Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 October 2000 — Page 5

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ooc -•FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2000

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

RAPE AS

U.N. report says gender bias perpetuates poverty

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By GLENDA CRANK

HOLSTE

Y WEnews Correspondent f! ' Jt Gender inequality worldwide r Tjiikes a staggering toll by per1 'p6tuating poverty, rapid popula''lion growth and violence against Wbmen and by erecting barriers to reproductive and other health 'dire for women, the United ^Nations Population Fund said in Vts annual assessment of the State ‘ ‘of the World’s Population. '' “The message of this repHjrt is ^ Simple,” said Dr. Nafis Sadik, v Executive director of the popula- ' -fJon fund. “The price of inequal- ' ity is just too high.” - 11 The State of the World’s Population 2000 paints the big picture and presents positive ' ihodels as well as the vast areas : where gender inequality must be ' reduced. The report calls ending gender discrimination an urgent 1 human rights and development ■ priority throughout the world. ‘ The report, “Lives Together, ' Worlds Apart: Men and Women ■in a Time of Change,” measures 'the pathologies of gender bias in 'five key areas: health and repro- ‘ ductive rights, violence against ;'Women and girls, men and ^'reproductive rights, economic ' ctists and denial of human rights , for women. Sadik and other ^ ‘experts briefed reporters in a 1 national telephone conference. '"' Supported by research that ' iharks important health, education, economic and legal trends, ‘ the annual report measures ' progress in relation to goals ‘ elmbodied within the world * Conference consensus on human ' tights, population and develop- . ment, as well as the women’s 1 issues agreed to in the Fourth ‘ World Conference on Women in ; Beijing and its follow-up at this ‘ year's special session called ! Beijing Plus 5. 1 Sadik said the intention of this year’s population report is to ' help focus the dialogue on what Wie assesses as major opportuni'ties to reshape social relation- • Ships that cause bias. Reproductive health and population programs nnder-ftmded n , However, in one crucial area, .Binding is inadequate. Nations , nave agreed that $5.7 billion a ./year is needed from international t Spurces for reproductive health ‘and population programs, but they have only made about $2.1 ( pillion available. Sadik added that the pace of change in the global economy r jud available communication technology means that women and their families worldwide are suddenly gaining access to information about the gains in women’s rights elsewhere. Almost inevitably, with the introduction of communication technology, comes a push for change in gender roles and ! family relationships, usually ! fallowed by internal strife as well ! a$ the founding of a grassroots ! organization for women’s rights, i Governments are then confronted ! With the need to meet that j demand — and to change exist- ; ing institutions and to build ; everything from health clinics to ; classrooms. : , However, she added, there ! have been areas of significant ' progress against violence and to • ensure human rights. She cited ; laws passed prohibiting female ; genital mutilation by 16 of 28 ' countries where it is practiced. She also noted that in recent ; years every country in Latin ' America has improved women’s * legal standing. ! .However, the U.S. representa- ! live to the population fund ! emphasized the need for girls and ! Women to receive education. Dr. 1 pfnry Foster, chair of the U.S. ! Committee for the United ! Nations Population Fund and ! senior adviser to President ! Clinton, said that education of ! women and girls must be among I everyone’s top priorities. ! “We must educate women and I girls. Literacy comes first, then i education," he said. “Then, ! women must gain political ! strength,” he said. “They have to become their own advocates.” t Foster, an obstetrician and ! gynecologist, also took aim at the

lack of funding for maternal health and safe motherhood. “The inordinately high and totally unacceptable maternal mortality rate” leaves almost 600,000 new mothers dead each year, he noted. If the U.S. maternal mortality rate were universal, the number of maternal deaths worldwide would drop to 6,000 a year, he said. U.S. plays major role in worldwide maternal health The barriers to maternal health are cultural and financial, not only in the developing world and in other traditional societies, but in the United States. A case in point is the global gag rule on abortion imposed by the U.S. Congress on international non-governmental agencies working in reproductive health overseas. And Congress, now in the final stages of appropriating funds for fiscal year 2001, is considering at most $425 million for international family planning. The amount represents a large rollback from the total in 1995 of $550 million. “November is crucial,” Foster said of the impact of the federal election on issues of women’s health care and international family planning assistance. Report highlights The following are highlights of the report: Gender and health: Inequal-

ity harms women’s health. Unequal power relations between women and men limit women’s control over sexual activity, their ability to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to protect themselves against AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Teen-age girls are especially vulnerable. Inadequate reproductive health care results in high rates of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and preventable death and injury in childbirth. Gender-based violence is a health care issue and a barrier to full participation in society. Each year, women undergo an estimated 50 million abortions, 20 million of which are unsafe. About 78,000 women die of these unsafe abortions, about a fourth of the casualties are teen-

agers.

At the end of 1999, 34.3 million people were living with AIDS or HIV. Of the 5.4 million new infections last year, 4 million occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. In Africa, HIV-positive women outnumber HIV-positive men by 2 million. Female genital mutilation affects more than 100 million women and girls. Men also face reproductive health care problems, including sexually transmitted diseases, infertility and impotence. Many men say they want to limit or

space their children, but neither they nor their wives have contra-

ception.

Violence against women and girls: At least one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or abused in some other way — most often by someone she knows. At least 60 million girls are “missing” as a result of sexselective abortion, infanticide or neglect. Most were Asians. Two million girls are brought into the commercial sex market each year. As many as 5,000 women are victims of “honor” killings by members of their own families. Justification for violence against women stems from distorted views of sex roles and the responsibilities of men and women in relationships. Men, reproductive rights and gender equality: Discrimination against women and girls will not stop without the support and understanding of men, particularly in the family. Men’s attitudesand actions are strongly influenced by stereotypes of masculinity that set men up for failure, stress and difficulty in relationships. Helping men and women communicate about their own family roles and responsibilities can help families, improve reproductive health and reduce inequality and violence.

Women’s second-class status carries high financial and social cost. Both men and women pay a {Nice. For this reason, empowering women is a central aim of sustainable development. Women’s economic activity is undercounted because it often takes place in the informal sector. Better accounting for such work could result in improvements in investment and in productivity. Elder care, in which women are often both the caregiver and the recipient, is an increasing challenge. Women are living longer but frequently they have less support from formal pension systems than men because they did not participate in the formal

labor force.

Maternal death increases the mortality risks for her children and removes her contribution to the family, in both paid and

unpaid work.

Gender violence means direct costs to the health care systems, employers, law enforcement budgets and legal systems. The World Bank estimates that in industrial countries sexual assault and violence take almost one in five healthy years of life for women ages 15 to 44. The gender disparity in education, narrowing in most of the world, remains high in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where less than 40 percent of high school students are female.

Women’s rights are kunaa rights: Human rights treaties, starting with the UH. Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, form a legal foundation for ending rights violations and gender discrimination. They instinct governments to take action against such

abuses.

Other important human rights documents are the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, augmented in 1999 with an Optional Open Protocol to enable individuals and groups of women to submit complaints to a monitoring body. The Vienna Declaration, the programs of action from the International Conference on Population and Development and the World Conference on Women also emphasize gender equality and empowerment of

females.

Although they do not supersede national law, these accords often provide women leverage when lobbying their governments to ensure women’s human rights. Glenda Crank Holste is a Twin Cities journalist who has covered social and economic issues for 10 years.

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