Knowledge Sharing Panel | Japan Stage

Host: Japan Civil Society Network on SDGs & United Nations Development Programme
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Gender equality is a basic human right and a critical foundation for a sustainable world. It is also an accelerator for other goals, including economic growth, reduction of poverty and hunger, and good health and education. There has been some progress in gender equality over the last decades; more girls are going to school and more women are in parliament. Despite this progress discriminatory laws and social norms, as well as physical or sexual violence, remain pervasive.

Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis could reverse this limited, but important, progress on women’s rights. The pandemic has witnessed more women than men losing their means of income. The burden of unpaid care work at home for children, the elderly and the sick has increased. With lockdown measures, a “shadow pandemic” of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified.

At this critical juncture, this session explores 4 key targets of SDG5 and discusses bold actions towards 2030:

-How can we end violence against women and girls, especially in conflict settings, and promote women’s roles in peacemaking? (Target 5.2)
-How can we eliminate harmful traditions and practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation? (Target 5.3)
-Globally, women’s representation in politics, the economy and public decision-making arenas remains low. How can we enhance women’s leadership? (Target 5.5)
-How can we ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights, so that individuals are able to lead a life based on their own freedom and choices, including those related to bearing children and ensuring a safe pregnancy and delivery? (Target 5.6)

The session will also touch upon the issue of “intersectionality,” the way in which multiple forms of inequality and discrimination, based on gender, race, disability, etc, often overlap with and exacerbate one another.

Today, not a single country can claim to have achieved gender equality, however it is gaining momentum. Let’s gear up to turn this movement into progress.

ジェンダー平等は基本的人権であり、持続可能な世界を作るには欠かせない基盤です。また、貧困と飢餓の削減、健康と教育の保障、経済発展、気候変動対策、平和など、他の目標の達成を加速する上でも重要です。

この数十年間に、ジェンダー平等はある程度の進展を遂げました。女子の就学率は上がり、女性議員の数も増えました。しかし、差別的な法律や固定観念に基づく偏見、性的暴力はなくなりません。

しかも、コロナ禍により、少しずつ積み上げてきたジェンダー平等の進歩が後退の危機に陥っています。コロナ禍によって、男性よりも多くの女性が職を失いました。家庭での育児や介護という無給のケア労働の負担はさらに重くなっています。外出禁止措置によって、女性と少女に対する暴力、特にDVという「隠れたパンデミック」も悪化しました。

重要な局面を迎えた今、このセッションでは、ジェンダー平等を目指す目標5のうち、4つの重要ターゲットを取り上げ、2030年に向けどんな行動が必要か語ります。

– 紛争下での女性と少女への暴力に終止符を打ち、女性が平和の実現に果たす役割を促進するには?(ターゲット5.2)
– 児童婚や女性器切除などの有害な伝統と慣行を撤廃するには?(ターゲット5.3)
– 政治、経済等の様々な分野で意思決定に関わる女性を増やし、女性のリーダーシップを高めるためには?(ターゲット5.5)
– 性と生殖に関する健康と権利を確保し、自身の選択に基づいた性的関係、避妊、安全な妊娠・出産を手にするためには?(ターゲット5.6)

セッションでは、ジェンダーと人種、障害など、複数のアイデンティティによる不平等と差別が複合的に作用する「交差性」の問題も取り上げます。

ジェンダー平等を達成できたといえる国はまだないものの、その動きは勢いを増しています。さらに弾みをつけ、具体的な成果へとつなげましょう!

Speakers

March 26 @ 10:00
10:00 — 10:45 (45′)

Japan Stage

Asako Tsuji, Atsuko Miwa, Mallika Iyer, Munir Hussain, Tomoko Fukuda

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