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The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to advance a development agenda based on human rights must address State obligations concerning gender equality and women's empowerment. Since several social protection programmes, such as cash or asset transfer schemes, and public-works schemes, explicitly target women, it is often assumed that gender issues are already addressed. Such targeting, however, does not mean that gender dynamics have been adequately taken into account in the design, implementation and evaluation of such programmes. Owing to existing economic, social and cultural inequalities, women face a number of obstacles that affect their ability to benefit from social protection schemes. States must therefore examine and address the roles that power and gender dynamics play in the implementation, sustainability and impact of social programmes. Otherwise, such programmes may increase the vulnerability and inequality of women, and thus fail to comply with human rights standards.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Customary and traditional justice systems can also threaten women's access to fair and equal justice. Informal justice systems based on custom, tradition or ethnic or religious identity often contain unequal provisions for women and men, do not have sanctions against gender-based violence or other abuses which take place in the domestic sphere, and are sometimes procedurally biased against women. This is especially problematic as it is family laws and property laws that are most often subject to the jurisdiction of such legal systems.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Fourth, the implications for gender equality from growing economic insecurity are almost unremittingly negative. It remains true that “the average woman’s career remains shorter, more disrupted and less remunerative than the average man’s”, and the consequences flow through into social security and related arrangements. Proponents of women’s human rights need to become more involved in debates over social protection and basic income.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Economic shocks affect women and men differently. Owing to discrimination and gender inequality, women are disproportionately represented in the informal economy and thus have less access than men to many social insurance benefits, such as pensions and unemployment and sickness benefits. Even where women are employed in the formal labour market, discrimination often results in lower wages. Moreover, an interrupted work history as a result of care responsibilities, in particular child-rearing, and a longer life expectancy worldwide reduce the ability of women to contribute to social protection schemes and further disadvantage them in old age.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights stipulates that "the aged and the disabled shall also have the right to special measures of protection in keeping with their physical or moral needs" (art. 18). The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) recognizes the particular vulnerability of older women and requests States to take a number of measures "commensurate with their physical, economic and social needs as well as their access to employment and professional training" and "ensure the right of elderly women to freedom from violence, including sexual abuse" (art. 22).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Wide and informed public participation in the development and implementation of social policies is an essential feature of policies grounded in human rights standards. Participation of the intended beneficiaries is not simply desirable in terms of ownership and sustainability, but is also part of their right to take part in public life which is a core component of human rights instruments. Owing to the asymmetry of power between the beneficiaries and the authorities that administer the programme, beneficiaries are often unable to realize their rights. Promoting meaningful public participation must thus be an essential feature of the design, implementation and evaluation of social pensions. Special attention must also be devoted to ensuring the effective participation of older women and other groups that may be marginalized.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Undoubtedly, women cannot enjoy this right equally if they have a disproportionate share of (unpaid) work at home. Gendered distribution of, and stereotypical assumptions about, family and caring responsibilities are at the root of much of the discrimination and limitations women experience in the labour market: barriers to entering employment, fewer opportunities for advancement, lower wages and higher levels of informal and insecure work. Moreover, women's right to decent work is consistently perceived as inferior to that of men. Simultaneously, discrimination against men who seek to perform a greater share of caring and family responsibilities further entrenches gender stereotypes and disadvantages women.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The Convention obliges States parties to take all appropriate measures to modify or abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that discriminate against women (article 2 (f)). This includes the obligation to modify "the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women" (article 5). The gendered division of unpaid care work, fostered by stereotypes which delineate men as breadwinners and women as carers/nurturers, is clearly one such practice.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- In this respect, women are particularly vulnerable to penalization measures. Due to structural discrimination, women have less representation in structures of power and therefore are disproportionately disadvantaged in their dealings with State authorities and less able to claim their rights. Often penalization measures have a much more onerous impact on women than men, given that women are overrepresented among the poor, have less access to education, employment and economic resources, and assume the principal burden of care and domestic work.