I TNDMUN

The problem of gender

violence in world politics
UN WOMEN GUIDE
 SUMÁRIO
COMITTEE……………………………………………………………….........................,...................................................………...…………....…1
CONTEXT………….……………………………………...............................................................................…………………...……………………..3
MATRIARCHY: RISE AND FALL………………………...................................................…..…….…………………………3
MARRIAGE AND CONTROL……………………….…………..............................................................…………………………3
RELIGION AND INQUISITION……………..........................................................………...……………………………………4
FEMINISM AND ACHIEVEMENTS……………………………………….....................................................…………….4
TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS...5
CLIMATE CHANGE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS……....…………..5
FEMICIDES/FEMINICIDES…………….………………………….............................................................……………………..6
PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRL…………..............…………………..6
IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRL…......…………….6
REPORTING OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN………………………................................……………………….6
LAWS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS…………………........................………………….7
RISK FACTORS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS…...........……………………….7
ECONOMIC COSTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRL…………...........………….7
SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS…………................................…………….8
TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN………………………...............................................................…………………………………..8
VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS………………..............................................................………………………………………….8
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION……………………………….....................................................…………………..9
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PUBLIC LIFE………………………....................................……….9
BIBLIOGRAFIA……………………………………………...............................................................................………………………………9
 Committee
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the
empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was
established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.
UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving
gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws,
policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are
effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works
globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women
and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life,
focusing on four strategic priorities:

Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems;

Women have in come security, decent work and economic autonomy;
All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence;
Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable
peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters
and conflicts and humanitarian action.

UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing

gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda.
The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable
Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

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 Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous
socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring
productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every
society. Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and
gender wage gaps. They are too often denied access to basic education and health
care. Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination. They are
under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes.
Over many decades, the United Nations has made significant progress in advancing
gender equality, including through landmark agreements such as the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Working for the empowerment and
rights of women and girls globally, UN Women’s main roles are:

To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of

Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms;
To help Member States implement these standards, standing ready to provide
suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to
forge effective partnerships with civil society;
To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality, as well as
promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide
progress.

For many years, the United Nations faced serious challenges in its efforts to
promote gender equality globally, including inadequate funding and no single
recognized driver to direct UN activities on gender equality issues. In July 2010, the
United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to address such challenges. In
doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s
goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN
Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and
mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four
previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender
equality and women’s empowerment:

Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)

International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
(INSTRAW)
Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women
(OSAGI)
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

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 Context
Over the thousands of years of humanity, gender relations have been developed
and questioned throughout history. According to the UN, gender-based violence can
be defined as any act that results or may result in physical, sexual or mental harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether in public life or private sector. According to the WHO, one in three
women suffers or has suffered violence related to their gender.
These data, when analyzed, lead us to a frightening perspective on the global reality
that afflicts women. But after all, how and when did this start? When did our society
shape itself and adjust to the standards of today's world? It is difficult to define a
beginning for the story, therefore, for teaching purposes, it will begin with:

MATRIARCHY: RISE AND FALL

There is still much debate among historians about the existence or not
of matriarchal societies in history, however, even a mythological or
symbolic existence already represents a great power to change
perspectives regarding contemporary society.
Archaeologists found different types of sculpture in some regions
around the world, but they all represent something in common: the
sacred feminine. Scholars believe that these ancient societies had a
system in which women were considered deities. These conclusions are
due to analyses of the physical characteristics of these sculptures - as
can be seen in the image below - which included large breasts, bellies
and hips, symbols historically and anatomically linked to fertility and the
creation of new life, which for these cultures was the sacred pinnacle.

Vênus de Willendorf
https://www.turomaquia.com/as-mulheres-mandavam-na-escultura-da-pre-historia/

These representations that enshrine the feminine date mainly from the Neolithic period,
when humanity was mainly based on agriculture and directly depended on soil fertility to
survive. However, later in the age of metals, human beings began different fights for
territory and hunting, then replacing the female goddesses who represented life and the
feminine, with male warrior gods.

