“As a former MP and a lifelong politician, violence against women in politics is a close issue to me. It is a moral and ethical failure for us as a society,” speak The President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, whose office held the event on the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women.
The event brought together Vice Presidents, Government Ministers and senior officials from more than 20 United Nations Member States – some of whom spoke from personal experience about the barriers to running for office. as a female candidate.
‘Robbed’ of representation rights
Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed said that Violence against women in politics is a violation of human rights aimed at undermining governance.
“The aim of some groups is to silence women and rob them of their right to self-determination,” she said via video message.
The UN Deputy Chief of Staff noted that concrete action is needed to tackle violence against women and girls. Proposals for such national plans are part of the Secretary-General Our Common Agenda report, was the recent focus of five thematic consultations at the General Assembly.
Violence against women in politics is a form of gender-based violence that manifests itself physically, psychologically and sexually, both face-to-face and online.
Forced out of ‘public spaces’
Leader UN WomenSima Sami Bahous, says that “violence silences women, makes them invisible, pushes them out of public space. This in turn directly impedes progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to lift people out of poverty and create a more equitable, sustainable world.
Ms. Bahous pointed to hate speech as one of the motives used to discredit women in the public sector, and noted that such acts of violence are particularly unlikely against women. young people, who may respond by avoiding politics altogether.
“Only when women are safe from violence and held accountable can we make progress.. ”
Women today occupy 26.1% of parliamentary seats globally, compared with 13.1% in 2000, according to the Parliamentary Union (IPU).
The proportion of female speakers in parliament, in charge of day-to-day business management in legislatures, has also increased from 8.3% in 2005 to 24.7% in 2021.
Violence is on the rise
Only when women are safe from violence and held accountable, only then can we make progress – Head of UN Women
However, as women’s participation in politics increases, so does violence against them. The data suggests this is due to an increasing number of women speaking out about disasters, but also because there are not enough countermeasures to tackle violence.
Such countermeasures could include achieving gender equality, strengthening public awareness campaigns and attributing accountability to women, said the special rapporteur on violence against women, Reem Alsalem. culprit.
The Special Rapporteur also discussed the need for data collection as a tool to assess the extent of gender-based violence against women and girls.
The event is moderated by Ambassador Besiana Kadare, Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO. Also participating was Ambassador Darja Bavdaz Kuret of Slovenia, who is the Special Advisor on Gender in the Office of the President of the General Assembly.
