Sex and Gender

 Sex: A genetic/physiological or biological characteristic of a

person, which indicates whether one, is male or female.

 Gender: Gender refers women’s and men’s roles and

responsibilities that are socially determined. Gender is
related to how we are perceived and expected to think and
act as women and men because of the way society is
organized, not because of our biological differences. (PAHO
1977)
Sex and Gender
 Sex: biological category; differences are determined,
universal & unchangeable.

 Gender: social category; learned, change over time, with

wide variations within & between cultures.
Sex and Gender
 Sex is the biological difference between males and
females.

 Gender refers to the economic, social and cultural

attributes and opportunities associated with being male or
female in a particular social setting at a particular point in
time.
Gender: Examples
 Division of labor: the kind of household chores that
girls are expected to do compared to boys; girls work
inside the home and boys outside; girls work for others in
the home, for example cooking, washing dishes, cleaning
the house and washing clothes; boys are sent out on
errands; girls do things for boys like serving food,
cleaning up after them and doing their washing; boys in
some cultures are asked to escort girls in public.
 Dress codes: across cultures, girls and boys are
expected to be dressed differently right from the moment
they are born. These differences may vary across cultures
and societies.
Gender: Examples
 Physical segregation of boys and girls: in many cultures,
especially in Asia, physical segregation starts at an early age.
Common experiences often include being told not to play
with members of the opposite sex, or not to get involved in
any activity that will bring one into physical contact with
people of the opposite sex.

 The kinds of games girls and boys play: girls are not
encouraged to play games like football, which involve
vigorous physical activity and physical contact with each
other; boys are often not allowed to play with dolls or play as
homemakers. Boys who do not engage in rough physical
games are thought to be “sissies”.
Gender: Examples
 Emotional responses: girls and boys are expected to
respond differently to the same stimulus; while it is
acceptable for girls to cry, it is seen as a weakness in boys.
Gender: Examples
 Intellectual responses: there is an expectation that girls
are not to talk back or express their opinions. This is
often mentioned in relation to school and how teachers
pay more attention to boys because they expect more of
boys.
Gender Equity and Equality

 Gender equality means equal treatment of women and

men in laws and policies, and equal access to resources
and services within families, communities and society
at large.

 Absence of discrimination based on a person’s sex with

respect to opportunities, the allocation of resources or
benefits, and in access to services.
Gender Equity and Equality

 Gender equality refers to the equal opportunity of men

and women to access and control social and economic
resources that are valued by society. This does not
imply that men and women, or different groups of men
and women, be treated the same or be represented in
the same numbers. Rather, the aim is to enable men and
women to participate fully as equal partners in
decisions that affect their lives.
Gender Equity and Equality
 Gender equity: Fairness and justice in the
distribution of benefits and responsibilities between
women and men.
 The concept recognizes that women and men have
different needs and power, and that these differences
should be identified and addressed in a manner that
rectifies the imbalance between the sexes.
 It often requires women-specific programmes and
policies to end existing inequalities.
Gender Equity and Equality
 Gender equity integrates a notion of fairness into how men
and women are treated. To ensure fairness, gender equity
goals and strategies often include measures that aim to
address the historic disadvantage of women or men in
particular spheres of life. Gender equity aims to realize
gender equality.
Gender Discrimination

 Gender discrimination refers to any distinction,

exclusion or restriction made on the basis of socially
constructed gender roles and norms which prevents a
person from enjoying full human rights.
Gender Discrimination
 The gender gap in education, Nutrition and Health Care
 Much of women’s work is invisible
 Women have less access to money and productive assets
 Women lack political power and are not sufficiently
represented in parliaments
 Values and norms are at the core of persisting gender
inequalities
 Definition of gender based violence
 The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against
Women, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in
1993, defines Violence Against Women as:

 “Any act of gender based violence that results in, or is likely

to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or
private life”
NewYork,UnitedNations,23February1994
Nepali women and girls are vulnerable to both
–domestic and
–public violence, such as rape, sexual abuse in the
workplace, and
–human trafficking.

•Moreover, harmful traditional practices, such as

–dowry-related violence,
–Deuki(offering infant girls to temples where they live
without education or proper care),
–Chhaupadi(keeping menstruating women in a shed away
from the home), and
–accusations of witchcraft, can also be life threatening.
Types of GBV
1. Based on place of occurrence
•Domestic
•Custodial
•Public violence & trafficking
•In conflict situation
•Special form of violence in Nepal

a. Domestic violence
•Most common form of GBV.
•Violence between two intimately linked partners of opposite sex.
•Physical, verbal, emotional, psychological and/or sexual battering
of women/men by her/his partner or spouse.
–Examples: threats or intimidating words; hitting, using a weapon,
rape, imprisonment, financial control, abusive or demeaning
language.
b. Custodial violence
•The protective care or guardianship of institutions/ people
or system (laws, policies etc.)

