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Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Laws and policies that criminalize consensual same-sex relations are part of the background environment that leads to violence and discrimination. Some 70 countries criminalize same-sex relations, with a particular impact on men who have sex with men. Some 40 countries criminalize same-sex relations in regard to women who have sex with women. The death penalty awaits in some countries. There are other laws and policies of a more indirect nature, which might also be negatively applied against certain groups and persons in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity. They include laws based on public decency, public health and security, at times in the guise of local criminal laws and regulations. There are equally challenging implications from various religious laws when applied strictly. Some countries also criminalize cross-dressing, such as where men dress up as women and vice versa, even the criminalization violates the person’s self-identified gender.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- In their submissions to the Independent Expert, civil society organizations have also highlighted important advances and remaining challenges. A non-governmental organization submitting information on China noted that the old “hooligan crime”, which had had an impact on same-sex relations between men, had now been reformed, while gender identities were not criminalized in the country. There remained issues of implementation, for example, in the employment sector, particularly in relation to transgender persons.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Men
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- On the positive side, the design of housing itself can certainly encourage greater equality vis-à-vis enjoyment and use of domestic space. An example of new ways of thinking about domestic space from a gender perspective can be seen through the development of housing projects which seek to promote non-hierarchical and more flexible uses of the home. For example, creating personal workspaces inside the home can support women who are more likely to engage in home-based income-generating activities. Another interesting development which can be found in certain policies relates to the design of kitchens, a traditionally female space which is often cramped and separated. The design of housing from a gender-sensitive perspective can better promote family integration, as well as a more equitable sharing of household responsibilities between women and men through openness and shared use of spaces.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- In order for housing to be adequate, it must be affordable. The definition of what is affordable, however, is not gender-neutral and cannot be thought of as being the same for women and men. Throughout the world, the reality is that women on average earn less than men, accumulate less pension/superannuation support over a lifetime, and have less access to financial resources in general. In a world where housing is often accessed through markets and capital, what may be affordable for the average man may not be affordable for the average woman. In Europe, for example, Eurostat found a persisting gender pay gap of 17.5 per cent on average in 27 European Union Member States.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Guiding Principles on security of tenure for the urban poor 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- States should guarantee the right of women to security of tenure, independent of their relationships with males or community members. States should adopt legislative and administrative measures to prohibit and eliminate discrimination against women in this respect by, inter alios, landlords, public housing providers and credit institutions. States should remove barriers to formal and substantive gender equality whether in laws, policies or programmes affecting tenure. The legal recognition and promotion of diverse tenure arrangements is crucial to removing barriers to tenure security for women, since, currently, they are much less likely than men to own land.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- States should also amend or repeal domestic legislation related to family and marriage which discriminates against women, so as to ensure that women and men have equal powers in all matters related to housing and land. Seemingly gender-neutral concepts or standards which discriminate against women in practice - such as the application of the "head of the household" concept - should similarly be rescinded.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The issue of water demonstrates clearly the relevance of taking a gender-sensitive approach. It is now well-documented that it is women, more than men, who spend precious hours of each day on water collection for themselves and their families when water is not provided at home. Cumulatively, women in South Africa alone must walk the equivalent of a trip to the moon and back 16 times each day just to supply their households with water. However, when States adopt a gender-sensitive approach to water delivery and management, the situation for women can change dramatically, and for the better.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- While the design of housing can be gender-sensitive, most often it is not. Scholars interested in feminist architecture have argued that: Despite this relationship of women to the home, they have little control over the nature of their housing. Architects and planners are usually men and, in the case of local authority housing estates, not of the class of those who actually spend most of their time in the flats and houses they design. It is women who bear the brunt of high-rise flats, estates with no open play spaces, inadequate laundry facilities, noise, vandalism and bad access to shops and transport. Cramped kitchens, damp, thin walls, broken lifts, dark and dangerous stairways and the numerous other consequences of low cost building, make taking care of the home and rearing young children doubly difficult and time-consuming.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Women and their right to adequate housing 2012, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The foreclosure crisis also has specific gender implications. Again, in the United States alone, researchers estimate that there were 2.5 million foreclosures from 2007 to 2009. Due to gender-based discrimination in mortgage lending, women in the United States - and ethnic minority women, in particular - were 32 per cent more likely than men to be targets of sub-prime and predatory lenders, despite having on average higher credit scores.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action highlighted the importance of tackling the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work between men and women, as an essential step towards achieving gender equality. Unfortunately, very little progress has been made since that time. The neglect of unpaid care in policy persists, at great cost to caregivers themselves. Across the world, millions of women still find that poverty is their reward for a lifetime spent caring, and unpaid care provision by women and girls is still treated as an infinite, cost-free resource that fills the gaps when public services are not available or accessible. This report calls for a fundamental shift in this status quo, as part of States' fundamental human rights obligations. Without further delay, public policies should position care as a social and collective responsibility and treat unpaid caregivers and those they care for as rights holders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
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.
