International Organizations

Women participants in Conflict

Delivering Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Interventions to Women and Children in Conflict Settings: A Systematic Review

Citation:

Als, Daina, Sarah Meteke, Marianne Stefopulos, Michelle F. Gaffey, Mahdis Kamali, Mariella Munyuzangabo, Shailja Shah, Reena P. Jain, Amruta Radhakrishnan, Fahad J. Siddiqui, Anushka Ataullahjan, and Zulfiqar A. Bhutta. 2020. "Delivering Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Interventions to Women and Children in Conflict Settings: A Systematic Review." BMJ Global Health 5 (Suppl 1).

Authors: Daina Als, Sarah Meteke, Marianne Stefopulos, Michelle F. Gaffey, Mahdis Kamali, Mariella Munyuzangabo, Shailja Shah, Reena P. Jain, Amruta Radhakrishnan, Fahad J. Siddiqui, Anushka Ataullahjan, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

Abstract:

Background: Access to safe water and sanitation facilities and the adoption of effective hygiene practices are fundamental to reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality globally. In armed conflict settings, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure poses major health risks for women and children. This review aimed to synthesise the existing information on WASH interventions being delivered to women and children in conflict settings in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to identify the personnel, sites and platforms being used to deliver such interventions. 
 
Methods: We conducted a systematic search for publications indexed in four databases, and grey literature was searched through the websites of humanitarian agencies and organisations. Eligible publications reported WASH interventions delivered to conflict-affected women or children. We extracted and synthesised information on intervention delivery characteristics, as well as barriers and facilitators. 
 
Results: We identified 58 eligible publications reporting on the delivery of WASH interventions, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)/United Nations (UN) agency staff were reported to be involved in delivering interventions in 62% of publications, with the most commonly reported delivery site being community spaces (50%). Only one publication reported quantitative data on intervention effectiveness among women or children. 
 
Discussion: This review revealed gaps in the current evidence on WASH intervention delivery in conflict settings. Little information is available on the delivery of water treatment or environmental hygiene interventions, or about the sites and personnel used to deliver WASH interventions. Limited quantitative data on WASH intervention coverage or effectiveness with respect to women or children are important gaps, as multiple factors can affect how WASH services are accessed differently by women and men, and the hygiene needs of adolescent girls and boys differ; these factors must be taken into account when delivering interventions in conflict settings.

Keywords: hygiene, maternal health, public health, treatment, systematic review

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Girls, Boys, Health, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation, International Organizations, NGOs Regions: Africa

Year: 2020

The Post-Political Link Between Gender and Climate Change: The Case of the Nationally Determined Contributions Support Programme

Citation:

Ruiz, Felipe Jaramillo, and Juan Pablo Vallejo. 2019. "The Post-Political Link Between Gender and Climate Change: The Case of the Nationally Determined Contributions Support Programme." Contexto Internacional 41 (2): 327-44.

Authors: Felipe Jaramillo Ruiz, Juan Pablo Vallejo

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
This paper interrogates to what extent the gender component of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Support Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reaffirms the post-political condition of climate change. By analysing the incorporation of gender in the NDC Support Programme and its articulation in Colombia’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy, the study exposes the strategic, epistemological, and normative risks of advancing feminist ideas within mainstream institutional frameworks. Thus, this paper shows the opportunities and challenges of dislocating the political and epistemological boundaries of climate change policies by promoting feminist ideas.

PORTUGUESE ABSTRACT:
Este artigo questiona em que medida o componente de gênero do Programa de Apoio às Contribuições Nacionalmente Determinadas (CND) do Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD) reafirma a condição pós-política das mudanças climáticas. Ao analisar a incorporação do gênero no Programa de Suporte às CDN e sua articulação na Estratégia de Desenvolvimento de Baixo- -Carbono da Colômbia, o estudo expõe os riscos estratégicos, epistemológicos, e normativos do avanço das ideias feministas dentro das estruturas institucionais tradicionais. Assim, este artigo mostra as oportunidades e desafios de deslocar as fronteiras políticas e epistemológicas das políticas de mudanças climáticas ao promover ideias feministas.

