ActionAid responds as the UK government announces a new international coalition to tackle violence against women and girls, and publishes its new strategic framework on women and girls
Hannah Bond and Taahra Ghazi, co-CEOs of ActionAid UK said:
“At a time when women’s rights are increasingly under attack worldwide, we’re pleased to see the UK government reaffirm its commitment to supporting women and girls, who we know disproportionately bear the brunt of poverty, violence and conflict.
“The UK government is right to declare that violence against women and girls is a global emergency and to make tackling it a key priority, including by announcing a new international coalition. But addressing violence requires dismantling the systems that drive it in the first place, such as climate injustice, economic inequality and conflict. An approach that focuses primarily on conflict related sexual violence and tech-related violence without naming the economic systems that leave women and girls without resources, recourses or rights treats symptoms rather than causes. The government must commit to a holistic approach that prioritises and embeds women and girls’ rights across all international policies including tax, debt, climate and peacebuilding.
“The refreshed women and girls’ strategy understands women’s economic justice too narrowly, failing to acknowledge the role economic policies play in eroding women and girls’ rights. When governments in the ‘global south’ are forced to divert funds from public services for debt repayments, it’s women and girls who pay the price. The Government should commit to using its position in global economic spaces such as the IMF and the World Bank to challenge the macroeconomic conditions that produce poverty and violence for women and girls.
“The UK government cannot ignore the fact that its own ODA cuts have contributed to a context in which women’s rights organisations delivering crucial services and advocating for rights are chronically underfunded. We call on the government to match its ambition with delivery by ensuring that funding reaches women’s rights organisations, while at the same time pushing for wider structural reform.”
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Hannah Bond, co-CEO of Action UK, attended the Global Partnership Conference and is available for interview. Contact the press office at uk.media@actionaid.org or on 07753 973 486
About ActionAid
https://www.actionaid.org.uk/
ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls. We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.