- 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
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.
- 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
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Poverty is not gender-neutral, and any approach to social protection that is aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals while respecting human rights must take account of the fact that women and men experience poverty differently. Numerous studies have shown a positive link between improvement in terms of women's access to health care, education and other social benefits, and economic growth, the reduction of income poverty and overall progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Gender equality is a development objective to which gender-aware social protection can contribute.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- 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.
- 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
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Although many forms of discrimination are inherently unjust, the correlation between gender-based discrimination and economic inequalities deserves special mention since it potentially affects half of the world's population. While both men and women may experience myriad inequalities, based on factors such as their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability, gender-based discrimination is too often seen to be almost exclusively a women's problem. In its World Development Report 2012, the World Bank describes the forms of discrimination that still exist in many countries and that directly affect economic inequality between men and women. According to the World Bank, men and women still have different ownership rights in at least nine countries, and in many countries, women and girls still have fewer inheritance rights than men and boys. In addition, women continue to fare badly in the labour market generally. A stocktaking by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) shows that almost 80 countries maintain restrictions on the types of work that women are permitted to undertake. Also according to UN-Women, at the global level, women's labour force participation rates have stagnated since the 1990s. Currently, only half of women are in the labour force compared to more than three quarters of men. Despite considerable regional variations, nowhere has this gender gap been eliminated: globally, women earn on average 24 per cent less than men. In one study of four countries, lifetime income gaps between women and men were estimated to be between 31 and 75 per cent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Rights-based social protection systems can support progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by, inter alia, promoting women's participation in economic activities, increasing their participation in the workforce, providing them with income security in old age and improving nutritional levels and food security, as well as girls' access to education. If women cannot, on an equal basis with men, benefit from development, participate in the labour market and participate in public decision-making, the achievement of the Goals will be seriously compromised.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Gender inequality causes and perpetuates poverty. Gender-based discrimination limits women's opportunities to gain access to education, decent work, land ownership, credit, inheritance and other economic resources, thus increasing their likelihood of living in extreme poverty. Other factors, including age, ethnicity, race, disability and health status, compound the discrimination that women face and affect their living conditions. Accordingly, it is widely accepted that improving the situation of women is essential for sustainable development. Eliminating extreme poverty in the long run, therefore, requires careful consideration of the various types of risks and the vulnerability to poverty experienced by men and boys and by women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Across the world, women and girls commit substantially more time than men to unpaid care work. This heavy and unequal responsibility for unpaid care is a barrier to women's greater involvement in the labour market, affecting productivity, economic growth and poverty reduction. Most importantly, however, the unequal distribution, intensity and lack of recognition of unpaid care work undermines the dignity of women caregivers, obstructs their enjoyment of several human rights on an equal basis with men, undermines progress towards gender equality and entrenches their disproportionate vulnerability to poverty across their lifetime.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Guaranteeing the exercise and enjoyment of women's right to work on an equal basis with men requires that States take all appropriate measures to ensure "that in law and in practice, men and women have equal access to jobs at all levels and all occupations". States must thus take all appropriate measures to address a broad range of obstacles that care providers face in the exercise of their right to work. Given the centrality of unpaid care work to discrimination against women in the field of work, a meaningful gender-sensitive national policy or strategy to tackle these obstacles is essential. Necessary measures range from the adoption of appropriate labour regulations to the provision of quality services to support care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Based on the principle of equality between women and men, this preparation must include a gender analysis, and members of both sexes must be given the chance to represent their views, including, if necessary, through specially targeted consultations (for example, women-only spaces) and support. Processes to identify participants must not rely on community elites in a manner than can reinforce existing inequalities, for example by requiring attestation from officials or community elites that a person is likely to be "affected" by the outcome of a decision. NGOs with close knowledge of and links with the community in question can assist in identifying those within the community who are most excluded, and support their inclusion and participation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- 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.
