IASC Gender Handbook THE BASICS Different Needs — Equal Opportunities

1. IASC Gender Handbook THE BASICSDifferent Needs — Equal Opportunities Dr. Madhumita Sarkar GenCap Gender Advisor UNRC Sri Lanka

2. Schematic Diagram for Gender Equality Programming The Goal The human rights of women, girls, boys and men are equally promoted and protected and gender equality is achieved Targeted action based on gender analysis Gender Mainstreaming Programmes to empower women and girls Human rights based approach to programming Gender based violence programming Strategies & Programmes Sexual exploitation and abuse programming Gender balance in agencies A gender analysis informs programme planning, implementation and evaluation

3. Framework for Gender Equality programming • Analyze gender differences • Design services to meet the needs of all • Access ensured for all • Participate equally • Train women and men equally • and • Address GBV in sector programs • Collect and analyze and report sex/age disaggregated data • Target action based on gender analysis • Coordinate actions with all partners • ( IASC Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action)

4. Targeted Action Based on Gender Analysis Conflicts/disasters have very different impacts on women, girls, boys and men. They face different risks and are victimised in different ways. Paying attention to gender means recognizing the different needs, capacities and contributions of women and men, girls and boys. Gender equality is about ensuring that the protection and assistance provided in emergencies is planned and implemented in a way that benefits men and women equally,taking into account an analysis of their needs as well as their capacities. Gender is not an ‘issue’ or a sector on its own. It is integral to every issue and area of work.

5. Gender Analysis: Main Points • Always ask about the differences between women’s and men’s experiences. • Ask questions about the responsibilities, activities, interests and priorities of women and men, and how their experience of problems may differ • Seek the inputs and views of women as well as men about decisions that will affect the way they live • Avoid assuming that all women or all men share the same needs and perspectives

6. Gender Analysis: Main Points • Undertake participatory assessment with women, girls, boys and men together and separately. • Consult with the entire affected population • Use the information to guide your programmes

7. Good practice following the Orissa cyclones. For example, in distributing blankets, Concern asked women to form a committee, allowed them to identify the most needy and then distribute the blankets themselves. A weaving project started by ActionAid was applauded because weavers were able to intervene; they were subsequently taken to another area to select their own cotton and then given assistance with marketing

8. Gender Mainstreaming Gender mainstreaming is a means of attaining gender equality. It is an approach used to integrate women’s and men’s needs and experiences into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Policies and Programmes in all political, economic, religious and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated.

9. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WHO DOES WHAT? What do men and women do and how and where do they do it? When doing Gender Analysis of a community, we could ask: What roles do men and women typically play in the community? What is the kind of work, men and women commonly do in the community? Who works for pay? How much does men and women get paid for the same work? (eg at the construction site, while making roads, etc) Who cares for children and does other family work (‘reproductive work’)? Who cares for the children when women go out to work? How many hours a day are spent on home and family care? And by whom? What number of hours are spent doing unpaid, underpaid, or undervalued work and by whom? Is there a family member involved in a community organization or volunteer work? Who, And for how many hours a week?

10. When doing Gender Analysis of a program, we could ask: What roles do men and women typically play in the program? Does the program ensure equal opportunity to men and women in different positions, Does the program change the activity patterns of men or women, and how? Does the program increase or decrease women or men’s workload (reproductive or productive)? Does the program address the specific needs of men and women?

11. Questions on Access and Control • Who has access and control over resources, information, knowledge, networks, services and decision making? • On whose name is the house / property registered? • Are women paid different wages than men for the same work? • Who controls household income? • Which decisions in the home do men and women typically make? • Which decisions in the community do men and women typically make? • What level of education and/or training do men and women have? • Who has access to information on: health, poverty alleviation programs, trainings, government initiatives, food for work programs, etc • Who has access to services like health care, education, etc? • Who takes decisions on participation in different foras in the community – like LOCAL POLITICAL BODIES

12. When doing Gender Analysis of a program, we could ask: Who makes decisions and who does the groundwork in the program? How many men and women are involved in the programming planning and execution? What knowledge do women and men have about the particular sector or issue addressed by the program? Do women and men have equal access to program events, benefits or services? Who benefits the most from the program?