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Gender concerns remain largely ignored, even when social protection schemes specifically target women within households or female-headed households. The channelling of social protection to women may amplify the impacts of certain schemes reaching children or older persons, but it does not ensure that the root causes of gender inequality are adequately addressed. Evidence shows that social protection systems are rarely gender-neutral and that badly designed programmes can exacerbate or contribute to inequalities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- The traditional reliance of many States on contributory pension systems as the main source of social security in old age has left a significant portion of older persons unprotected. This problem is particularly serious for women as most are not covered by contributory pension schemes although they tend to live longer. Investing in non-contributory pensions can play an important role in empowering older people and contribute to the realization of their human rights, in particular their economic, social and cultural rights.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Being excluded from social benefit assistance has an especially harsh effect on women, who make up the majority of social benefit beneficiaries, and who generally hold primary responsibility for the care of children and maintenance of the household. If women are denied access to social benefits, it will generally have implications for the whole family. Furthermore, there is an increased likelihood that women will remain in or return to abusive relationships, or be forced to live in other vulnerable situations, if they are unable to access social benefits.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Certain groups that suffer from structural discrimination and exclusion and are disproportionately represented among the poor, particularly ethnic and racial minorities, migrants and indigenous peoples, encounter additional barriers to accessing justice. Those difficulties are multiplied for women living in poverty, who experience compounded discrimination and disempowerment, not to mention financial constraints. Therefore, across different contexts, women living in poverty experience particular difficulties in accessing justice mechanisms and winning judicial recognition, action and enforcement for crimes, discrimination and human rights violations they are disproportionately subject to. Children are often denied the due process guarantees that they are entitled to on the same basis as adults, as well as additional protections that are necessary, in particular when they are particularly deprived or marginalized.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure that social protection systems do not create significant inequalities between those who have an interrupted participation in the labour force - due for example to parenthood, care for older persons or persons with disabilities - and those who do not. At a minimum, States must provide universal non-contributory social pensions that are sufficient for an adequate standard of living, and ensure that women living in poverty can access them. The introduction of carer credits into a country's pension or superannuation system can provide a method of explicitly recognizing those years spent providing unpaid care.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- When social protection is implemented within the framework of a gender-sensitive approach (as elaborated below), it enhances the status of women by, inter alia, strengthening their economic power, improving girls' access to education, increasing the participation of women in the workforce and providing them with income security in old age. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, by enabling them to gain control over household resources, some programmes directed at women have improved their social status and their confidence within their families and communities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Informal justice systems are often more accessible to persons living in poverty and may have the potential to provide quick, affordable and culturally relevant remedies. However, informal justice mechanisms frequently exhibit some of the same weaknesses as State systems. For example, they may exclude women, minorities and disadvantaged groups, be susceptible to corruption and abuse of power, require payment from claimants or impose heavy fines, and in some there may be frequent lengthy delays in deciding cases.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- While fostering sociocultural change is a medium- to long-term objective, ensuring the equal enjoyment of rights of men and women is an immediate obligation for States. Therefore they must take immediate actions to alleviate the intensity of women's unpaid care work and redistribute their disproportionate share, including through the "provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life" (article 11 (2) (c)).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Gender inequality and discrimination patterns greatly affect the equal opportunities of women and men to seek, share and receive information about social protection programmes, participate in decision-making processes and register complaints that can result in local authorities being held accountable. The designing and implementation of participatory channels without taking into account gender relations within the community may reinforce women's dependency on men. For example, women may be present at a community meeting, but gender roles may prevent them from expressing their concerns, especially if male members of the community are present.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- The present report stresses the fact that a rights-based approach to social protection programmes will maximize their potential for ensuring the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This section contains recommendations concerning how to frame the discourse on social protection and the Goals in human rights terms. Social protection interventions based on human rights can ensure that underlying obstacles cutting across all Millennium Development Goals are tackled. As the core of a rights-based social protection system, special attention to the various impacts of poverty on men and women must be provided by policymakers during the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- It is hard to think of a human right that is not potentially affected in some way by the unequal distribution and difficulty of unpaid care work. In this section, the focus is on specific economic, social and cultural rights as well as the right to participation, but this should not be interpreted as an exhaustive list. Excessive burdens of unpaid care work may threaten the enjoyment of other human rights by caregivers, such as freedoms of speech, association and assembly. Moreover, because unpaid care work is so time-consuming and arduous, especially for women living in poverty, women are often unable to enjoy their right to rest and leisure .
