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Policy Engagement

No Small Victory

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New legislation includes child marriage as a form of violence against women
Tue, 03/19/2013
ICRW Staff

The reauthorized Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for the first time includes provisions on working to end child marriage worldwide .

Earlier this month – just before International Women’s Day – the U.S. Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This in itself was a triumph. However, there was another victory won that warrants special attention: the legislation includes new, groundbreaking protections for young women and girls affected by child marriage.

This is a critical step in upholding the rights of adolescent girls around the world, and in shielding them from the harmful practice of  child marriage, which often has devastating consequences for girls, their families and their communities.

Under the leadership of Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL), who have consistently pushed for American leadership on this issue, provisions requiring the U.S. Secretary of State to author a national strategy to end child marriage were inserted to the VAWA reauthorization. ICRW and its partners in the Girls Not Brides USA coalition have advocated for the creation of such a strategy for years, and welcome the news that this important strategy will become a foreign policy reality for the United States.

If present trends continue, 142 million girls will marry over the next decade. That’s 38,000 girls married every day for the next 10 years. The costs of child marriage are high, not only for the girls themselves, but also for communities and societies as a whole. Because their bodies are not fully developed, child brides are at a very high risk of facing complications in pregnancy and childbirth – childbirth is the leading cause of death for girls ages 15-19. Young brides are more likely to experience gender-based violence, to drop out of school and to contract sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

These staggering statistics underscore the urgency of US action to end this debilitating practice. The provisions in the VAWA reauthorization are both a welcome and a necessary step forward in the quest to ensure that this is done.

The Foreign Assistance Act: New and Improved

Submitted by Roxanne Stachowski on Tuesday, September 6, 2011
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Congressman to Release Draft Legislation

The United States is the largest bilateral donor of official development assistance in the world, providing billions of dollars every year for humanitarian and long-term development support. Right now, thanks to this assistance, millions of people affected by drought and famine in the Horn of Africa are receiving food, water and other vital emergency supplies. Haitians are rebuilding their roads, businesses and spirit after the earthquake of 2010.

Redistributing Power

Redistributing Power
Stories from Women Leading the Fight Against AIDS

Cynthia Powell, Eva V. Cantrell, Reshma Trasi
2011

In 2006, the “Advancing Women’s Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action” initiative was launched to equip and empower a cadre of women from around the world with the knowledge and skills to strengthen and lead the global response to AIDS. Implemented by a consortium led by the Centre for Development and Population Activities and including the International Center for Research on Women, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS and the National Minority AIDS Council, the initiative consisted of six global, regional and national workshops designed to enhance participants’ confidence and self-efficacy, strengthen their program management skills and expand their professional networks.

This publication profiles seven extraordinary women who passed through the program. From civil war-torn northern Uganda to the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, these women leaders share their struggles, their evolution and the passion they have for empowering those around them.

(4.99 MB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

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Legislation for Women’s Rights

Submitted by Ann Warner on Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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New Laws Advance Rights, But Sustainable Change Takes Time

During a recent meeting in Ethiopia with lawyers and advocates working for women’s rights in East Africa, my colleagues and I were inspired to see how countries have made strides in advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality on a policy level.

Stella Mukasa

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Stella Mukasa, ICRW director gender, violence rights
Stella
Mukasa
Director, Gender, Violence and Rights
Bio: 

Stella Mukasa is director of gender, violence and rights at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). In this role, Mukasa oversees ICRW’s research, policy analyses and programmatic work to develop solutions that address the underlying causes that lead to violence against women.

Mukasa is a lawyer with 20 years of experience in gender and human rights, spanning government, international development and academia. She began her law career in 1993 at the Ministry of Gender and Community Development in Uganda. As a legal officer, she advised political heads, conducted action research and engaged with policy makers for law reform including work on the 1995 constitution, which established some of the most progressive reforms for women in the region. During her time with the ministry, she also provided legal aid to women and participated in preparing Uganda’s Joint first and second country status report on the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women.

In 1997, she joined Nordic Consulting Group (NCG) Uganda Ltd., affiliated with an international network of NCG companies in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, a private sector international development consulting firm. During her 10-year tenure, she advised governments, national and international nongovernmental organizations and development agencies on gender-responsive policy development, including Rwanda’s Constitution and Uganda’s Domestic Violence Act. Mukasa conducted program reviews and evaluations for governments, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors including DFID, Danida, NORAD, SIDA and the United Nations. She also was a part-time lecturer on gender, law and human rights at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

She has served as chair and vice chair on the boards of Akina Mama wa Afrika and ActionAid International Uganda, respectively.

Expertise: 

Violence Against Women, Measurement and Evaluation, Advocacy and Policy Engagement

Languages Spoken: 

English, Luganda

Education: 

Mukasa holds a bachelor’s of laws from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, a diploma in legal practice from the Law Development Centre in Kampala, and a master of laws, law in development from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Recognizing Rights Promoting Progress

Recognizing Rights Promoting Progress
The Global Impact of CEDAW

Ann Warner
2010

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) provides an important tool for countries to use in realizing the potential of women and girls. In the three decades since this convention was adopted by the United Nations and ratified by 186 of 193 nations, countries have incorporated CEDAW principles in their national constitutions, legislation and administrative policies. Countless civil society organizations and individual women have relied on the principles of the convention to improve the lives of women and girls.