Most common form of custodial violence

•Imprisonment- By authority people
•By colleagues.
•Refugee camp
•Rehabilitation centre
c. Public violence & Trafficking
•Ranges from teasing to forced prostitution & mass rape.
•Public places vehicle, street, school, working places,
hatbazaar etc.
•Trafficking of women and children

d. GBV in conflict situation

•Conflict increases all forms of GBV.
•Mass displacement leading to more vulnerability of women
and children.
Examples: Mass rape, military sexual slavery, forced
prostitution, forced marriage and pregnancy.
•Women forced to offer sex for survival, or in exchange for
food, shelter or protection.
Special form of VAW in Nepal
•Culture is not only supporting GBV but also aggravating it.

Examples:
•Bonded family
•Deuki
•Kumari
•Badi
•Jhuma
•Bhatti pasal
•Kamalari
•Polygamy
2. Based on nature

- Physical. Acts that include bodily

harm. Beating, kicking,
punching, burning, arm-twisting,
arm twisting, etc.
 Psychological: Refers to words or actions that
destroy or harm a woman’s belief in herself.
What it does is demean or disempower a
woman; undermining her mental or emotional
well-being. Humiliating remarks, public
ridicule, intimidation, threats, forced
imprisonment, isolation, instilling fear, stalking,
“always checking up,” unfounded accusations, silent
treatment.
 Economic: withdrawal of financial support,
maintaining total control of family finances,
running up bills for which the victim is
responsible for payment, forbidding
employment/occupation.

Sexual: forcing the victim to do indecent

acts, forced prostitution, withholding sex.
Treating the woman as a sexual object
Forcing the woman to watch
obscene/indecent shows
Causes of GBV
1. Society
 Norms granting men control over female behavior
 Acceptance of violence as a way to resolve conflict
 Notion of masculinity linked to dominance, honours or
aggression
 Rigid gender roles
2. Community
 Poverty
 Low socio-economic status
 Unemployment
 Peer influence
 Isolation of women and family
3. Relationship
 Early part of cohabitation
 Marital conflict
 Male control of wealth and decision making in the family

4. Individual perpetrator
 Young age
 Gender being male
 Witnessing marital violence as a child
 being abused as a child
 Alcohol abuse
Consequences of GBV
Fatal
 Homicide
 Suicide
 Maternal deaths
 AIDS related death

Non fatal
 Physical impact
 Impact on reproductive health
 Functional disorders
 Negative/ injurious health behaviours
 Impact on mental health
Preventive Measures To Combat Against GBV In Nepal:
 Launch awareness program about the superstitions of
witchcraft practices
 Strong enforcement mechanism in regards to combat
violence against women should be made
 Conduct women empowerment and skill development
training
 Alert civil societies and encourage them to disseminate
the issue of Gender Based Violence
 Strong Laws and Policies to combat violence against
women should be made
 Institute fast- court to provide speedy remedy to victims of
violence against women
Mainstreaming
 Equitable access to society’s resources, including socially
valued goods, rewards and opportunities.