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Women living in poverty often face particularly strong social barriers to pursuing cases. In some contexts, there are strong cultural norms against women speaking on their own behalf in disputes. Social sanction is a particular obstacle for women who are victims of domestic or sexual violence. In the case of gender-based violence, for example, social constraints account partly for the disproportionately high underreporting and attrition rates.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- In such contexts, the income security and empowerment that a social pension provides is vital. However, the importance of social pension for women must not absolve States of their duty to take other measures to ensure gender equality and protect women against gender-based violence. In most countries, women's vulnerability to poverty will not change with a social pension alone. Measures such as access to land and economic resources for women, fair inheritance rights and full legal capacity are essential to improve their standard of living.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- All policies and programmes across all sectors should challenge gender stereotypes related to unpaid care work and promote its more equal distribution. For example, any financial support to carers should be paid to the primary caregiver regardless of sex, biological relationship to the care receiver or the form of the household or family. Similarly, social assistance programmes must be designed taking into account the intense unpaid care responsibilities of women living in poverty. Thus, collecting payments, or meeting co responsibilities, such as ensuring a child's attendance at school, must not significantly increase the already heavy workloads of women, and programmes must not reinforce the maternal/caring roles of women without involving men.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- In addition to avoiding policies that exacerbate gender inequalities, social protection systems should actively promote gender equality and empower women. Policymakers must design, implement, monitor and evaluate social protection initiatives through a gender lens. Programmes should address asymmetries of power and structural inequalities, and enhance the realization of women's rights. They must take into account the multiple forms of discrimination that women experience, and ensure that women's specific needs are addressed throughout their lives: during adolescence, adulthood and old age.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Women rely on social services more than men owing to their reproductive and caregiving roles. Thus, if social services remain indifferent to the specific needs and vulnerabilities of women, and if economic barriers such as service fees for health and education remain in place, the potential benefits of social protection will be undermined.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The unequal distribution of unpaid care work is highly reflective and determinative of power relations between women and men. Discriminatory gender stereotypes, which construe women as second-class citizens whose place is in the home, cause and perpetuate this unequal distribution of work, rendering women's equal enjoyment of rights impossible. Addressing care responsibilities is thus an essential component of the obligations of States to ensure gender equality at home, work and in society more broadly.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Social protection programmes must respect and acknowledge the role played by women as providers of care, without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping. Measures must be taken to promote the value of care and to combine societal and State responsibilities for care work, encouraging men to participate more actively in supporting and caring for family members.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Nonetheless, social protection programmes have limits. Many countries pride themselves on having achieved quantifiable improvements in gender equality, especially regarding girls' access to education. For example, the Female Secondary School Assistance Project in Bangladesh, which provides girls with a stipend so that they can attend school, has been recognized as successful in raising enrolment rates for girls. However, States must take care not to limit their efforts to promote gender equality to improving parity between girls' and boys' enrolment rates. While stipends promoting girls' enrolment are important, they must be accompanied by broader measures addressing other concerns of particular importance to women, such as gender-based violence, including harmful traditional practices (for example, female genital mutilation and child marriage). Several countries have expressed frustration at the narrowness of some of the indicators for Millennium Development Goal 3 (promote gender equality and empower women) and have chosen to focus their energies on their own indicators related to gender equality, such as formal workforce participation, wage gaps, political participation and domestic violence. The independent expert believes States should adopt or revise national targets and indicators for all Millennium Development Goals in line with their obligations under human rights law, in order to accelerate their progress in achieving the Goals.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- This can constitute a significant barrier for the poorest and most marginalized, many of whom speak local languages or dialects, as well as for indigenous populations, ethnic minorities and migrants. In particular, those who are often excluded from education services, including women, are less likely to have received adequate schooling in the official or predominant language.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Non-contributory pensions are the most efficient means of ensuring the right to social security for older women and compensating them for their years of unpaid or inadequately paid work. However, to ensure equal access by women to a social pension, special measures must be implemented to overcome possible barriers to older women caused by structural discrimination, such as lack of access to adequate documentation and identification; difficulties to approach administrations or lack of gender sensitive social services.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph