Assignment Information Assignment Title | Website Producer Consultant | Units | Ending Violence against Women | Division Name | Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific | Country and City of Consultant Post | Bangkok, Thailand, with travels in the region | Contract Supervision | Ending Violence against Women Programme Manager | Duration | 30 November 2020 – 31 March 2021 |
UN Women Background: UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Assignment Background: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most serious, life threatening and widespread violations of human rights worldwide. In Asia and the Pacific, the levels of intimate partner violence remain unacceptably high. Over 37 per cent of women in South Asia, 40 per cent of women in South East Asia and up to 68 per cent of women in the Pacific have experienced violence at the hands of their partners. Violence against women and girls occurs at home, in workplaces, in public spaces and online, and can culminate in femicide, the murder of women and girls. Violence against women devastates lives, fractures families and communities. Diverse groups of women suffer from multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and inequalities, making them especially vulnerable to violence. Those vulnerability factors include age, ethnicity, poverty, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion, indigeneity, nationality, immigration status and other factors. VAWG impedes human development and has serious negative consequences, ranging from multiple immediate to long-term physical, sexual and psychological impacts, which often prevent women and girls from fully participating in society. VAWG significantly undermines women’s educational and employment opportunities, income earning capability and advancement in the workplace, which greatly limits their economic development. It is a major impediment to women’s empowerment, gender equality and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Violence against women is firmly rooted in gender inequality, discrimination and harmful cultural and social norms. It is firmly grounded in unequal power relations between women and men and is reinforced by discriminatory and gender-biased attitudes, norms and practices. Deeply ingrained patriarchal, cultural and religious norms in society and institutions place a lower value on women and girls and contribute to high levels of acceptance of violence by both men and women. The widespread cultural acceptance of violence allows it to continue, often unchallenged. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased risk of violence and harassment against women. Given the growing urgency of addressing violence against women and girls in the context of COVID-19, and considering the context of escalating reports globally, the UN Secretary General developed a strategy to engage leaders and influencers at all levels, to mobilize the social and cultural shift necessary to tackle VAWG. As part of this initiative, UYn Women will continue to drive advocacy, social mobilization and awareness-raising on the causes, consequences, and norms of violence, for gender equality and women’s rights. Through partnership with Governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations and other institutions, UN Women promotes the importance and urgency of the issue through advocacy campaigns including the orange Day and 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence under the UNiTE Campaign. Given COVID-19 pandemic, many, if not all advocacy initiatives will have to move online and present the opportunity for various actors and stakeholders to champion gender equality in a digital format. In this connection, UN Women will organize the virtual version of the #DontTellMeHowToDress exhibition. . In 2018, UN Women and #DontTellMeHowToDress movement, in partnership with the Embassy of Canada, Women and Men Progressive Foundation, successfully launched the Social Power Exhibition against sexual violence at Siam Paragon mall, delivering a strong message by displaying the clothes that survivors and victims of violence wore when they were assaulted and challenging the notion that women’s appearance and behaviour are to blame. The exhibition has been extremely successful and impactful and “traveled” to many public spaces in Thailand, and was invited to Singapore and Philippines. Since the exhibition sparked great interest in the region and beyond, the next phase is to create the virtual version of the exhibition that can continue to raise awareness and sensitize public beyond the region. The website will feature the virtual exhibition of actual clothing worn by women and girls at the time of their attack as well as photo exhibition and videos and photos of Thai celebrities presenting key messages reflecting perceptions of violence against women with the aim to debunk the myths and misconceptions that clothing is cause of violence assault.
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