Keywords: gender, climate change, feminism, post-political, Colombia, gênero, mudança climática, feminismo, pós-política, Colombia

Topics: Development, Environment, Climate Change, Feminisms, Gender, International Organizations Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2019

The Socio-Political Construction of Climate Change: Looking for Paths to Sustainability and Gender Justice

Citation:

Fosado Centeno, Ericka. 2020. "The Socio-Political Construction of Climate Change: Looking for Paths to Sustainability and Gender Justice." Sustainability 12 (8).

Author: Ericka Fosado Centeno

Abstract:

With the purpose of getting to know the cultural and socio-political mechanisms that shape the climate agenda, this study follows a discourse analysis method and a gender perspective, for which an analytical basis is proposed to identify the cognitive, normative, and symbolic components that give meaning and substance to climate policy. Examining the productions of international organizations responsible for generating climate policy, a corpus consisting of 47 documents (reports, communications, programs, and legal framework) was analyzed, spanning from 1994 to 2015, to identify the trend of climate agenda prior to the Paris Agreement. The results indicate that the terms in which climate change is placed as a public issue contribute to reproducing a social order based on an anthropocentric, utilitarian, virtualized, and mercantilist vision of socio-environmental relations. Control mechanisms of peripheral countries and groups whose rights have been breached by discriminatory practices can emerge in this process, with women being especially affected. Based on empirical findings that follow the first two decades of climate policy, the logic underlying the climate discourse is shown, and the challenges it poses to reach more fair and sustainable agreements are discussed. Finally, some proposals are outlined to help guide the climate agenda in that direction.

Keywords: climate change, discourse analysis, gender analysis, justice, sustainability

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, International Organizations

Year: 2020

A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Women's Agency and Adaptive Capacity in Climate Change Hotspots in Asia and Africa

Citation:

Rao, Nitya, Arabinda Mishra, Anjal Prakash, Chandni Singh, Ayesha Qaisrani, Prathigna Poonacha, Katharine Vincent, and Claire Bedelian. 2019. "A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Women's Agency and Adaptive Capacity in Climate Change Hotspots in Asia and Africa." Nature Climate Change 9: 964-71.

Authors: Nitya Rao, Arabinda Mishra, Anjal Prakash, Chandni Singh, Ayesha Qaisrani, Prathigna Poonacha, Katharine Vincent, Claire Bedelian

Abstract:

There is growing concern about sustainable and equitable adaptation in climate change hotspots, commonly understood as locations that concentrate high climatic variability, societal vulnerability and negative impacts on livelihood systems. Emphasizing gender within these debates highlights how demographic, socioeconomic and agro-ecological contexts mediate the experiences and outcomes of climate change. Drawing on data from 25 qualitative case studies across three hotspots in Africa and Asia, analysed using qualitative comparative analysis, we show how and in what ways women’s agency, or the ability to make meaningful choices and strategic decisions, contributes to adaptation responses. We find that environmental stress is a key depressor of women’s agency even when household structures and social norms are supportive or legal entitlements are available. These findings have implications for the effective implementation of multilateral agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Households, International Organizations, Livelihoods, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Regions: Africa, Asia

Year: 2019

Introspecting Gender Concerns in National Action Plan for Climate Change of India

Citation:

Singh, Avantika. 2020. "Introspecting Gender Concerns in National Action Plan for Climate Change of India." Indian Journal of Public Administration 66 (2): 179-90.

Author: Avantika Singh

Abstract:

The climate sceptics faltered at COP21 Paris summit after climate change was accepted as a real threat. An agreement across tables on historical ‘polluters pay’ principle shifted the burden of curbing the emissions on developed economies. However, gender concerns were conspicuous by their absence in all agreements. Mary Robinson, a UN envoy at the summit precisely pointed out that Paris climate summit’s gender imbalance with substantial male domination is inimical to taking appropriate action to save people from climate change risks. The research shows a poor track record with minimum or no presence of women representatives in any breakthrough deal and discussion. There is a tendency to avert their voices and concerns in any stamped deals done by governments and organisations at international, national, sub-national levels. Despite such gender omission, the policy discourse carries an inherent assumption of gender neutrality while designing adaptation and mitigation efforts in averting climate-related stress. This paper is an attempt to unravel such ungendered tendency, by a critical examination of the National Action Plan for Climate Change in India to bring out an apparent masculinisation of the policy discourse.

