TERRE Schwe i z DES FEMMES

Report VOIX DES FEMMES 2015 with Irene m. santIago «Women.Human.rights»

TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland is a human rights organisation fighting for gender equality and against gender-based violence. We advise persons affected by gender-based violence, train professionals and persons affected, and work on a political level.

TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland is fighting against human rights violations on wo-men and girls, and advocates self-determined lives for all women and girls – in-dependent of their confessional, political, ethnical or national affiliation or sexual orientation.

Imprint

A publication by TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland

2015

Author: Salome Lienert

Editing & Layout: Nadine Brändli

Translation: Nicole Weiss

Pictures: Uli Nusko and TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland

3Contents

abstract 5

1. Preface 6

2. VoIX Des Femmes 2015 «Women.Human.rights» 8

3. Irene morada santiago 9

4. Beijing 1995 and the 1999 swiss Plan of action 12

a. 4th UN World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995 12

b. 1999 Swiss Plan of Action for Equality 13

5. Demands 15

Education and training 15

Violence 15

Positions of power and decision-making 16

Media 17

Women refugees 17

6. Conclusion and outlook 18

7. references 19

a. Selected Literature 19

b. Abbreviations 19

«[…] Our goals for this conference, to strengthen families and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies, cannot be fully achieved unless all governments – here and around the world – accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights. […]

Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are vio-lated. Even now, in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict. Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees. And when women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse. I believe that now, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break the silence. It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and for the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights.

These abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of wo-men has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words. But the voices of this conference and of the women at Huairou must be heard loudly and clearly. […]

If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely – and the right to be heard. […]

As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace every-where in the world, as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled, subjected to violence in and outside their homes – the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized. […]»

Speech by Hillary Clinton at the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, 5th September 1995

5abstract

The sixth VOIX DES FEMMES event series took place from 28th May to 4th June 2015. Under the slogan «Women.Human.Rights», TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland and the Philippine peace activist Irene M. Santiago jointly marked the anniversary of the 4th UN World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing. As director general of the NGO Forum, our guest was responsible for running this ground-breaking conference, attended by 50,000 people from all over the world. The result of the conference was a visionary document, intended to guarantee equal rights and op-portunities for women and men, which was identified as a key prerequisite for peace and stability.

During this year’s VOIX DES FEMMES, we wanted to raise public awareness of the demands from 1995, which are still current today, and to reflect on them. What difficulties and problems do we see ourselves confronted with today when it comes to making equality reality in Switzerland and fighting gender-based violence on the long term? At a total of eight events, progress was assessed collectively, with the public and with state institutions.

«Look at the world through women’s eyes.»

Slogan of the NGO-Forum 1995

6

2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, following which 189 countries adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, ambitious and vi-sionary instruments aimed at achieving equality between women and men and women’s rights. This was the context for Hillary Clinton’s landmark declaration: «Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights».

2015 also saw the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the adoption of Uni-ted Nations Security Council resolution 1325 which specifically highlighted the fundamental role of women in peace processes and the need to incorporate gender perspectives in peace-keeping operations.

Lastly, this special year has also seen the emergence of a new universal re-ference framework with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Deve-lopment . It is gratifying to see that gen-der perspectives and women’s rights are fully reflected in this Agenda, both as specific objectives and as a transversal theme. We are convinced that the politi-cal and economic empowerment of wo-men are indeed preconditions for susta-inable economic growth, for everyone’s benefit. This is what our president, Mrs Sommaruga, argued in her speech at the Global Leaders’ meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment held on 27th September this year, with the participation of over 80 heads of State. However, these commitments made at international level need to be put into action at national level. Civil so-ciety organisations such as TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland are notably here to remind us of just that.

1. Preface

Régine Gachoud, Deputy Chief of Equal Opportuni-ties in the FDFA and Global Gender and Women‘s Issues, General Secretariat FDFA.

