Resolution Paper on Gender Equality & Women Empowerment

Globally, about 1 in 3 women will experience sexual violence, assault, or harassment in their lives according to World Health Organization estimates, whether this be through female genital mutilation (FGM), the practice of surgically removing genital tissue and the clitoris in the name of tradition, or forced prostitution and sexual slavery. Additionally, as many as 30% of women have experienced the aforementioned violence while in an intimate relationship.  The statistics only worsen when it comes to areas of conflict.  In this day and age, the continued presence of such egregious sexual gender based violence (SGBV) is unacceptable and must be prevented at all costs.

United Nations Committee on Gender Equality & Women Empowerment

Topic: “Prominence of Sexual Violence in War-Torn Areas”

Sponsors: France, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Turkey

Noting with Concern UN Security Council Resolution 1325 which does not prevent the UN Peacekeepers who are reported to assault an average of 70 women a year,

Regretsthe exploitation of victims by power figures, such as UN Peacekeepers and military personnel,

Confident in the UNESCO 2009 framework for sexuality-based education for gender-based violence, sexual abuse, and harmful practices

Expecting nations to introduce legislation to protect all victims of sexual and gender-based violence by understanding the need for reverting social infrastructure regarding gender issues via educating communities and leaders

Stressing that over 3 million women each year are at risk to become victims of Female Genital Mutilation and Femicide/Religious Practices,

Disappointed with the negative rolewhich social stigmatization plays in both the reporting of these acts of violence and the reintegration of survivors into society,

Acknowledgingthe fact that 84% of sexual victims face mental health issues after facing sexual violence,

Understandsthe fear many victims have in regard to reporting crimes of violence,

Cognizant ofthe lack of accessible resources for sexual and gender based violence survivors,

