaken since taking office on 2 June 2014 and her views about the foundations and context of the mandate, as well as some preliminary considerations that will inform her work during the mandate.
Извор: WUNRN – 24.09.2014
"The role of the media in tackling HIV related stigma is crucial. It is seen as one of the drivers of HIV reduction, yet the media is far from reaching its full potential....Many of our interviewees believe there is fatigue with HIV in the mainstream media..."
This is one of the key findings from this report, which provides an overview of media initiatives that seek to reduce HIV-related stigma and explores what works and what doesn't. As explained here, stigma can stand in the way of people (especially sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, the transgender community, and people who inject drugs) accessing life-saving treatment. The media has a key role to play in challenging ignorance, prejudice, and fear, while also providing accessible information to support people in accessing sexual and reproductive health and HIV services. "...[Y]et the media is far from reaching its full potential..."
To inform this report, the International Broadcasting Trust (IBT) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) conducted desk research, 22 telephone or face-to-face interviews (with journalists, policymakers, academics, and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), amongst others, from Canada, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Uganda, Swaziland, Argentina, the United States, and the United Kingdom). The researchers also took a field trip to Swaziland in April 2014, where 24 additional interviews were conducted and two informal focus groups were held. One focus group comprised people living with HIV; the other comprised a group of young people from the general population. The report is filled with reflections from these participants.
The fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York, tentatively scheduled for 9-20 March 2015. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world attend the session.
The Commission will undertake a review of progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 20 years after its adoption at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. The review (Beijing+20) will also include the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, the first five-year assessment conducted after the adoption of the Platform for Action, which highlighted further actions and initiatives.
The session will also address current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action, as well as opportunities for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women in the post-2015 development agenda.
Actress Geena Davis. Photo: UN Women/Catianne Tijerina
Nowhere to be “scene,” women protagonists have less than one-third of all speaking roles in film and are largely absent from powerful positions, according to a United Nations-backed survey released today which argues for the involvement of more female film-makers in the industry, and for greater sensitivity to gender imbalance on screen.
“The first-ever global study of female characters in popular films, launched today, reveals deep-seated discrimination and pervasive stereotyping of women and girls by the international film industry,” according to UN Women, which supported the study along with The Rockefeller Foundation. It was commissioned from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.
“The fact is – women are seriously under-represented across nearly all sectors of society around the globe, not just on-screen, but for the most part we’re simply not aware of the extent,” said actress Geena Davis, founder of an eponymous Institute on Gender in Media, which released today’s study.
By: Viola Caon
Although it cannot be said that women necessarily bring better performance to financial services, additional diversity in the area of selection may produce interesting improvements.
Although the proportion of women on boards has gone from 11.9% in 2010 to 17.8% in 2013 in large European listed companies, the gender gap is still far from being filled despite the several official stances taken over the past years by the EU to make sure women were equally represented in top positions.
But while looking at implementing laws that try to increase the number of women in top positions is certainly a good starting point, the whole issue is often linked to more rooted cultural attitudes and may require increasing the number of women that work in the industry altogether, not just in the higher positions.
Moreover, even when they sit in company boardrooms, women continue to be paid less than their male colleague in the same role.