7

So, where are we in Switzerland 20 years after Beijing? An assessment of the Plan of Action adopted in 1999 to ensure the implementation of the Bei-jing Declaration shows that, despite major progress towards equality, much still remains to be done. Fighting wage discrimination, achieving a better balan-ce between work and private life, com-bating domestic violence and countering gender stereotypes are challenges that need to be met as part of our internal policies, henceforth inspired by the new 2030 Agenda.

This year, TDF was able to give a boost to the objectives set in Beijing in 1995, whose implementation remains a priority for Switzerland. By making VOIX DES FEMMES a platform for dialogue, TDF has helped bringing together and creating awareness among all the sta-keholders involved, not only the autho-rities and parliamentarians but also aca-demic and private institutions as well as civil society. Furthermore, the other nu-merous targeted initiatives conducted

by TDF enable gender equality issues to be kept firmly on the political agen-da. We would like to warmly congratu-late TDF for its unerring commitment towards a society respectful of gender equality.

Régine Gachoud

Deputy Chief of Equal Opportunities in the FDFA and Global Gender and

Women‘s Issues, General Secretariat FDFA

8

In 2015, TERRE DES FEMMES Swit-zerland (TDF) held the sixth VOIX DES FEMMES event series, under the slogan «Women.Human.Rights». From 28th May to 4th June 2015, TDF and Irene M. Santiago marked the 20th anniversary of the 4th UN World Con-ference on Women, which was held in Beijing in 1995.

Together with regional partners, TDF organised eight events in the German-speaking as well as in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The aim was to celebrate the anniversary of the World Conference on Women and to raise public awareness of its ground-breaking achievements.

What difficulties and problems do we see ourselves confronted with today when it comes to making equality rea-lity in Switzerland and fighting gender-based violence on the long term? The focus was on the demands from 1995, which are still current today, regarding gender stereotypes, equality of oppor-

tunities, political and economic equality, or peacebuilding and violence.

Irene M. Santiago of the Philippines, director general of the 1995 NGO Forum pertaining to the Beijing World Confe-rence on Women, discussed the state of

gender equality, back then and today, with guests from Swiss society. It is still the case that private life is al-ways political as well. This is why we must speak pu-blicly about violence and inequality.

The conclusion drawn from VOIX DES FEMMES 2015 was that a society can only prevent violence with concerted ef-forts to achieve gender justice, as well as lasting changes to structures and po-wer relationships – only then is peace in society possible.

2. VoIX Des Femmes 2015 «Women.Human.rights»

«gender justice is not a women’s

issue, but a societal necessity.»

Maya Graf

Irene M. Santiago and Maya Graf (Co-president alliance F and member of the National council) on the panel in Liestal.

9

Philippine peace activist Irene M. San-tiago, born in 1941, is known internati-onally for her dedication to peace. She considers gender justice a prerequisite for peace in society. Her impressive ca-reer extends across five decades. She graduated from the Univer-sity of Columbia as a jour-nalist, but when asked what her profession is, she de-scribes herself as an organi-ser, someone who organises people – and to this day, she does exactly that.

The day in the 1970s when two sol-diers forced their way into a school and opened fire on women and children in front of her very eyes was a defining moment with regard to her subsequent commitment. In the context of the re-bellion of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) against the Philippine government, Irene M. Santiago founded the NGO «Kahayag» in 1976. This orga-nisation conducted activities with Muslim Women in the south of the country and

later interconnected women on national and international levels.

From 1988 to 1994, Irene M. Santiago was Chief of the Asia/Pacific Section of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in New York. She

left this position in order to take on the role of director general of the NGO Forum pertaining to the World Con-ference on Women in 1995. After this conference, she returned to the Philippines

needing a several-year break to recover. Nevertheless, in 1998, she accepted a nomination as vice-presidential candida-te in the national elections. When asked to consider this candidacy, she could not say no to the opportunity to turn her convictions and statements, about wo-men needing role models, into actions.

