This policy and strategy was developed through the active collaboration and engagement of Trócaire staff and managers from across the organisation in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Ireland, bringing diverse perspectives and insights based on the realities where we work.
Gender equality
Promoting equal rights is key to what we do.
Two thirds of people living in poverty are women and girls. Although they're producers of 60-80% of the world's food, they suffer disproportionately from hunger.
Violence affects more women of reproductive age than malaria or cancer, and in sub Saharan Africa, 61% of adults living with HIV are women.
What we're doing
Trócaire works with partner organisations in the developing world and in Ireland to address gender based violence, to support women's empowerment and rights and to ensure that all our work is mindful of how gender inequality can undermine development.
In Asia and Latin America partners are addressing the causes and consequences of violence against women by supporting women's economic empowerment, addressing harmful cultural practices and supporting women's leadership development.
In East Africa local partners address the medical needs of survivors of violence as well as providing legal aid and working to ensure that schools are safe for girls.
In Central and Southern Africa, the links between gender inequality and women's vulnerability to HIV are being addressed through supporting access to treatment, supporting women's economic and social empowerment and working with families to address behaviour change.
Advocacy to change legislation that discriminates against women and girls is a feature of all this work. In many countries, livelihoods organisations support women's access to and control of resources such as land, while our good governance work supports women's participation and involvement in decision making and leadership. In Ireland Trócaire works with the Gender Based Violence Consortium carrying out advocacy, learning and collaborative action on gender based violence.
Empowering communities to challenge gender inequality in Bolivia
Justina Machaca Huaylipa from Bolivia has come a long way since she began life on her family’s farm in a rural village outside the country’s capital, La Paz. As soon as she finished school she left her village to look for a better life in the city. She managed to get a place in university but was unable to earn enough money to support her studies. “I ended up working for a family where everybody was educated and I began asking myself questions,” she explained.
Justina realised that she had been denied opportunities, firstly because of her indigenous background and secondly because she was a woman. She was inspired to return to her village and tackle these issues. “I had friends who felt the same as I did,” she said. “We would spend many hours together discussing how we could have a better balance between the lives of men and women.”
The women approached a local organisation funded by Trócaire that provides training in literacy, education, handicrafts, agriculture and farm-animal care for women and men. Justina then became involved in local politics and joined a district committee which oversees the government budget for each village in the district. This position had always been held by a man.
In 2004 Justina was elected to the local council. She even stepped into the role of mayor when he was on an official visit overseas. “We work like men, in fact we work harder than the men, and we constantly have to put pressure on them to consider women’s issues. For a long time men have been in charge and it is time that women took their place in the decision-making process. My struggle has been worthwhile,” she concluded.
Wins
In Kenya, Trócaire gender based violence partners were active in influencing key provisions of the post election violence peace agreement to ensure that gender related impunity was addressed. With other members of the gender coalition in Kenya they were instrumental in ensuring the gender related crimes are classified as crimes that did not enjoy amnesty under the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Act 2008.
In Nicaragua, levels of violence against women are very high with 108 women killed as a result of intra family violence in 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. There, Trócaire supports seven partners who are actively working to prevent and respond to domestic violence through education, organisation and advocacy in a context where state services are very limited for rural and poor communities. Almost three hundred women have received training as communities’ facilitators on legal and psychological issues related to gender inequality and gender based violence. These women are now sharing their knowledge with other women and providing legal support and psychological advice to those affected by gender based violence.
Related policy papers
On 17th November 2008 the Irish Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence hosted a conference “Women, Peace and Conflict”. The conference was attended by international and Irish women’s rights activists, representatives from Irish government agencies, including the Irish Defence Forces and Department of Foreign Affairs, and representatives from Irish and international civil society organisations.
A report by the Irish Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence
Gender Based Violence, Poverty and Development. An Issues Paper from the Irish Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence.