- 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. 64
- Paragraph text
- Social protection programmes must include accountability mechanisms that are accessible to both men and women. Their design must thus take into account the gender dynamics within the community and the household that may prevent women from voicing or lodging a complaint. Such mechanisms must also take account of the realities of gender-based violence and sexual harassment. Women, for example, might be reluctant to participate in programmes or claim rights and entitlements for fear of violence or abuse from male community members or sexual harassment from a male programme implementer. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms must also incorporate sex-disaggregated indicators to assess and improve their ability to take into account women's voices.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- Support, including financial support, should be given to the work of women's organizations and men's groups challenging the gender norms that allocate responsibility for care work to women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The rights and interests of women are thus especially compromised by badly resourced and trained judicial systems and police forces, State organs that traditionally reflect and prioritize the interests of men and are dominated by men. Not only do women living in poverty come up against stark power imbalances and discriminatory cultural norms and other social structures when instituting legal proceedings, they are also disadvantaged by the lack of training afforded to officials on the application of laws relating to gender-based violence and the proper treatment of victims and handling of complaints. Women living in poverty have even less power and capacity to challenge this state of affairs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Human rights standards are concerned with the pursuit of substantive equality, rather than just formal equality. This is explicit in the approach of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which recognizes that achieving equality requires transforming unequal power relations between women and men and ensuring that all human beings can develop and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices. The Convention emphasizes that a gender-neutral policy may result in de facto discrimination against women, and that, to ensure that women enjoy the same rights as men and reach substantive equality, they may need to be treated differently.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Policymakers should invest in capacity-building to ensure that those implementing social programmes at both the national and the local levels are aware of gender issues. In addition, programmes should encourage capacity-building that empowers women to claim their rights. It is also critical that social protection programmes include built-in participation and accountability channels that are accessible to both women and men. Furthermore, gender indicators must be integrated into the monitoring and evaluation of social programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- 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.
- 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
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- One of the most significant factors inhibiting women's capacity to participate in public life is men's failure to share unpaid care work, and the lack of services supporting this work. Intense and unequal care responsibilities often confine women to the domestic sphere, excluding them from paid work and public life and preventing them from participating in important decision-making processes at the community and national level.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Lack of women's perspective in policymaking on agriculture, water and food management, despite their being key actors in these areas, results in misinformed decision-making and jeopardizes women's rights further. Similarly, policy discussions at all levels suffer from an inherent bias because women and men with intensive caring responsibilities are not present, contributing to the invisibility and inattention to care work in public policy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The gender-specific effects of economic shocks are also apparent within households. When such shocks are confronted, gender bias within the household may lead to the allocation of fewer resources (such as food) to women or the selling of female-owned assets as an initial coping strategy. Moreover, during periods of crisis, women disproportionately suffer the impacts of public spending cuts on essential services and incur a heavier load of unpaid work than men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph