This blog post is co-authored by Dr. Ilaria Bottigliero, Director, Policy, Research and Learning, International Development Law Organization (IDLO) and Françoise Trine, Senior Food Security Officer, Secretariat of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
March 5, 2020 - In societies where there is a high degree of gender inequality, there is also a significantly higher proportion of undernourishment among women and girls.
In order to effectively tackle food insecurity, it is necessary to address gender inequality more broadly, particularly the discriminatory policies, laws and social norms that prevent women and girls from participating in society on an equal basis.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and a growing number of other international policy and legal instruments emphasize the mutually reinforcing relationship between gender equality and the realization of women’s rights to food, land, social security and work.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing – Website: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/HousingIndex.aspx
2020 Special Rapporteur Report to the UN Human Rights Council IS ATTACHED: ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR THE RIGHT TO HOUSING
Full Article: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25727&LangID=E
Menopause: The Taboo Topic We Need To Talk About
Between sexism and ageism, menopause gives rise to many stereotypes that have consequences for women’s private and professional lives.
By Marine Le Breton - HuffPost France
March 12, 2020 - About half of French women do not discuss menopause with their partner. That may be because 40% of women in the country consider it a “difficult” topic “which they don’t want to think about” themselves, according to a survey released late last year.
While the perception of menstruation is changing and the topic is becoming increasingly less of a taboo, it’s clear that the same cannot be said about menopause — which is not a disease, but a natural phenomenon when a woman’s period stops, generally around 50 years old. And menopause continues to contribute to women’s inequality.
“The more we respect others, the more we respect ourselves,” UNESCO Former Director-General
The fight against racism and all forms of discrimination is a mainstay of peace and social cohesion, especially in our increasingly diverse societies. On the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, UNESCO calls on all its Member States and partners to step up their efforts to build a more inclusive, more giving and fairer world.
UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia & Related Intolerance https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/racism/srracism/pages/indexsrracism.aspx
SECRETARY GENERAL - STRASBOURG - 6 MARCH 2020
Based on International Women’s Day 8 March, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has called on all member states to change how rape is defined.
In an opinion article published in today’s EU Observer, she says that “Too few of our members treat this crime as seriously as they should, because their legal definitions of rape are not based on lack of consent”. She adds: “This places the burden on those who have been raped to prove that they – most often women – are victims.”
The Secretary General also notes that monitoring by the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) has found that many criminal justice systems in Europe maintain force-based definitions of rape.
“States must take full responsibility and change their laws to conform with the Istanbul Convention and the time to act is now”, she stresses.