MARRIAGE AND CONTROL

With the stabilization of property, the need to establish a line of inheritance and heredity began to be
observed. The patrilineal inheritance system was then followed, in which descent is traced through the
paternal line. This decision occurred internally and for several reasons, such as the belief in the ease of
identifying parenthood to the detriment of motherhood, religious issues, etc.
Due to the combination of the religious and economic context, the beginning of the structuring of the
patriarchal political system was undeniable, where the man became the one who made the decisions
and the woman was subjugated to obey him and take care of the home and future heirs.

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 MARRIAGE AND CONTROL
With the stabilization of property, the need to establish a line of inheritance and heredity
began to be observed. The patrilineal inheritance system was then followed, in which
descent is traced through the paternal line. This decision occurred internally and for several
reasons, such as the belief in the ease of identifying parenthood to the detriment of
motherhood, religious issues, etc. Due to the combination of the religious and economic
context, the beginning of the structuring of the patriarchal political system was undeniable,
where the man became the one who made the decisions and the woman was subjugated to
obey him and take care of the home and future heirs.

RELIGION AND INQUISITION

During the following years, women began to have
more contact with “less masculine” activities, such as
cooking and reading, which led to them creating a
wealth of knowledge about herbs and healing.
However, at the height of the Middle Ages, the
Catholic Church vehemently repudiated everything
considered heresy, declared these women as sinners,
and began the inquisition, also called the witch hunt.

So then, between the 15th and 19th centuries, the Catholic Church condemned more
than 100,000 people to the stake on charges of heresy, most of them innocent women.

Malleus Maleficarum (“Hammer of the Witches”, in free translation) Guide used in the convictions of the
holy inquisition https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum

Facts like these instigate scholars to this day reflecting on how religion directly
impacts the modern and contemporary view of gender roles. Mainly with some symbolic
syncretism performed like Eve eating the forbidden fruit, Pandora opening the forbidden
box and many others. Therefore, giving women a status of guilt and deserving of
violence from the beginning.

FEMINISM AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Feminism is defined as: social
movement for civil rights, led by
women, which since its origins
demands political, legal and social
equality between men and women.
It began around the eighteenth
century, at the height of the French
revolution and over the last few
centuries has collected a series of
achievements regarding female
emancipation.
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 The movement was also responsible for gaining the right to vote for women, equal pay,
reproductive rights, etc. Undeniably one of the biggest milestones in the history of female
gender struggle.
Feminism is a political movement, and like all political movements it is responsible for
various philosophical and sociological debates, and although it has controversies, such as
its undeniable elitism, its role in the history of combating gender violence is also
undeniable.
Photo of the suffrage movement – fight for women’s right to vote.
https://mundoeducacao.uol.com.br/politica/sufragio-feminino.htm

TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

AND GIRLS
The lack of a common definition of technology-facilitated violence against women and
girls impacts on the lack of comparable data at a global level. But available evidence
collected at country and regional levels confirms high prevalence rates:

One in 10 women in the European Union has experienced cyber-harassment since

the age of 15, including having received unwanted and/or offensive sexually explicit
emails or SMS messages, or offensive and/or inappropriate advances on social
networking sites;
In the Arab States, a regional study found that 60 per cent of women internet users
in the region had been exposed to online violence in the past year;
In Uganda, in 2021, about half of women (49 per cent) reported being involved in
online harassment at some point in their lifetime;
According to a 2016 survey by the Korean National Human Rights;
Commission, 85 per cent of women experienced hate speech online.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND

GIRLS
Climate change and slow environmental degradation exacerbate the risks of violence
against women and girls due to displacement, resource scarcity and food insecurity
and disruption to service provision for survivors.
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the rate of rape among women displaced to
trailer parks rose 53.6 times the baseline rate in Mississippi, USA, for that year.
In Ethiopia there was an increase in girls sold into early marriage in exchange for
livestock to help families cope with the impacts of prolonged droughts.
Nepal witnessed an increase in trafficking from an estimated 3,000–5,000 annually in
1990 to 12,000–20,000 per year after the 2015 earthquake.

