SaharGamal
Ms.Gamal
Independent Member, Egypt.
CSW65 Parallel Event: Women and Corruption, Friday, 19 March 2021.
Women's UN Report Network (WUNRN) and Graduate Women International (GWI).
Women in power and decision-making, Women and the economy, Human rights of women, Education and training of women, Violence against women, Women and poverty, Institutional mechanisms, Women and health, Women and the media
SDG 1 – No Poverty, SDG5 – Gender Equality, SDG8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality, SDG16 – Peace and Justice Strong Institutions, SDG17 – Partnerships to achieve the Goal
Bullying (2016), Harassment (2016), Tolerance of Minority Groups (2016), Human Trafficking (2016), Sexual Harassment in Workplace (2019)
Decreasing corruption requires addressing the causes that lead to it and the role played by gender. Women and girls can be the victims or the agents depending on the situation.
The session focused on addressing the gender dimensions of corruption and how they lead to depriving women of their rights particularly in fields like education, politics and economy. Male dominated communities tend to benefit men on the expense of women. The answer to that is promoting an increase in women in leadership positions and in politics to help decrease corruption and increase gender equality. The presenters discussed both effects, corruption on women and women on corruption, in private and public sectors. They highlighted the fact that numerous forms of corruption are unreported, and thus unaddressed, because of gender-related factors such as stereotyping and patriarchal norms. This drew the attention to the effect of civil societies and judicial systems in promoting gender equality and justice. Suggested means for addressing these gender dimensions of corruption include: improving diversity and inclusiveness; promoting the quality education of women and girls; empowering women economically; promoting data collection and publication; effecting accountability and transparency; adopting gender-sensitive reporting and protection mechanisms; and highlighting Gender Champions as agents of change.
In addition to their life-long advocacy of women and girls' rights to quality education and economic empowerment, GWI members can adopt these suggested means of addressing the gender dimensions of corruption. NFAs can raise the awareness of their local communities to the destructive effect of corruption on their safety and sustainability. They can also highlight their local Gender Champions.
GWI, through its NFAs, can collaborate with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) by providing case studies of corruption and how the local communities handled them. Exchanging experiences and information could be very helpful to both parties.
