de freitas 809000325 gend3039 assignment 1

7/27/2019 De Freitas 809000325 GEND3039 Assignment 1

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BUS.P.14

2011/2012

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

The Office of the Board for Undergraduate Studies

INDIVIDUAL PLAGIARISM DECLARATIONThis declaration is being made in accordance with the University Regulations onPlagiarism (First Degrees, Diplomas and Certificate) and should be attached to all work

submitted by a student to be assessed as part of or/the entire requirement of the course,other than work submitted in an invigilated examination.

Statement

1. I have read the Plagiarism Regulations as set out in the Faculty Handbook and

University websites related to the submission of coursework for assessment.

2. I declare that I understand that plagiarism is the use of anothers work pretending

that it is ones own and that it is a serious academic offence for which the University

may impose severe penalties.

3. I declare that the submitted work indicated below is my own work, except where

duly acknowledged and referenced.

4. I also declare that this paper has not been previously submitted for credit either in

its entirety or in part within the UWI or elsewhere.

5. I understand that I may be required to submit the work in electronic form and accept

that the University may check the originality of the work using a computer-based

plagiarism detection service.

TITLE OF ASSIGNMENT- Assignment 1COURSE CODE: GEND3039

COURSE TITLE: Gender and Development with Reference to Caribbean Culture

STUDENT ID: 809000325

By signing this declaration, you are confirming that the work you are submitting is originaland does not contain any plagiarised material.

I confirm that this assignment is my own work, and that the work of other persons has been

fully acknowledged.SIGNATURE

DATE


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The Millennium Development Goals, as outlined by the UN, forms a blueprint

agreed to by all the worlds countries and all the worlds leading development institutions.

(United Nations Millennium Development Goals. par 1) The English speaking Caribbean,

like the rest of the Caribbean, is considered a part of the Global South. The term Global

South means that the Caribbean is still in development. The implication of this is that the

English-speaking Caribbean, as a result of this Global South status, has several

development-oriented bodies. Organisations such as CARICOM and the Caribbean

Development Bank exist to facilitate movement from Global South status to Global North

status, while organisations such as WEDO (Women Environment Development

Organisation) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) aim to

develop sustainable methods achieving this development. Oftentimes, when one thinks of

development and Caribbean, one thinks of Haiti. While Haitis plight is a justifiable

source of concern, it must be noted that there are numerous NGOs and Civil Societies that

work with other Caribbean nations (as well as other Global South nations, such as Small

Island Developing States) to achieve the goal of Global North status. Despite the

proliferation of development organisations, many developmental organisations ignore or

downplay the important role that gender plays in economic, social and cultural

development. There is a long history of applying the formula of add women and stir as

casual or token attempts at gender mainstreaming, in lieu of actual, well-developed gender

mainstreaming initiatives. There are very few organisations whose main aim is the

integration of gender and development. However, the existence several of womens


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organisations (such as WINAD, CANROP and CAFRA) ensures that this integration is not

completely disregarded by other development organisations. The vigilance of such groups,

with their gendered approaches to various issues, has encouraged other Caribbean

organisations to consider the importance of gender in development, and this has led to

attempts at gender mainstreaming within these organisations. In the face of the limited

success of gender mainstreaming within the UN, however, UN Women was formed to focus

on women and gender issues. Within the Caribbean, UN Women has been actively involved

in integrating women and gender into Caribbean development.

UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment

of Women, was formed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010. The arm was

formed to expedite the mandates of the Millennium Development Goals(MDG), whose

2015 deadline is swiftly approaching. A UN Women brief indicated that it had been noted

that the MDG of Gender Equality had seen less success and progress than other MDGs, and

it was this realisation that led to the creation of UN Women. UN Women was formed out of

the merger and integration of four separate gender-based arms of the United Nations: the

Division for the Advancement of Women, the International Research and Training Institute

for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and

Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women. It was hoped

that the amalgamation of these organisations would lead to a more unified and expeditious

approach to gender issues. It is undeniable that UN Women-Caribbean, as a multi-country

office, has played a vital role in the organisation of gender and development policies. The

Caribbean Multi-Country Office (MCO) of UN Women serves Antigua & Barbuda,

Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts-Nevis, St.