United Nations Committee on Gender Equality & Women Empowerment,

1. Urgesthe creation of a seminar, under UN Women, labeled DIPLi, Developing International Partnerships for Legislative Infrastructure,  in which: 
   1. State representatives will have the opportunity to partner with representatives of other nations to exchange:
      1. Improvements on legislative infrastructure for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence,
      2. Provide suggestions on women empowerment strategies,
   2. Participating countries will provide their top three partnership preferences to UN WOMEN who will partner countries based on their similarities and relations,
   3. developing nations do not become dependent on developed nations for resources;
   4. Reiterates the necessity of implementing the Emergency Treatment of Patients Law (2014) to standardize the definition of domestic violence and definition of rape by encouraging security council review into all nations who fail to comply;
2. Imploresthe use of Mobile Legal Aid Units ran under the UN Volunteer entity within these Regional Resource Centers to:
   1. Facilitate communication between survivors and individuals who could act as their legal representatives if they chose to prosecute their attacker,
   2. Put victims into contact with legal experts who would inform them on their legal rights, in return increasing overall awareness,
3. Encouragesthe establishment of government legislative recognition for religious Sexual and gender based violence:
   1. Promoting the change of local laws/legislation in the remaining 16 nations who practice Female Genital Mutilation and have no laws on the record,
   2. Those who commit acts or religious femicide or honor killings should be prosecuted,
   3. Transfers the guidelines established by the Joint Committee of UNFPA-UNICEF to local hospitals and medical care professionals,
   4. Establishes the strengthening in tools and resources for local hospitals;
4. Calls upon the use of the MenEngage to develop effective strategies with men to create respectful relationships and preventing childhood exposure to sexual-based violence:
   1. The collective voice on the need to engage men and boys in gender equality:
      1. MenEngage Alliance Global Strategic Meeting created a learning space for participants from,
      2. Country Representatives shared their highlights, challenges, and recommendations for strengthened programme implementation,
   2. Build and improve the field and practice around engaging men to achieving gender justice,
   3. Advocating before policymakers at the local, national, regional and international levels,
   4. The use of other advocacy groups such as the All Survivors Project by providing:
      1. Training for aid staff,
      2. Recognition guidelines,
   5. Engage the media and the general public in discussions about manhood through:
      1. Campaigns,
      2. Blogs,
      3. Internet chat rooms,
      4. Public service announces,
      5. Radio soap operas,
   6. All in accordance with the guidelines previously established by the UNHCR’s report on, “Working with Men and Boy Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Forced Displacement” from the Division of International Protection;
5. Requeststhat all deployed peacekeeping personnel and law enforcement officials be trained through the pre-existing Civilian Pre-Deployment Training (CPT) where the mission is located to:
   1. Instill a basic awareness and understanding of the local culture,
   2. Provide consent training and bystander intervention training,
   3. Inform peacekeepers on how to deal with sexual assault if they or someone they know has been a victim,
6. Promotesthe introduction of Peacekeeping Report Cards which would:
   1. Allow peacekeepers to utilize skills learned during civil pre-deployment training which includes:
      1. Recognizing threats,
      2. Effectively deterring inappropriate behavior at an internal level, 
   2. Provide quantitative information from the perspective of active peacekeepers to foster reforms internally from the DPKO,
   3. Assist in prioritizing reform efforts and allocating resources responsibly,
   4. Foster voice, discussion, and debate and build demand for reform,
   5. Be evaluated by local officials in order to provide an objective assessment and derail corruption,
7. Emphasizesthe use of End Violence Against Women and Minorities International to combat accountability of violence and local military aspects and police members
   1. Offering of online training for law enforcement that allows them to:
      1. have the information necessary to effectively manage and investigate sexual assault incidents,
      2. Provide a more victim-centered approach when working with a sexual assault victim that based on the unique needs and circumstances of  victims and survivors coordinated under community agencies and victim-advocates
         1. Creating SGBV recognition programs
         2. Access to community resources to help improve outcomes for survivors
         3. Mitigate long-term negative health consequences
   2. Reporting actions that are an anonymous way for peers or coworkers where they submit a report saying they saw a fellow police officer commit this act of sexual violence;
8. Encouragesthe creation of Regional Resources Centers within war-torn zones modeled after those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which would:
   1. Consist of numerous sectors created to address victims’ needs such as the:
      1. Sexual health care including:
         1. STD screenings and treatment, 
         2. Rape aXes for sexual defense,
         3. Rape examinations and kits,
            1. To be taken in a timely manner without cross contamination,
            2. To be stored safely for potential retesting or criminal trials,
         4. Prenatal and postnatal care,
         5. Feminine hygiene products,
      2. Living division providing shelter to any survivors fleeing a negative home situation or in general need of asylum,
   2. Welcome survivors from a diverse background of ethnicities, sexualities, religions and genders,
   3. Require the adherence to the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in communities that want to take the initiative,
9. Supportsthe creation of Help Hubs (accessible resource centers and medical clinics) in areas where conflict is most prominent, identified by the Sexual Violence Index, which will:
   1. Be powered by clean energy generators such as solar and wind power that will:
      1. Be segregated from mass power grids,
      2. Avoid large power outages associated with surges and attacks on the power grid,
   2. Be directly connected, through wireless technologies, to: 