13. Questions on Influencing Factors • What is the social, political and/or economic factor that explains the answers to the above questions? • What are the cross-cutting issues? • In this step we are basically looking at why the responses to roles and responsibilities and access and control are the way they are. What are the influencing factors? The influencing factors could be: • Caste • Religion • Disability • Geographic location • Values • Economic status • Political ideology/ structures/ institutions • Education/training • Policies

14. Questions that could be asked to the community Does GENDER affect the roles and responsibilities in the home/community/programs? Does GENDER affect the way the roles are valued/ or responsibilities given to men and women? Does GENDER/caste/religion/ geographic location affect access to services? Does GENDER/caste/religion/disability/ sexual orientation affect participation in institutions? How does caste/culture/ religion/ disability affect the distribution and consumption of food/ access to education/ mobility? How does violence within the family and community affect participation in programs? Does political structures/ideology affect participation of women and men in these institutions?

15. Mainstreaming Good practice is noted in response to the Mozambique flood when agencies took a long-term approach to recovery that included joint tilling of land, joint housing registration in a couple’s name or the woman’s name in female headed households, and women’s obligatory participation in construction committees

16. GAD lessons from the Australian Aid Program The Indonesia Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Project: The project recognized the different roles that men and women play in supporting women during pregnancy and childbirth. In designing health education and health outreach activities, the project undertook gender-sensitive surveys and used the findings to develop health communication materials and strategies that took into account the gender differences. The information was used to develop a GAD strategy and health communication activities in a way that recognized the need for different messages and approaches for men and women. The project incorporated gender issues in health worker training and in training for master trainers, to ensure their sensitivity to gender when developing future health worker training. Furthermore, it incorporated gender in the development of the activity monitoring system

17. Empowerment Empowerment is about people - both women and men - taking control over their lives: setting their own agendas, gaining skills, building self confidence, solving problems and developing self reliance. In essence, “empowerment” implies a shift in the power relations that cause a particular social group to suffer low social status or systematic injustice. • During a visit to a Tsunami camp location in India it was observed that some men, women and children were sitting under trees away from the main cluster of camps. When asked, the men reported, “ these are lower caste community and work on our boats as laborers. They are not affected by the tsunami.”

18. During one of the initial trainings with Mahila Samakhya, a programme for women's equality and empowerment in India, we were discussing change. We were talking about what kind of world would we like to have and what all needs to be changed. We used the metaphoric symbol of a cot for present system whose four legs are uneven. So when we sit on it we shake which makes us uncomfortable and insecure. "What shall we do?" Women empowerment is associated with changing power relationships in all spheres of life

19. Human rights-based approach to programming • It identifies rights-holders and their entitlements and corresponding duty-bearers and their obligations, and seeks to strengthen the capacities of rights-holders to make their claims and of duty-bearers to satisfy these claims. A rights-based approach also emphasizes principles of participation and empowerment of women and accountability for violations of their human rights. • Immediately on arrival in the camp 21 men are rounded up and put in jail, they are in lock up for the past three months… • Girls cannot go to school alone they need to move in groups…

20. Gender-based violence programming • Gender-based violence against women, girls, boys and men increases in conflict situations. These violations undermine and place barriers to the enjoyment of rights and the attainment of gender equality

21. What is GBV? UNHCR (2003) • Any harm that is done against a person’s will based on their gender and that has a negative impact on that person’s physical and psychological health, development, and identity IASC (2005) • An umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will, and that is based on socially ascribed (gender) differences between males and females

22. GBV in Conflict • Random • By-product of the collapse in social and moral order • “War booty” • Systematic • Carried out to destabilize populations and destroy bonds • Aim is often for maximum humiliation and shame for survivor and her family

23. GBV in Conflict • Stop resistance through fear • Women’s bodies are used to “send a message” to opposing groups • Tool for ethnic cleansing • Public rape to encourage flight • Forced impregnation, mutilation of genitals and reproductive organs, intentional HIV transmission, murder of pregnant women

24. GBV in ConflictOther Examples • Rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced abortion • Girl child soldiers expected to provide sexual services in addition to other duties • Exclusion from Recovery programs • Ongoing victimization

25. Other forms of GBVNot necessarily conflict-related • Rape, sexual abuse, incest • Trafficking • Pre-flight or while fleeing • Refugee/IDP girls sometimes “disappear” (no data) • Harmful Traditional Practices • Forced/early marriage • Sex-selective abortion, infanticide, neglect (60 million girls missing worldwide) • FGM (90 million girls in Africa) • Domestic Violence • Sexual Exploitation

26. Why? • Lack of understanding of GBV; attitudes and behavior of “helpers” (us) • Under-reporting • Not a priority (Life saving issue?) The women and child desk/Crime against women desk as it is known in different countries is not recognized as an important desk/ not invested with many powers • Lack of data = it doesn’t happen • “You don’t understand our culture.” • “We don’t have that here.” • “It is a private matter.” • Laws and policies in the country

27. Case study The Australian Women at Risk Program is designed to identify refugee women at risk in refugee camps or during armed conflicts to fast track their removal to safe locations. Since its inception the project has failed to meet its modest quota. Despite sixteen million refugee women and children less than a third of the annual allocation of sixty visas were issued. • What could be the difficulties in identifying women at risk? • What needs to be done?