3. Irene morada santiago

«there are three barriers to gender equality: concep-

tual, technical and political.»

Irene M. Santiago

Patricia Schulz (member of the CEDAW Committee) and Irene M. Santiago on

the panel in Geneva.

11

In 2001, Irene M. Santiago founded the «Mindanao Commission on Women» (MCW), in which Christian, Muslim and indigenous women collectively strive to influence politicians and public opinion with regard to the peace process in Mindanao. When an acquaintance asked her to support him as an advisor in the peace negotiations, she answe-red: «I won’t sit behind you, but I’ll sit beside you at the nego-tiating table.» She then spent 2001 to 2004 as part of the government delega-tion in negotiations with the Moro Isla-mic Liberation Front (MILF). She is thus one of the few women worldwide with experience in formal peace negotiations.

Irene M. Santiago’s staunch commit-ment to social justice has been acknow-ledged many times: in 2005, she was one of the 1000 women collectively no-minated for the Nobel Peace Prize. As a role model for peace from the Philippi-

nes, she was presented with the N-Peace Award in 2013. This award recognises the leadership role of women from six Asian countries affected by conflict. For her work with Muslim women, she was

honoured as an adopted daughter of the Islamic City of Marawi. The 28 Ro-yal Houses of Lanao gave her the noble title of «Bai Romapenet» (Princess of Hope and Solidarity).

Today, Irene M. Santiago is a repre-sentative of the international campaign «#Women,Seriously!». Its goal is to strengthen social movements for wo-men and peace. In 2015, she also ag-reed to take on the role of President of the Philippine Women’s College of Da-vao, her alma mater.

«Don’t compare your status as a woman to

women in other countries, but to your own men.»

Irene M. Santiago

Irene M. Santiago with her husband Joe Santiago at the annual conference of the NGO-Coordination

post Beijing.

12

a. 4th Un World Conference on Wo-men, Beijing 1995

In 1975, the first International Women’s Year, the first UN World Confe-rence on Women took place in Mexico; the fourth, and to date last one was in 1995. A number of resolutions, conven-tions and organisations came about as a result of the conferences in Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995).

Whenever any of the World Confe-rences on Women are referred to, it is always about two parallel events: the official UN conference with State dele-gations and the NGO Forum. The Bei-jing conference, together with the NGO Forum in Huairou, had a combined total of around 50,000 participants from 189 countries: the largest World Conference on Women to date.

In Beijing, the official delegation from Switzerland (not yet a UN mem-ber at the time) was led by Ruth Drei-

fuss, who was then Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA). The adoption of the ground-breaking document, the so-called Platform for Action, was only possible because of extraordinarily close cooperation between the progressive States and the NGOs.

The Platform for Action is a compre-hensive catalogue of demands, which the states passed by consensus. De-mands on the following twelve critical areas were established:

- Poverty

- Education and training

- Health

- Violence

- Armed conflicts

- The economy

- Positions of power and decision-ma-king

- Institutional mechanisms

4. Beijing 1995 and the 1999 swiss Plan of ac-tion

Elisabeth Joris (histo-rian and contemporary witness) presents the programme of the 1995 NGO Forum during the event held at the Swiss Social Archives in Zurich.

13

- Human rights

- Media

- The environment

- Girls

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Platform for Action. It has conducted assessments once every five years since 1995.

b. 1999 swiss Plan of action for equality

In 1999, four years after the confe-rence in Beijing, the Federal Council adopted the National Plan of Action for Equality between Women and Men. This serves as a tool for the implementation of equality and includes numerous mea-sures in the twelve areas defined by the Platform for Action, as well as in the ad-

ditional area of structures and finance. The Plan of Action is directed at the federal authorities, as well as at State and non-State institutions on national, cantonal and municipal levels.

Numerous demands from Beijing have been implemen-ted in the past 15 years via measures from the Swiss Plan of Action. However, the gaps that still remain are just as numerous. The assess-ment of the Plan of Action

from 1999 to 2014, commissioned by the federal government and compiled by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (IZFG) at the University of Bern, was published in 2014.