 Equal participation in influencing what is valued, shaping

development directions, and distributing opportunities.
Gender mainstreaming:
The concept of bringing gender issues into the
mainstream of Society. The concept was first proposed
in 1985 Third World conference on Women in Nairobi.
It was clearly established as a Global strategy for
promoting Gender equality in the platform for Action
adopted at the United nations Fourth world
conference on women, held in beijing (China ) in
1995.
It highlighted the necessity to ensure that gender equality
is a primary goal in all areas of social and economic
development.
Gender Mainstreaming
 As defined by an Expert Group commissioned by the
Council of Europe (1998), ‘Gender mainstreaming is the
(re)organization, improvement, development and
evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality
perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and
at all stages, by the actors normally involved in policy-
making.
• It is the process of assessing the implications for women
and men of any planned action, including legislation,
policies or programmes, in any area and at all levels.
• It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's
concerns and experiences an integral dimension in the
design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
policies and programmes in all political, economic, social,
legal spheres, such that inequality between men and women
is not perpetuated.
Gender Mainstreaming
 Mainstreaming gender: Integration of gender concerns
into the analysis, formulation and monitoring of policies,
programs and projects, with the objective of ensuring that
these reduce inequalities between women and men.
Requirements and principles of
gender streaming
 A broader concept of Gender Equality
 Incorporation of a Gender perspective into the mainstream
of political Agenda
 Inclusion and participation of women in decision making
 Prioritizing gender Equality Objectives and framing
policies of relevance for women.
 Shift in Institutional and organizational cultures
 Transformation by mainstreaming
Principles
 Responsibility for implementing the mainstreaming
strategy is a system-wide, and rests at the highest levels
within agencies.
 Adequate accountability mechanisms for monitoring
progress need to be established.
 The initial identification of issues and problems across all
areas of activity should be such that gender differences
and disparities can be diagnosed.
 Assumptions that issues or problems are neutral from a
gender equality perspective should never be made.
 Gender analysis should always be carried out.
 Clear political will and allocation of adequate resources
for mainstreaming including additional financial and
human resources if necessary are important.
 Gender mainstreaming requires that efforts be made to
broaden women’s equitable participation at all levels of
decision making.
 Role of Nurses/Health workers
Nurse or health care providers are the key person in
dealing with violence against women. They come
across women who have been victims of rape, incest,
and physical violence ;midwives , nurses, obstetrician
gynecologists general practitioners and other doctors
attend women who may show sign of abuse though
they do not come specifically to the health providers
to report it. Health professionals play important role
in helping to detect cases of violence against women,
addressing the consequences and refer women to
other specialized agencies for the legal, medical, and
social help.
 Nurses and health workers can do
the following to help women
 Show sympathetic attitude towards the women and make it
likely that women will reach out for help.
 Maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the client
information and records.
 Be attentive to possible symptoms and signs of abuse and
follow up on them.
 Provide appropriate medical care and document in the
client’s medical records, instances of abuse, including details
of the perpetrators.
 Refer patient to available community resources.
Respect confidentiality: All the discussion must occur in private,
without their family members present. This is essential to
building trust and ensuring her safe.
Promote access to community services: know and share
resources in your community : a shelter for battered women
counselors, support group, legal services.
Help her plan for future safety: what has she tried in the past to
keep herself and her children safe? Is it working? Does she have
a place to go if she needs to escape?
 Respect her autonomy: respect her right to make
decisions about her situation , when she is ready . She
knows what is best under the circumstances
 Acknowledge the injustice: the violence perpetrated
against her is not her fault. No one deserves to be abused.
 Believe and validate her experiences: listen to her and
believe her. Acknowledge her feelings and let her know
she is not alone.
 Guidance for health workers
 The following recommendations are helpful while dealing with
domestic violence in clinical setting:-
1. Do not be afraid to ask –many women are silently hoping
someone will ask rather than disclosing the issues.
2. Create a supportive non- judgmental environment-let her tell
story .
3. Be alert for “red flags”- several injuries or conditions should
raise suspicion for abuse, they are:
 Chronic, vague complaints that have no obvious physical
cause
 Injuries that do not match the explanation of how they were
sustained
 A partner who is overly attentive, controlling or unwilling to
leave the women’s side.
 Physical injury during pregnancy
 A history of attempted suicide or suicidal thoughts
 Delay between injury and the seeking of treatment
 4. Assess her situation for immediate danger. Find out whether the
women feels that either she or her children are in immediate danger .
 5. Explain that she has medical and legal rights . The penal codes of
the country protects the women and children for their rights.
 6. Be prepare for follow-up.
 7. Display posters and leaflets on domestic violence, rape and sexual
abuse, where these are available.
 8.When possible, avoid prescribing mood-altering drugs to women
who are living with an abusive partner ,since these may endanger their
ability to predict and react to their partner’s attack.
 9.Develop and maintain contacts with women's groups and other
governmental and nongovernmental agencies, which offer support to
women experiencing violence.
Impact on health

