21 January 2023 Women Women from Brazil’s indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence, but UN-backed initiatives, and a change in the law, are encouraging them to seek protection. In Parque das Tribos, an indigenous neighbourhood in Manaus, the capital of Brazil’s Amazonas state, violence against women is not uncommon. “As a leader, I […]
Category: Gender Equality
International Day of the Girl Child
Our time is now—our rights, our future In 2022, we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl (IDG). In these last 10 years, there has been increased attention on issues that matter to girls amongst governments, policymakers and the general public, and more opportunities for girls to have their voices heard […]
Why is female genital cutting practised, and what is being done to eliminate it?
Today marks International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). First observed in 2012, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 February as a day to raise awareness of, educate the public about, and encourage local and international action to end FGM. What is female genital mutilation? Female genital mutilation (FGM) is universally […]
20 YEARS OF WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, a ground-breaking resolution that was spearheaded by women leaders and organizations. It is the first resolution that recognized women’s leadership to achieve international peace and security and their contributions to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution […]
Too late to put women at centre of recovery efforts? No. But so far world is failing
The UNDP gender tracker found Australia has introduced zero COVID response measures targetting women’s economic security. Just one in eight countries have introduced measures across all three priority areas. Back in April, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the world to “put women and girls at the centre of recovery efforts” as the UN released a report highlighting […]
The crisis behind closed doors: a look into the ‘shadow pandemic’
Although we are currently facing a public health crisis, COVID-19 has also caused a surge in intimate partner violence (IPV), negatively affecting our world’s pursuit of SDG #5: Gender Equality. While stage three restrictions have been reinforced in order to control the pandemic’s spread in Metropolitan Melbourne, stay-at-home mandates have also left many women and […]