«We need structu-ral change as well as change of atti-

tude. this requires people, not only

paper.»

Irene M. Santiago

Irene M. Santiago and Benno Bättig (General Secretary of the FDFA)

at the annual conference of the NGO-Coordination

post Beijing.

14

Along with facts and figures on the state of implementation of the indivi-dual demands, this extensive assess-ment lists milestones in the realisation of equality and numerous best-practice examples. However, the study also de-monstrates the challenges, explains the need for action in detail and makes ten recommendations on the individual sub-ject areas:

1. National programme for promotion of equality

2. Basis for action and equality monito-ring

3. Education as the key to countering stereotypes

4. Financial independence for women and men

5. Strengthening of social security

6. Particular consideration of multiple discrimination

7. Health as an equality-related topic

8. Combating of gender-based violence

9. More women in leadership and deci-sion-making roles

10. Active foreign policy in the sphere of women’s rights

Alongside the assessment of the Swiss Plan of Action, other publications on the state of equality in Switzerland have also appeared in recent years. Switzerland’s combined 4th and 5th periodic reports on the implementation of CEDAW (the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Wo-men) have just been published. In 2016, Switzerland will have to state its position on shortcomings in the implementation before the CEDAW Committee in Gene-va.

Irene and Joe Santiago with the TERRE DES FEMMES Team.

15

TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland no-tes that there are gaps in the implemen-tation of the Swiss Plan of Action and issues the following demands relating to the respective subject areas:

education and training

Role models and gender stereotypes in education

TDF calls for the preparation, pro-motion and use of gender-sensitive teaching material, all throughout Switzerland and at every school level. Gender stereotypes must be made subject of discussion at education-policy level and be part of the teacher-training programme.

Choice of profession

TDF calls on schools and career guidance offices to provide sufficient information on non-gender-typical professions. The opportunity to be-come acquainted with non-gender-typical professions should be promo-ted and offered in a low-threshold

manner. People who accompany youths through the process of choosing a profession must be made more aware of this issue.

Complaints-authority on sexism and gender stereotypes

In order to meet the international obligations to combat stereotypes and violence, TDF calls for the esta-blishment of a complaints authority on sexism and gender stereotypes, and/or one or more competence centres for discrimination issues.

Violence

Istanbul Convention

TDF calls for swift, unreserved ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic vio-lence.

5. Demands

Patricia Schulz (CEDAW), Irene M. Santiago, Luigi De Martino (chair), Rahel Kunz

(researcher, gender and security), and Mihaela Ra-

covita (Small Arms Survey) on the panel in Geneva.

16

Forced marriage

TDF calls for the federal government’s activities to be financi-ally secured in a sustainable manner on the long term. To this end, the issue of forced marriage must be anchored within the federal insti-tutions. Further, TDF calls for a 10-year right of return for people forced into marriage abroad.

Female genital mutilation

A new article in the Swiss Criminal Code (Art. 124 SCC), which has been in force since 2012, expressly prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM). However, overcoming FGM in Switzerland requires more than just a law. TDF calls for more prevention, more awareness-raising work, and the development and implemen-tation of a national strategy. TDF also calls on the federal govern-ment, cantons and municipalities to put more financial resources into strengthening the prevention and awareness-raising work. The affec-ted communities’ prevention work must be promoted more strongly

with the goal of changing behaviour, along with low-threshold culturally sensitive advisory services and im-provement of access to FGM-specific care.

Right of residency, regardless of marital status

TDF calls for female migrants to have a right of residency that does not depend on marriage, so that women can effectively break away from their dependence on their perpetrator-husbands.

Positions of power and decision-making

Gender quota

TDF calls for a gender quota in all domains, pertaining to women in decision-making roles. The federal government must finally implement a quota, because the private sector and its associations are yet to fulfil their promises.