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 FEMICIDES/FEMINICIDES
In 2021, around 45,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate
partners or other family members. This means that, on average, more than five
women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family.
While 56 per cent of all female homicides are committed by intimate partners or other
family members, only 11 per cent of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private
sphere.

PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND

GIRLS
Globally, an estimated 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected
to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or
both at least once in their life (30 per cent of women aged 15 and older). This figure
does not include sexual harassment. The rates of depression, anxiety disorders,
unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV are higher in women
who have experienced violence compared to women who have not, as well as many
other health problems that can last after the violence has ended.
Most violence against women is perpetrated by current or former husbands or
intimate partners. More than 640 million or 26 per cent of women aged 15 and older
have been subjected to intimate partner violence.
Of those who have been in a relationship, almost one in four adolescent girls aged 15–
19 (24 per cent) has experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate
partner or husband. Sixteen per cent of young women aged 15 to 24 experienced this
violence in the past 12 months.

IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND

GIRLS
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified violence against women and girls (VAWG)
and has also exposed and exacerbated deep structural inequalities, reversed decades
of progress on women’s participation in the labour market, raised the number of
women living in extreme poverty, and increased the burden of unpaid care and
domestic work, all of which exacerbates the risk factors and drivers of VAWG.
In 2021, since the pandemic began, 45 per cent of women reported that they or a
woman they know has experienced a form of VAWG. Seven in 10 women said they
think that verbal or physical abuse by a partner has become more common. And six in
10 felt that sexual harassment in public spaces has worsened.

REPORTING OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Less than 40 per cent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort. In the
majority of countries with available data on this issue, among women who do seek help, most
look to family and friends and very few look to formal institutions, such as police and health
services. Fewer than 10 per cent of those seeking help reported to the police.

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 LAWS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
At least 162 countries have passed laws on domestic violence, and 147 have laws on
sexual harassment in the workplace. However, even when laws exist, this does not
mean they are always compliant with international standards and recommendations
or are implemented and enforced.
In 2022, the Republic of Congo and Côte d’Ivoire enacted legislation protecting
women from various forms of domestic violence, while the Republic of Congo,
Indonesia, and Jamaica enacted legislation on sexual harassment in the workplace,
including criminal penalties and civil remedies.

RISK FACTORS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

A regional analysis of Women’s Health Surveys conducted from 2016 to 2019 in five
CARICOM Member States—Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and
Tobago—found that ever-partnered women aged 15–64, who were in relationships
with men who had attitudes and behaviours that reinforce men’s dominant position
over women and perpetuate gender inequality, were more likely to have experienced
lifetime and current intimate partner violence. Behaviours intended to control
women’s bodies, autonomy, and contact with others are also strongly correlated
with an increased risk of intimate partner violence.

ECONOMIC COSTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND

GIRLS
Violence against women can result in significant costs to the state, victims/survivors, and
communities. Costs are both direct and indirect, and tangible and intangible. For example,
the costs of the salaries of individuals working at shelters are direct tangible costs. Costs
are borne by everyone, including individual victims/survivors, perpetrators, the
government, and society in general:
In Viet Nam, both out-of-pocket expenditures and lost earnings represent nearly 1.41
per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). More importantly, regression results for
estimating productivity loss due to violence indicate that women experiencing violence
earn 35 per cent less than those who are not abused, pointing to another significant
drain on the national economy.
In Egypt, some 500,000 working days are lost each year due to marital violence, and
the health sector bears more than USD 14 million in costs to serve just one quarter
(600,000) of survivors.
In Morocco, the total cost of physical and/or sexual violence against women was
estimated at MAD 2.85 billion (around USD 308 million) a year.
In 2021, gender-based violence across the European Union was estimated to cost
around EUR 366 billion a year. Violence against women makes up 79 per cent of this
cost, amounting to EUR 289 billion.