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Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Anguilla, Bermuda,

British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks & Caicos Islands, Bonaire, Curacao,

Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Aruba. In these countries, UN Women has had varying

degrees of success.

UN WOMEN states that their main objectives are

expanding womens voice, leadership, and participation; ending violence

against women and girls; strengthening womens full participation in conflict

resolution and peace processes; enhancing womens economic

empowerment; and making gender equality central to national developmentplanning and budgeting.

Within the Caribbean, UN Women has spearheaded initiatives to reduce the spread of

HIV/AIDS and end violence towards women. By treating with these issues, some of the

obstacles to development (such as the unequal access to resources and opportunities) will

be eliminated. It is not by coincidence that gender equality is one of the objectives of the

Millennium Development Goals. Historically, women have been stripped of their power

and given fewer rights and protections than men. It has been asserted that development

cannot occur with half of a countrys population disempowered and disenfranchised. Thus,

one of the most effective ways to stimulate development is to empower the portion of the

population that has been disempowered. It is with this assertion in mind that UN Women

operates, paying particular attention to the issue of the feminization of HIV/AIDS and

violence against women.

The UNIFEM Caribbean Office (2007) recognizes that HIV/AIDS is both a

developmental and health issue(5). The phenomenon of the feminization of HIV/AIDS is of

increasing concern to those dedicated to gender equality because it is an indicator of the

inequalities that exist between men and women. These inequalities include unequal access


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to appropriate sexual protection, unequal access to sex education, and unfair treatment of

women that is justified by gender stereotypes. Despite an awareness of the spread of

HIV/AIDS through heterosexual sex, and an awareness that more women and girls are

being diagnosed with with HIV/AIDS, few attempts have been made to approach the issue

from a gendered lens. This lack of a gendered approach means that initiatives are seldom

organised to specifically target women and girls. The erasure of women in HIV/AIDS

prevention and awareness campaigns has had, and will continue to have, an immense

impact on the spread of the disease in the Caribbean.

Violence against women is considered one of the most prevalent forms of human

rights violation, as it violates the right to be free from the threat of violence. The fact that

violence is often directed at half of the worlds population is also of great concern. Thus, it

is the aim of UN Women to eliminate this violence once and for all. UN Women

(Caribbean) indicates that the Caribbean has one of the highest rates of violence against

women in the world. Despite claims made by the Secretary General of the Organization of

American States that there is insufficient data on the incidence of violence against women

to fully understand its effects, UN Women Caribbean estimates that every one in three

women will become a victim of domestic violence. Despite the lack of precise figures, there

is consensus among policy-makers, NGOs, and agents of UN Women, that the Caribbean

notion of masculinity has an integral role to play in the perpetuation of violence against

women.

Prior to any analysis of the impact that UN Women has had on the English-Speaking

Caribbean, it is necessary to point out that in the context of this essay, impact is seen as

having multiple applications. In a tangible sense, the UN Women has had an impact on


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policy making, insofar as it has been crucial developing various policies that have been

implemented in the English-speaking Caribbean. An example of this kind of impact can be

seen in Belize where UN Women worked in Collaboration with the Belizean government to

implement a Gender Budget Initiative. In a less tangible sense, UN Women plays an active

role in creating awareness of the challenges to women and gender equality by opening up

public discourse on gender issues and engaging in educational campaigns. An example of

this kind of impact can be seen in Dominica, where UN Women collaborated with the

Dominican government to inform and educate citizens about the OECS Family law and

Domestic Violence Reform Initiative through radio programs.