      1. Legal Clinics,
      2. UNDPKO localized gender units,
      3. Increase the response rate compared to traditional police forces,
   3. Provide an immediate and unbiased outlet for those who have experienced sexual violence, aside from peacekeepers,
   4. Have Hub generators built solely by women through vocational training provided by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research;
10. Requests the United Nations Development Fund for Women to partner with universities and judicial institutions to form the University Coalition to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which will:
    1. Provide a bridge between Truth and Reconciliation Commissions as well as Legal Clinics to:
       1. Provide accessible legal means to vulnerable populations in areas where gender-based violence is most prominent, 
       2. Encourage victims of gender-based violence to speak out against their perpetrators without fear of re-victimization nor reprimand,
    2. Allow universities to gain access to international support and resources through:
       1. UNIFEM partnerships and connections,
       2. International Court Tribunals, 
       3. United Nations human rights organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
11. Suggeststhe use of the Hunger Project Sexual Victims Empowerment Index as a composite index designed to measure progress in the multi-dimensional aspects of women’s empowerment;
    1. Empowerment as a factor of both women’s achievements as well as working with men and women to combat these social stigmas,
    2. Following the measures established by the progress on women’s empowerment by looking at the five key areas in the Women's Empowerment Index:
12. Strongly encourages the use of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Sub-working groups to combat the mental health of sexual assault victims:
    1. Implementing the importance of managing victims and learning from the local context of various,
    2. Providing emotional support services that allow for a confidential space for disclosure,
    3. Working with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing that allows for   support 
13. Commendsthe use of the European Committee Strategy for the Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality’s establishment of a Gender Action Plan in war-zone nations and wishes to expand upon support systems for:
    1. Those fighting/escaping prostitution,
    2. Greater spending on resources to combat STDs and STIs related to sexual violence;
14. Promotesthe utilization and expansion of the elearning program created by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the UNHCR and the UNFPA to:
    1. Train medical professionals in the clinical management of rape in emergency settings,
    2. Inform those working in the medical sector on identifying the signs of abuse for both genders,
    3. Educate humanitarian workers in the health sector on the integration of prevention and response measures,
    4. Include in-person seminars and activities on the curriculum presented in order to reach rural populations,
15. Calls uponthe education of both men and women regarding social stigmas in conjunction with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence using tactics that include but are not limited to:
    1. Media campaigns to encourage the blameless role of the victim that will be:
       1. Tailored and sensitive to the cultural and religious needs of the area,
       2. Utilized in areas where technology is readily used,
    2. Seminars to inform individuals of sexual gender-based violence and the stigmas of reporting it,
    3. Grassroots campaigns,
    4. De-stigmatization seminars with national and religious leaders such as:
       1. The course entitled “Combating Violence against Women and Children” created by UNESCO,
       2. Seminars that encourage leaders to replace dangerous gender based- traditions and rituals with ones that empower both genders while remaining in line with cultural values,
    5. Education division offering:
       1. Empowerment courses that will take place at local community centers,
       2. Trade and academic courses to help victims break free from abusive and dangerous situations,
16. Advocatesfor the collaboration with the OHCHR Women’s Rights and Gender Unit to go into nations as seen with Colombia and strengthen domestic legal and judicial capacities through:
    1. The distribution of training sessions to each nations’ Attorney General’s Office along with specialized NGOs on how to prosecute crimes of sexual violence,
    2. The training of judges and prosecutors on mainstreaming gender considerations through a four module program laid out as:
       1. Module 1: The Conceptual Framework,
       2. Module 2: The International and Regional Legal Frameworks,
       3. Module 3: What Every Practitioner Should Know,
       4. Module 4: Promoting Women’s Access to Justice through the Practice of Judges and Prosecutors,
17. Proposesthe continuation of the workshop distributed by the UNHCR, UNFPA and the International Rescue Committee at a larger capacity in nations to:
    1. Help nations establish standard operating procedures to address sexual and gender based violence,
    2. Aid nations in the integration of gender-based violence info management systems (gbvims) to:
       1. Enhance data collection processes,
       2. Standardized terminology used to classify cases, 
       3. Include humanitarian actors,
18. Encouragesthe use of quotas solely in decision-making bodies to:
    1. Involve women in processes aimed towards societal changes, such as peacebuilding,
    2. Avoid women being denied entrance into decision-making,
    3. Ensure women have the political power of some sort,
    4. Establish a threshold which will determine the acceptable ratio of each nation as governmental environments vary and through discussion be country-specific,
19. Recommendsthe creation of an International Women’s week ending on International Women’s day along with the development of “Survivor’s Stories” tours which would;
    1. Educate the community on sexual and gender based violence through seminars, 
    2. Encourage other survivors to be open about their trauma and SGBV experiences, 
    3. Engage the community by implementing local supportive organizations,
    4. Take place at the Regional Resource Centers,
20. Supportsnations in creating Women Protective Forces modeled after those seen in Northern Syria which would:
    1. Consist of an all-female militia as a subdivision in the host nation’s military,
    2. Focus on protecting women from all forms of violence including:
       1. Conflict related violence,
       2. Sexual and gender-based violence.