Round-table discussion with Irene M. Santiago at the Small Arms Survey in Geneva.

17

media

Gender-appropriate reporting

TDF calls for media professionals and advertising professionals (espe-cially picture editors) to be confron-ted with the issue of gender-approp-riate reporting and to be made more aware of gender-sensitive composi-tion of reports and images already during their training.

Sexism

TDF calls for measures to enhance youths’ media literacy and to combat sexist representations, especially in new media and free newspapers.

Sexist advertising

TDF calls for the combating of miso-gynous and misandrous representa-tions in advertising. This requires an independent, professionally com-petent institution that has further-reaching authority than the existing Swiss Commission for Fairness.

Women refugees

TDF calls for a detailed evaluation of the situation of women refugees and of female asylum seekers in the asylum procedure. In addition, there is an urgent need for the federal government and the cantons to establish uniform, binding, gender-sensitive rules on the support and accommodation of asylum seekers. These must be an integral part of the service-level agreements between the federal government or cantons and those running the cen-tres, as well as the service-level ag-reements with private security firms. These service-level agreements must be made public. There must also be an independent complaints office for asylum seekers.

Irene M. Santiago, Chris-tine Bühler (Swiss Union

of Female Farmers and Rural Women), Regula

Rytz (National Council), Sonja Hasler (chair), Lena

Tichy (Young Business and Professional Women) and Sophie Achermann (Youth Rep CSW) on the panel in

Bern.

18

Together with Irene M. Santiago, VOIX DES FEMMES 2015 restored public awareness of the Beijing World Confe-rence on Women. A deba-te on the state of efforts to achieve equality in Swit-zerland was initiated. With various State and non-Sta-te actors, an assessment was made on national and regional levels, and the challenges and urgently required measures were discussed.

TDF looks ahead to the future with confidence and drive. Together with new and old partners alike, we will face

up to the challenges and continue to fight for the human rights of women and girls in Switzerland.

The seventh VOIX DES FEMMES event series is set to be held in 2016. TDF looks for-ward to sending out in-

vitations to numerous public events with another promising guest of honour, in spring 2016.

«20 years ago, I would never see a man on

the street with a pram. today, that has changed.

these new dads show the great potential of the

equality process.»

Regula Rytz

6. Conclusion and outlook

Irene M. Santiago, Milena Wegelin, TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland, and Vivian Fankhauser, NGO-Coordination post Beijing.

19

a. selected Literature

Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE), Gleichstellung von Frau und Mann, Aktionsplan der Schweiz, 1999.- Gleichstellung von Frau und Mann Akti-

onsplan der Schweiz Bilanz 1999- 2014.

TERRE DES FEMMES Switzerland (TDF), Bericht zur Lage asylsuchender Frauen in Kollektivunterkünften, 2013.- Positionspapier «Geschlechter-

stereotype», 2013.- FGM in der Schweiz-Bestandesaufnah-

me über die bestehenden Massnahmen gegen weibliche Genitalverstümmelung in der Schweiz in den Bereichen Präven-tion, Unterstützung und Schutz, 2014.

The Fourth World Conference on Wo-men, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted on 15 September 1995.

UN General Assembly, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979.

Vierter/Fünfter Bericht der Schweiz über die Umsetzung des Übereinkommens zur Beseitigung jeder Form von Diskriminie-rung der Frau (CEDAW), 2014.

7. references

b. abbreviations

CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against WomenCSW Commission on the Status of WomenFDFA Federal Department of Foreign AffairsFDHA Federal Department of Home AffairsFGM Female Genital MutilationFOGE Federal Office for Gender EqualityIZFG Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender StudiesMCW Mindanao Commission on WomenMILF Moro Islamic Liberation Front MNLF Moro National Liberation FrontNGO Non-Governmental OrganizationSCC Swiss Criminal Code TDF TERRE DES FEMMES SchweizUNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for WomenUNO United Nations Organization

Human Rights for Women