 There is not a problem in socially constructed differences

between women and men, except when these differences
limit opportunities or resources needed to attain health,
and thereby result in discrimination and inequalities that
may have negative consequences on health
 When individuals do not conform to established gender norms,
relations or roles, they often face stigma, discriminatory
practices or social exclusion – all of which negatively impact
health. Gender norms influence access and control over
resources needed to attain optimal health, including:
 economic (income, credit);
 social (social networks);
 political (leadership, participation);
 information and education (health literacy, academic);
 time (access to health services); and
 internal (self confidence/esteem).
Gender norms, roles and relations
result in differences between men
and women in:
 exposure to risk factors or vulnerability;
 household-level investment in nutrition, care and
education;
 access to and use of health services;
 experiences in health-care settings; and
 social impacts of ill-health.
 Gender equality in health
 Gender equality in health means that women and men,
across the life-course and in all their diversity, have the
same conditions and opportunities to realize their full
rights and potential to be healthy, contribute to health
development and benefit from the results. Achieving
gender equality in health often requires specific measures
to mitigate barriers.
 Gender norms roles and relations can influence health
outcomes and affect the attainment of mental, physical
and social health and well-being.
 Gender inequality limits access to quality health services
and contributes to avoidable morbidity and mortality rates
in women and men throughout the life-course.
 Developing gender-responsive health programmes which
are appropriately implemented are beneficial for men,
women, boys and girls.
 It is necessary to disaggregate data and conduct gender
analyses to identify sex and gender-based differences in
health risks and opportunities and to design appropriate
health interventions.
 Addressing gender inequality improves access to and
benefits from health services.
Inequalities between women and
men
 While women and men share many similar health
challenges, the differences are such that the health of
women deserves particular attention. Women generally
live longer than men because of both biological and
behavioural advantages. But in some settings, notably in
parts of Asia, these advantages are overridden by gender-
based discrimination so that female life expectancy at
birth is lower than or equal to that of males.
 Moreover, women’s longer lives are not necessarily
healthy lives. There are conditions that only women
experience and whose potentially negative impact only
they suffer. Some of these – such as pregnancy and
childbirth – are not diseases, but biological and social
processes that carry health risks and require health care.
 Some health challenges affect both women and men,
WOMEN and HEALTH but have a greater or different
impact on women and so require responses that are
tailored specifically to women’s needs. Other conditions
affect women and men more or less equally, but women
face greater difficulties in getting the health care they
need. Furthermore, genderbased inequalities – for example
in education, income and employment – limit the ability
of girls and women to protect their health
WOMEN’S RIGHT
 Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed
for women and girls worldwide, and formed the basis for the
women's rights movement in the nineteenth century
and feminist movement during the 20th century. In some
countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law,
local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they are ignored
and suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human
rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional
bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor
of men and boys.
Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights
include the right:
 to bodily integrity and autonomy ;
 to be free from sexual violence ;
 to vote ;
 to hold public office;
 to enter into legal contracts;
 to have equal rights in family law ;
 to work ;
 to fair wages or equal pay;
 to have reproductive rights ;
 to own property ;
 to education
 National Initiatives for Violence in Nepal

Nepal has make strong normative and legal commitments to end gender-based
violence and inequality. Some of the initiatives are as follows:

1. Nepal has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of

Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

2. Nepal supports the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and
International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action; and
has accordingly adopted nation action plans.

3. Nepal has enacted the Domestic Violence (Crime and Punishment) Act,
Witchcraft related Accusation (Crime and Punishment) Act, The Sexual Harassment
at the Workplace (Elimination) Act, Directives to Regulate Domestic Workers to
Work in Gulf Countries, National Action Plan on Foreign Employment, the Act to
Amend Some Nepal Acts for Maintaining Gender Equality and Ending Gender
Based Violence.
4. Nepal has put in place a five-year national strategy and action
plan (2012-2017) for ending gender-based violence.
5. The major political parties signed a declaration to end violence
against women.
6. A Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control Act) has been
adopted.
7. A Girl's Education Strategy Paper and Policy Guideline on
Corporal Punishment and Consolidated Equity Strategy Paper is in
place to prevent and end school-related gender based violence.

8. A Prime Ministerial unit to address gender-based violence was

adopted in 2010.
9. The Government undertook a COMMIT Pledge in 2013, which states that the
Government is committed to investing in gender equality and women's
empowerment to tackle root causes of violence against women and girls.

10. Nepal also agreed to implement the 57th session of the Commission on the
Status of Women agreed conclusions on elimination of violence against women.

11. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal participated in June 2014, Global Summit
to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.
12. The new constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015,
guarantees the right of women to protection against any
forms of violence as fundamental right. The Constitution
also recognizes right if victims of crime to be informed
about the investigation and proceedings of the case
regarding her victimization and guarantees justice, social
rehabilitation and compensation for the first time in the
Constitutional history of Nepal.

The UN System in Nepal is fully committed to

support Government of Nepal and civil society in concrete
actions to realize the rights of all women and girls, and a
framework is provided by the 57th Session of the
Commission on the Status of Women agreed conclusions,
the Secretary-General's UNITE to End Violence against
Women campaign as well as Nepal's United Nations
Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2013-
2017).
Other supportive programs, activities; NGOs/INGOs are as
follows:
- Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign
- Child Marriage and Dowry Eradication National Campaign by
BHORE Nepal
- Various NGOs, CBOs like Maiti Nepal, WOREC
- One-Stop Crisis Management Centers at different levels of
health facility
- Chaupadi Elimination Campaign
- Community based Reproductive Health and Counseling Center
and Gender Based Violence Program
Furthermore, the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against
Children (SAIEVAC) is a SAARC Apex body which is an inter-
governmental body with a vision that all children, girls and boys,
throughout South Asia enjoy their right to an environment free
from all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect and
discrimination.
Thank you!