Keywords: climate change, adaptation, vulnerability, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gender Balance, Gendered Power Relations, Masculinism, International Organizations, Political Participation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2020

Gender, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals

Citation:

Spring, Úrsula Oswald. 2019. "Gender, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals." In Úrsula Oswald Spring: Pioneer on Gender, Peace, Development, Environment, Food and Water, 225-41. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Author: Úrsula Oswald Spring

Keywords: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), women, gender equality, gender perspective, land

Annotation:

Summary:
"Climate change is severely affecting Mexico and Central America (IPCC) and has caused different impacts on men and women, regions and social classes. Several studies have shown that during disasters more women die than men. Why do the Red Cross, the World Bank and insurance companies only report the global number of deaths and damage, while other international agencies address the vulnerability of women and ignore the vulnerability of men? This approach has reinforced a woman-victim vision to justify their exclusion from decision-making processes and sharpen their post-disaster trauma. These behaviours also deprive society of efficient female support in the post-disaster period, when women have the capacity to organise refugee camps and collaborate in reconstruction processes. This lack of equity not only occurs in disaster management, but is imbued in all social processes of the present global patriarchal system" (Spring 2019, 225).

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equity, International Organizations

Year: 2019

Human Rights and the Gender Dynamics of Climate Change

Citation:

Quan, Ryan Jeremiah Donato. 2019. "Human Rights and the Gender Dynamics of Climate Change." In Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Law, edited by Michael Faure, 235-53. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Author: Ryan Jeremiah Donato Quan

Abstract:

Environmental problems affect peoples across the world, most especially marginalized and vulnerable groups, like women. Yet the plight of women who are disproportionately affected by impacts of environmental problems is not high on the priorities of many national governments. The chapter seeks to analyze women’s rights and issues in relation to the most pressing of environmental problems of our age – climate change. In the international field, the relationship between gender equality and the environment are not adequately discussed. While international organizations and non-government organizations have produced studies examining the link between gender issues and climate change, there is considerable lack of State reporting and country-specific data, not only concerning the effects of climate change on women, but also about State action to ensure the rights of women. This chapter examines the legal obligations of States pertaining to human rights of women in the context of climate change. It also considers the extent to which States and the international community, particularly the United Nations system, have addressed this issue. The study includes a discussion of the Sustainable Development Goals as the new way forward. Focus is given to Goal 5 on gender equality and Goal 13 on climate action, as well as other related goals such as Goal 1 on poverty, Goal 3 on good health and well-being, Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation, Goal 18 on life below water, Goal 15 on life on land, and Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Year: 2019

Climate Change, Oceans and Gender

Citation:

Oral, Nilufer. 2019. "Climate Change, Oceans and Gender." In Gender and the Law of the Sea, edited by Irini Papanicolopulu, 343-60. Leiden: Brill Nijhoff.

Author: Nilufer Oral

Abstract:

Climate change has traditionally been associated with the atmosphere. However, the important nexus between climate change and the ocean has gained increased recognition in the past few years. Climate change and the oceans brings into play two important but separate regimes: the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. UNCLOS was negotiated a decade before the 1992 UNFCCCUNCLOS does address gender issues and it was not until the 2015 Paris Agreement that any acknowledgment was given to the place of gender in climate change. Specifically, the preamble of the Paris Agreement calls upon Parties, when taking action to address climate change, to “respect, promote and consider their respective obligations” inter alia “gender equality and empowerment of women. The chapter will provide a brief overview the relationship between climate change and oceans, looking at the existing climate change regime, disaster regime and law of the sea regime, and then examine the place of gender in relation to climate change and oceans in these respective regimes. The chapter will show that there is an imbalanced treatment of gender among the UNFCCC climate change regime, the disaster regime and that of the UNCLOS regime.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations

Year: 2019

The Space between Us: Feminist Values and Humanitarian Power Dynamics in Research with Refugees

Citation:

Lokot, Michelle. 2019. "The Space between Us: Feminist Values and Humanitarian Power Dynamics in Research with Refugees." Gender & Development 27 (3): 467-84.

