Abolishing gender-based violence will boost the roles of women in politics

At the Human Rights Council annual meeting last week (30 June), the UN emphasised that there is an alarming reality for female human rights defenders, women journalists, women in public office and political decision-makers who are regularly under "vicious" attack.

The Human Rights Council meeting discussed the protection of women's and girls' rights. It was concluded that gender-based biases play a key factor in the prejudiced attitude toward women emerging into leadership positions.

The UNESCO estimates that 73 per cent of women journalists have faced abuse online, through doctored images, fake news and verbal threats.

Nighat Dad, the Executive Director of the Digital Rights Foundation, noted: "I think there are a mix of strategies to address the issue of online harassment against women journalists."

The strategies that would encourage women into leadership positions include "more and more awareness raising around the issue among different stakeholders to make tech companies realise exactly what their role is while they respond to these complaints", the executive director concluded.

In a recent study on 39 countries, UN Women found that a staggering 81,8 per cent of women in parliament had experienced psychological violence. A huge 44.4 per cent of women in leading positions also reported being threatened with death, rape, beatings and kidnapping.

More than one in four of the women asked, had tackled some form of physical violence.

Between 2018 and 2021, 35,000 women gained political leadership skills. However, as of January 2023, women represent just 22.8 per cent of Cabinet members heading Ministries – in addition to only 17 countries having a woman as their Head of State.

UN Women predict that gender equality in the leading positions of power will not be reached for 130 years, considering the current rate of development.

Volker Turk, the UN Human Rights Chief, told the Human Rights Council that the oppressors' "purpose is clear".

According to Mr Turk, the purpose of the oppressor is "to exercise control, to perpetuate subordination and to crush the political activism and aspirations of women and girls".

The most recent Gender Social Norms Index report also highlights the importance of abolishing gender-based discrimination. The report revealed that 90 per cent of people currently hold prejudiced biases towards women worldwide.

The UNESCO estimates that 73 per cent of women journalists have faced abuse online, through doctored images, fake news and verbal threats.

At the annual Human Rights Council meeting, the Human Rights Chief also called for the strengthening of national legal frameworks to protect the aspirations of women and girls.

To abolish gender-based violence on and offline, the Human Rights Chief said: "We must adopt codes of conduct with zero tolerance for gender-based violence and establish effective reporting mechanisms for those who experience it."

"In the UK, most of the definitions of hate speech are built around race and religion and some sexual orientation there's not much about sex in terms of women being targeted, so I think there's a bit of a gap there," Gill Phillips, the Director of Editorial and Legal Services at The Guardian said.

Francine Compton, the Executive Producer for APTN News also stated: "I think the most serious and the most important measure would be for legislation and that legislation would need to be put in place by a government."

At the end of the Human Council meeting, Mr Türk recognised how women make up half of humanity and pledged to "pledge to take concrete and transformative action to tackle gender-based violence against women and girls in public and political life and to promote their participation and leadership".

The Human Rights Chief, also noted that "Gender equality is not a matter of isolated gains for women alone, it is a collective pursuit that benefits entire societies".