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 SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Globally, 6 per cent of women report that they have been subjected to sexual violence
from someone other than their husband or partner. However, the true prevalence of
non-partner sexual violence is likely to be much higher, considering the stigma related
to this form of violence.
Fifteen million adolescent girls worldwide, aged 15–19 years, have experienced forced
sex. In the vast majority of countries, adolescent girls are most at risk of forced sex
(forced sexual intercourse or other sexual acts) by a current or former husband,
partner, or boyfriend. Based on data from 30 countries, only 1 per cent have ever
sought professional help.

TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN
In 2020, for every 10 victims of human trafficking detected globally, about four were
adult women and about two were girls. Most of the detected victims of trafficking for
sexual exploitation (91 per cent) are women. Analysis of court cases shows that
female victims are subjected to physical or extreme violence at the hands of traffickers
at a rate three times higher than males.

VIOLENCE AGAINST GIRLS

During the past decade, the global rate of child marriage has declined, with the global
proportion of young women aged 20–24 years old who were married before the age of
18 decreasing from nearly one in four in 2010 to almost one in five (19 per cent) in
2022. However, the profound effects of the pandemic are threatening this progress,
with up to 10 million additional girls at risk of child marriage in the next decade due to
the pandemic.
School-related gender-based violence is a major obstacle to universal schooling and
the right to education for girls. Globally, one in three students, aged 11–15, have been
bullied by their peers at school at least once in the past month, with girls and boys
equally likely to experience bullying.
While boys are more likely to experience physical bullying than girls, girls are more
likely to experience psychological bullying, and they report being made fun of because
of how their face or body looks more frequently than boys.

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 FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
At least 200 million women and girls aged 15–49 have undergone female genital
mutilation in 31 countries where the practice is concentrated.
In sub-Saharan Africa, one in four women and girls has undergone female genital
mutilation. But levels vary widely across countries.
There are still countries where female genital mutilation is almost universal, where
at least nine in 10 girls and women, aged 15–49 years, have been cut, while it
affects no more than 1 per cent of girls and women in Cameroon and Uganda.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PUBLIC LIFE

Across five regions, 82 per cent of women parliamentarians reported having experienced
some form of psychological violence while serving their terms. This included remarks,
gestures, and images of a sexist or humiliating sexual nature, threats, and mobbing. Women
cited social media as the main channel of this type of violence, and nearly half (44 per cent)
reported receiving death, rape, assault, or abduction threats towards them or their families.
Sixty-five per cent had been subjected to sexist remarks, primarily by male colleagues in
parliament.
A global survey showed that 73 per cent of women journalists have experienced online
violence. Twenty per cent said they had been attacked or abused offline in connection with
online violence they had experienced. The reporting theme most often identified in
association with heightened attacks was gender (49 per cent), followed by politics and
elections (44 per cent), and human rights and social policy (31 per cent).

Bibliografia:
1. https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women
2. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-wo
men/facts-and-figures
3. https://www.infopedia.pt/apoio/artigos/$patriarcado#:~:text=O%20pat
riarcado%20surgiu%2C%20muito%20provavelmente,como%20n
a%20ca%C3%A7a%20das%20presas.
4. https://editorarealize.com.br/editora/anais/conages/2016/TRABALH
O_EV053_MD1_SA8_ID48_21042016135430.pdf
5. https://www.ihu.unisinos.br/categorias/613713-provavelmente-nunca-
existiu-uma-sociedade-matriarcal-entrevista-com-cynthia-eller
6. https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/publication_series/revista_cido
b_d_afers_internacionals/gender_violence_and_international_relatio
ns
7. https://www.here.abennacional.org.br/here/vol5num1artigo5.pdf
8. http://www.historica.arquivoestado.sp.gov.br/materias/anteriores/edic
ao21 /materia03/