This report describes some examples of the impact CEDAW has had around the world and focuses on select cases and countries where CEDAW ratification and implementation have led to concrete changes in the opportunities afforded to women and girls.

The paper focuses on the following areas:

  • Ending violence and trafficking in women and girls
  • Improving conditions for women's economic opportunity
  • Increasing women's political participation
  • Advancing human rights of women by promoting equality
(1.84 MB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

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On the Map: Charting the Landscape of Girl Work

On the Map: Charting the Landscape of Girl Work

Margaret Greene, Anjala Kanesathasan, Gwennan Hollingworth, Jennifer Browning and Eve Goldstein-Siegel
2010

Girls receive a disproportionally small share of the total development dollars invested globally each year, but the field is primed for even greater action and investment. Before charting the way forward, it is important to understand more about current efforts underway on behalf of girls.

ICRW designed a mapping exercise to identify the scope and range of girl work being undertaken by key development actors and to analyze the core directions, synergies, opportunities and gaps inherent across the efforts of multiple stakeholders.

This report presents the key findings from this exercise, describing what we have learned about the donors and organizations engaged in girl work, the policy and program efforts underway, and current and future directions for the field. It is hoped that the findings and considerations emerging from this mapping exercise will contribute toward a more strategic and coordinated effort to mobilize additional actors, resources and ideas on behalf of girls around the world.

(547.73 KB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

Terms and Conditions »

Involve Men to Prevent Violence Against Women

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ICRW Expert Testifies on U.S. Capitol Hill
Thu, 04/15/2010
By Gillian Gaynair

Challenging traditional ideas about what it means to be a man can prevent violence against women worldwide, according to Gary Barker of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW).
 

Challenging traditional ideas about what it means to be a man can prevent violence against women worldwide, according to Gary Barker of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW).

“Violence against women is a gross violation of human rights and a threat to a woman’s health and well-being,” Barker, ICRW’s director of gender, violence and rights, told the U.S. House of Representatives Human Rights Commission on April 15. “We must acknowledge that men’s use of violence against women is, in much of the world, rooted in women’s limited social and economic power.”

Barker’s testimony came two months after the U.S. Congress reintroduced the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). The legislation, in part, underscores the importance of working with men and using research evidence in efforts to curb violence worldwide.

Global research shows that one in three women faces physical or sexual violence at some point in her life. However, decades of analysis by ICRW proves there are solutions that can reverse this trend, including engaging men and boys as partners, rather than as perpetrators of violence.

In his testimony, Barker explained to the commission that ending violence against women requires more than a legal response. Instead, it demands complementary efforts that promote more equitable relationships between women and men and that address societal notions around manhood.

“We have to teach boys that being a man really means respecting women and accepting them as equals,” Barker said. “Research suggests that well-designed group education with boys and men, particularly when combined with community outreach and mass media and communication strategies, can help change men’s attitudes about violence against women.”

Gillian Gaynair is ICRW's writer/editor.
 

India Enacts Gender Quotas for Parliament

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ICRW Applauds Groundbreaking Legislation
Fri, 03/12/2010

NEW DELHI - A groundbreaking law that would allow a third of India’s 545-seat lower house and 248-seat upper house to be reserved for women was passed March 9 in the upper house. In response to this historic vote, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) issued the following statement from Priya Nanda, group director of social and economic development, in ICRW’s New Delhi office:

“The Women’s Reservation Bill is a crucial first step in breaking down the barriers women face when it comes to political participation. It is an exciting moment for women in India to know that the long fight to gain access to positions of power may soon lead to eventual victory if the bill is signed into law,” Nanda said.

“The fact is that women’s empowerment requires breaking the mold. Quotas help bring about the necessary cycle of change and a shift in attitudes about what women can achieve. Our findings show that when innovations in social norms at the national level — such as gender quotas — are combined with support for greater political participation, they have a quicker, more powerful impact on transforming women’s lives. However, if there isn’t a deliberate effort to ensure that women are truly integrated into the political decision-making process, the law is danger of becoming nothing more than a symbolic gesture,” Nanda added.
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Notes to editors:

1. Our research findings on the connection between innovation and women’s empowerment can be found in our “Innovation for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality” paper. The paper attempts to answer the question: how and when do innovations create long-term, positive shifts in gender relations. 

Media Contact: 
Jeannie Bunton, 202.742.1316, Jbunton@icrw.org
Mission Statement: 

ICRW's mission is to empower women, advance gender equality and fight poverty in the developing world. To accomplish this, ICRW works with partners to conduct empirical research, build capacity and advocate for evidence-based, practical ways to change policies and programs.

Women, Food Security and Agriculture in a Global Marketplace

Women, Food Security and Agriculture in a Global Marketplace
A Significant Shift

Rekha Mehra, Mary Hill Rojas
2008

New directions in development assistance and agricultural investments must recognize and support women's involvement in the full agricultural value chain from production to processing to marketing. This report reviews current thinking and practice on increasing agricultural productivity, both subsistence and commercial agriculture, and examines what is known about women's roles in both sectors.

(1.15 MB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

Terms and Conditions »

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