Author: Michelle Lokot

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
International humanitarian and development agencies striving to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment sometimes neglect to recognise the power hierarchies present in their own engagement with communities. Drawing on research on Syrian refugees and humanitarian workers in Jordan, this article explores the research and monitoring and evaluation practices of international humanitarian agencies. It suggests that the emphasis on generating evidence has resulted in more transactional and less relational engagement with refugees. This paper asks how feminist values can inform research with refugees, and explores how these values may provide less-extractive ways of engaging with displaced populations.
FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Les agences humanitaires et de développement internationales qui s’efforcent de promouvoir l’égalité entre les sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes négligent parfois de reconnaître les hiérarchies de pouvoir présentes dans leurs propres interactions avec les communautés. Cet article s’inspire de travaux de recherche menés parmi les réfugiés syriens et les travailleurs humanitaires en Jordanie pour examiner les pratiques de recherche et de suivi et évaluation des agences humanitaires internationales. Il suggère que l’accent mis sur l’obtention de données probantes a donné lieu à des interactions plus transactionnelles et moins relationnelles avec les réfugiés. Ce document pose la question de savoir comment les valeurs féministes peuvent éclairer les recherches menées parmi les réfugiés, et tente de déterminer comment ces valeurs pourraient fournir des manières moins extractives de dialoguer avec les populations déplacées.
SPANISH ABSTRACT:
Las agencias internacionales humanitarias y de desarrollo cuyos esfuerzos se dirigen a promover la igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de las mujeres, a veces descuidan reconocer las jerarquías de poder presentes en su propia intervención en las comunidades. El presente artículo analiza las prácticas de investigación, monitoreo y evaluación de las agencias humanitarias internacionales tomando como punto de partida una investigación sobre refugiados sirios y trabajadores humanitarios en Jordania. Al respecto sugiere que poner el énfasis en generar evidencia da lugar a un intercambio más centrado en lo transaccional que en lo relacional con los refugiados. Así, este artículo se pregunta cómo los valores feministas pueden aportar a la investigación con refugiados, examinando si es posible que proporcionen formas menos extractivas de interactuar con las poblaciones desplazadas.

Keywords: feminist values, international humanitarian agencies, refugees, power dynamics, research, monitoring and evaluation

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Feminisms, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Humanitarian Assistance, International Organizations Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Jordan

Year: 2019

‘Sometimes Fear Gets in All Your Bones’: Towards Understanding the Complexities of Risk in Development Work

Citation:

Thorpe, Holly. 2020. "‘Sometimes Fear Gets in All Your Bones’: Towards Understanding the Complexities of Risk in Development Work." Third World Quarterly 41 (6): 939-57.

Author: Holly Thorpe

Abstract:

In the context of increasing risk for aid workers, a growing body of scholarship is focused on risk management in contexts of humanitarian assistance and development work. Much less attention, however, has been given to how staff and volunteers experience such risks. This paper adopts a feminist geographical approach to explore how development workers make meaning of risk in specific contexts. Adopting a qualitative approach, it draws upon 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews with international (7) and local (7) staff of an international educational and sporting non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Afghanistan. After exploring differences between local and foreign staff perceptions of risk, it also offers a gendered analysis of risk for women development workers in Afghanistan. In so doing, this paper contributes to the growing body of literature in ‘Aidland’ studies by revealing the complex understandings of risk and fear by both foreign and local staff in the same geographical and organisational context. For NGOs seeking to make life-saving decisions based on the calculation of risk, this paper evidences the need to also create space for the voices of local and foreign staff whose experiences of risk will be highly relational, embodied, gendered and context specific.

Keywords: Aidland, risk, Afghanistan, development work, culture, gender and feminism

Topics: Conflict, Feminisms, Gender, Humanitarian Assistance, International Organizations, NGOs Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan

Year: 2020

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