Positive prospects amid the pandemic Girls have been given much reason to hope in the Philippines. This November, a historic first, the Senate unanimously approved the Girls Not Brides bill, which proposes to criminalize child marriage. Now the House of Representatives must take this life-saving measure across the finish line before the last step – a presidential veto or approval. There are an estimated 726,000 child brides in the Philippines, making it the 12th highest in the world for child marriage in terms of …
A Long Way to Go: Influencing Social Norms to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Iraq
There are many social, political, religious, tribal and economic reasons that contribute to defining gender roles throughout the ages, and yet there appears to be a common thread of gender inequality across different times and territories. Iraq is no exception to this: with a long history of colonial rule, foreign intervention, successive conflicts and a volatile socio-economic context, there are …
Can Twitter help drive policy change?
Oxfam Intermón has supported allies using digital actions to put issues on the political agenda. Rodrigo Barahona, Virginia Vaquera and Patricia Corcuera share seven critical success factors. In recent years Spain has seen the devastating impact of economic crisis, austerity measures, and a rolling back of human rights – including the controversial Citizens Security Law, which has curbed freedom of …
Broken promises: Why governments are failing to eliminate VAWG
Women’s and feminist movements have fought hard to get laws on Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) passed. New Oxfam research is now adding to the growing evidence that governments are not holding up their end of the bargain, and are failing women and girls as a result. Today, due in large part to the tenacious efforts of women’s and …
St. Valentine’s Day: Celebrating Healthy Relationships and Challenging Violence
This Saint Valentine’s Day, Bethan Cansfield and Lourdes Montero look at what it means to have a healthy relationship and how unhealthy ones may be formed. oday, many couples, in many countries will be celebrating Saint Valentine’s Day – or ‘El día de los enamorados’ (‘Day of Lovers’) in some Latin American countries. Whilst a chance to celebrate the spectrum …
This is not bad luck it is sexist violence
Damaris Ruiz, Coordinator of Women’s Rights for Latin America and the Caribbean, looks at the social acceptance of violence against women and what we can do to end it. “What bad luck I had with that man”. That’s what a teenage friend told me 25 years ago and I still think about this phrase with the same frustration. My friend …
The ladies’ room
Kerry Akers talks about the careful considerations and interdisciplinary collaboration needed to ensure that protection work is not based on harmful assumptions. umanitarian camps are dark at night. The curfew is sunset and the camp is heaving. Spilling out of their crowded tents onto the streets, people sit around dim cooking stoves talking and waving the mosquitoes away. The streets …
Making invisible voices visible in online EVAW campaigns
Online spaces are not free from violence against women and girls (VAWG) but, in this blog, Amy O’Donnell and Miranda Dobson discuss how specific online platforms, including Hollaback! are supporting EVAW (ending violence against women) work by providing spaces to report experiences of street harassment and promote solidarity. Hollaback! recently launched in Oxfam’s city of origin in Oxford – making …
Women’s economic empowerment and the HIV and AIDS response
We know that gender inequality fuels the HIV epidemic and that women’s economic empowerment is a powerful tool to change gender relations. Does that mean that women’s economic empowerment can reduce women’s vulnerability to HIV? Evidence reveals the relationship may be more complicated. In 2015, young women (15-24) made up 20% of all new HIV infections (despite representing just 11% …