ACT EU’s view is that an important added value of GAP III would be to promote gender-appropriate actions and focus across sectors, for example in relation to EU trade policy, migration policy and other aspects of external action beyond development. ACT EU calls for a much stronger focus on understanding and responding to the diverse contexts of vulnerability and inequality experienced by marginalised women and girls and other marginalised genders, supported by strong evidence (qualitative as well as quantitative) and disaggregated data. In this, a stronger focus on normative change will be needed.
EU Added Value
The EU plays an important leadership role in promoting gender equality globally and in relation to the implementation of international human rights and sustainable development frameworks. We would suggest that an important added value could be the potential for GAP III to promote gender-appropriate actions and focus across sectors, for example, in relation to EU trade policy, migration policy, and other aspects of external action beyond development in which the achievement of women’s rights and gender equality are central.
In this way, the GAP III could become an important document for guiding the contributions of EU Member States to the Sustainable Development Goals, the imperative to ‘leave no one behind’, and the other UN agreements and frameworks that underpin them, including the Addis Ababa Agenda, and the Paris agreement.
The EU also plays a crucial role in linking internally-focused strategies such as the Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025 with the externally facing Strategic Framework for Gender Equality Action. From an external perspective, we believe the GAP III can strengthen some gaps that exist in the GES 2020-2025 by:
- going beyond binary language (men-women/boys-girls);
- giving a stronger focus to social, cultural, and economic rights;
- focusing on equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities;
- expanding the work on GBV to encompass the wider definition of violence set out by CEDAW which includes structural violence; and
- promoting a ‘gender equal economy’ that not only supports structural reforms to labour markets but also challenges gendered macroeconomic policies that are responsible for ‘keeping people behind’.
Priorities for action at a global level
The GAP III should prioritise:
- Prioritising the rights of marginalised women: The rights and inclusion of the most marginalised women facing multiple and intersecting barriers to their rights and development outcomes. To develop this priority, the GAP III should strengthen its analysis and data on who these women (and girls) are, where they are located, the nature of exclusion and power inequalities affecting them, and identify key stakeholders maintaining these power structures. This will help in finding the most fruitful ways to work for structural changes and open dialogue.
- Promoting a gender-equal economy: Macroeconomic policy to create a ‘gender equal economy’ – i.e. support women’s economic rights and economic (self-)empowerment. Particularly important are progressive and accountable tax and fiscal policies (including gender-responsive budgeting) supporting women’s economic (self-)empowerment and financing measures to address the disproportionate burden of unpaid care borne by women and girls. This includes strengthened provision of public services and infrastructure that supports this.
- Supporting women’s rights and organisations: Support for women’s rights and organisations and their inclusion in consultations and decision-making at all levels. It is important for EU Delegations and Member States’ embassies to engage with organisations representing women from the most marginalised groups in their specific contexts and to promote action that addresses the intersecting barriers marginalised women face.
- Addressing the needs of women in conflict and displacement: The needs of women and girls affected by conflict and displacement must be addressed, and these women included in decision-making processes, particularly in peace negotiations and transition out of conflict. Also, in all aspects of development contributing to sustainable peace, including developing comprehensive approaches to address violence against women and girls, address economic inequalities, and promote normative change.
- Ensuring the centrality of the role of sexual and reproductive health rights: Sexual and reproductive health rights must be the central part of health-related activities because of their gendered elements.
- Ensuring gender-just trade policies: Gender-just trade policies and regulation of international investment to ensure that trade and investment contribute to the progressive realisation of human rights and do no harm by exploiting or exacerbating gender or other inequalities or having an adverse impact disproportionately felt by women, girls, and marginalised genders. The GAP III could provide for mandatory gender-sensitive human rights due diligence to be applied to business and human rights norms (voluntary and binding), including bilateral trade and investment agreements.
- Providing gender-appropriate responses to climate change: Gender-appropriate responses to climate change, including financing mechanisms that are both transparent and accessible to climate-vulnerable communities and women’s rights organisations.
Means for action
- Strengthening the focus on marginalised women and gender minorities: The GAP III could develop a much stronger focus on understanding and responding to the diverse contexts of vulnerability and inequality experienced by marginalised women and girls and other marginalised genders, supported by strong evidence (qualitative as well as quantitative) and disaggregated data. In this, a stronger focus on normative change will be needed.
- Including indicators for measuring gender equality progress: The GAP III should include indicators for success measuring the EU’s contribution towards progressing gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals and the principle of ‘leave no one behind’. This could include specific indicators based on key frameworks such as CEDAW (especially looking at structural violence and how that ties into the structural reform support programme) and the Istanbul Convention (especially looking at how this ties into the Spotlight Initiative).
- Investing in data disaggregation: Greater investment in data disaggregation and in supporting partner countries to improve the availability of reliable data disaggregated as relevant in national contexts (i.e. to make visible and monitor horizontal inequalities such as those associated with caste, ethnicity, or migratory status) as provided for under SDG 17.18, will be critical to improving the focus on the most marginalised individuals and groups. It will be important to also use this data more widely in communications and awareness-raising and ensure data is visible to citizens as well as decision-making bodies.
- Ensuring civil society participation and rights: In response to the erosion of civil society space and the disproportionate impacts of this on the rights of women and other marginalised genders, actions should seek to create an enabling environment for a representative cross-section of civil society, promote civic and political rights, and rights to freedom of association and assembly.
- Addressing religious fundamentalism and integration with faith-based organisations: Greater investment in development cooperation that tackles religious fundamentalism and that fosters a greater integration between women’s rights activists/movements and faith-based leaders/organisations.
- Recognising the contributions of faith-based organisations: Greater recognition of the contributions and perspectives of faith-based organisations in building dialogues on critical issues of gender equality.
- Funding commitments: We support the position of CONCORD that the GAP III should include the following funding commitments for EU institutions and Member States: 85% of ODA should go to programmes having gender as a significant (G1) or as a principal objective (G2). Within this broader commitment, there should be a target of 20% of ODA going to programmes having gender equality as a principal objective (G2).