In Trinidad and Tobago, UN Women has not had the kind of impact that it has had in

other Caribbean countries. The country has seen policy changes, such as the development

of a national policy on HIV/AIDS, however, other crucial policies, such as a national

gender policy are still not forthcoming. The Trinidad and Tobago government has

spearheaded many initiatives to treat with HIV/AIDS, however, these initiatives often lack

the gendered lens that UN Women encourages. Despite the awareness of the feminization

of HIV/AIDS, no action has been taken to address the disease as it pertains to women and

girls. As has been previously mentioned, the erasure of women in HIV/AIDS awareness

and prevention campaigns has meant that there are no approaches that cater to at-risk

women, such a sex workers. Additionally, despite the recognition that the disease is most

prevalent among young women and older men, no attempt has been made to address the

implications of these figures: the phenomenon of older men preying on younger women.

Regionally, UN Women has had a bit more success. It has partnered with various

Caribbean nations to develop national gender policies and education programs. It has


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provided consultants and assisted with the implementation of a variety of NGOS. Two of

UN Womens most prominent NGO partners are CAFRA and DAWN. These organisations,

in collaboration with UN Women, develop programs in various Caribbean countries with

the aims of encouraging womens participation and the empowerment of women. It must be

noted that the most co-operative nations, in terms of gender policy and practices, seem to

be Jamaica, Dominica, Barbados, and Guyana.

Internationally, UN Women has been actively engaging governments and NGOs

around the world to recognise the importance of disaggregated data when studying

developmental issues. Most womens groups celebrated the creation of an organisation that

dealt explicitly with the concerns and needs of women. Crossette (2010) echoes the

satisfaction at finally having a womens organisation after the perceived failure of gender

mainstreaming. Crosette (2010) also echoed the hesitance that many womens groups felt

with regard to UN Women: the organisations potential was recognized, but its

effectiveness and success remained to be seen. As the byline to Crossette (2010) states,

"Gender mainstreaming" at the United Nations failed. Will an agency solely dedicated to

promoting women's rights in development do better?

Apart from the hesitation expressed, UN Women has met very little vehement

opposition. Most governments and NGOs lauded the creation of a woman-focused UN

body. There was a recognition that if global development goals were to be met, there would

need to be an increase of the focus on gender and womens issues. At the recent Third

Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) meeting of the UN General Assembly to

consider the advancement of women, there were calls for gender equality and

empowerment to be a stand-alone target for the post-2015 development agenda (par 15).


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Despite wariness towards UN Women, these calls indicate a desire by Caribbean states, as

well as other states to overcome gender discrimination and violence, which has long been a

hindrance to national, regional and international development.


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References

Background. We can end poverty: Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015.Accessed October 5, 2013.

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml

Crossette, Barbara. After 65 years, a UN Agency for Women. in The Nation, July 6,

2010.

http://www.thenation.com/article/37121/after-65-years-un-agency-women#

Gender Issues UN Women Caribbean- United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and

the Empowerment of Women. Accessed October 9, 2013.http://www.unifemcar.org/ge_is.cfm

Goal Three: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women We can end poverty:

Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015. Accessed October 5, 2013.

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/gender.shtml

Sixty-Eighth General Assembly, Third Committee. Speakers Urge stand-alone Status

For Gender Equality, Empowerment In Post-2015: Framework As ThirdCommittee Considers Advancement Of WomenDepartment of Public Education.

Accessed October 13, 2013.http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/gashc4069.doc.htm

UNIFEM Caribbean Office. Capacity Building for Mainstreaming Gender Analysis in

HIV and AIDS Programming in the Caribbean- Gender Checklist and Indicatorsfor HIV and AIDS Policies and Programmes Accessed on October 10, 2013.

http://www.unifemcar.org/Photos/UNIFEM%20Gender%20Mainstreaming

%20Technical%20Guide.doc
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/gashc4069.doc.htmhttp://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/gashc4069.doc.htm


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