28. The problem The potential key to the problem was identified when it was found that seven out of the 22 senior male officials used a revealing phrase in the difficulties faced in identifying women at risk. They described that the trauma that some women experience was ‘only rape’ implying that rape was insufficient ground for considering a woman for the project.

29. If only rape was the criterion we could send you most of the women. It happens all the time specially single young women, we cannot do much about it….. An official said rape is not the criterion for according refugee status so it cannot be applied to the project. More extreme forms of violence need to be experienced. Rape is so common , that is the way women got extra food from the guards. Some women exploited their sexuality within the camp situation to get favors from the guards It happened to them even before they came, so women are used to it sort of expect it so don’t see it as violence like beaten up or tortured. From: refugees, race and gender: the multiple discrimination against refugee women- by Eileen Pittaway and Linda Bartolomei

30. Gender balance in humanitarian agencies Gender balance is a human resource issue — referring to the number of women versus men employed by agencies (international and national staff) and in programmes that such agencies initiate or support, such as shelter/WATSAN/food distribution programmes.

31. Sexual exploitation and abuse programming While SEA can be perpetuated by anyone, the term SEA has been used in reference to sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by personnel of our organizations, including both civilian staff and Uniformed peacekeeping personnel. Sexual Exploitation • “Sexual exploitation” means the ABUSE of a position of: • vulnerability • differential power; or • trust for sexual purposes “Sexual abuse” occurs when there is a physical intrusion of a sexual nature: • by force • under unequal conditions; or • under coercive conditions.

32. Sexual exploitation and abuse programming • Sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers constitute acts of gross misconduct and are therefore grounds for termination of employment; • Sexual activity with children (persons under the age of 18) is prohibited regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally. Mistaken belief in the age of a child is not a defence; • Exchange of money, employment, goods, or services for sex, including sexual favours or other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behavior is prohibited. This includes exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries.

33. Sexual exploitation and abuse programming • Sexual relationships between humanitarian workers and beneficiaries are strongly discouraged since they are based on inherently unequal power dynamics. Such relationships undermine the credibility and integrity of humanitarian aid work. • Where a humanitarian worker develops concerns or suspicions regarding sexual abuse or exploitation by a fellow worker, whether in the same agency or not, s/he must report such concerns via established agency reporting mechanisms. • Humanitarian workers are obliged to create and maintain an environment which prevents sexual exploitation and abuse and promotes the implementation of their code of conduct. Managers at all levels have particular responsibilities to support and develop systems which maintain this environment.

34. A gender analysis informs programme planning, implementation and evaluation

35. What do we analyze? • Analyse the impact of the humanitarian crisis on women, girls, boys and men.

36. Design Services Design services to meet the needs of women and men equally. Each sector should review the way they work and make sure women and men can benefit equally from the services, for example there are separate latrines for women and men; hours for trainings, food or non-food items distribution are set so that everyone can attend, etc

37. Ensure access Make sure that women and men can access services equally. Sectors should continuously monitor who is using the services and consult with the community to ensure all are accessing the service

38. Ensure participation Ensure women, girls, boys and men participate equally in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian response, and that women are in decision making positions. If it is problematic to have women in committees, put in place mechanisms to ensure their voices are brought to the committees

39. Trainwomen and men equally Ensure that women and men benefit equally from training or other capacity-building initiatives offered by the sector actors. Make certain that women and men have equal opportunities for capacity building and training, including opportunities for work or employment.

40. Address gender-based violence Make sure that all sectors take specific actions to prevent and/or respond to gender-based violence. The IASC Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings should be used by all as a tool for planning and coordination.

41. Disaggregate data by age and sex Collect and analyse all data concerning the humanitarian response by age and sex breakdown, with differences analysed and used to develop a profile of at-risk populations and how their needs are being met by the assistance sector.

42. Targeted Actions Based on the gender analysis, make sure that women, girls, boys and men are targeted with specific actions when appropriate. Where one group is more at-risk than others, special measures should be taken to protect that group. Examples would be safe spaces for women and measures to protect boys from forced recruitment.

43. Coordinate Set up gender support networks to ensure coordination and gender mainstreaming in all areas of humanitarian work. Sector actors should be active in coordination mechanisms.

44. Checklists to assess gender equality programming All actors should use the “basics’, “protection” and “participation” checklists in addition to their sector-specific checklist.

48. Thank You