Reports - Bejing Platform for Action - Strategic Objectives

Women and Poverty

Review, adopt and maintain macroeconomic policies and development strategies that address the needs and efforts of women in poverty;
Revise laws and administrative practices to ensure women's equal rights and access to economic resources;
Provide women with access to savings and credit mechanisms and institutions;
Develop gender-based methodologies and conduct research to address the feminization of poverty.

Ensure equal access to education;
Eradicate illiteracy among women;
Improve women's access to vocational training, science, and technology and continuing education;
Develop non-discriminatory education and training;
Allocate sufficient resources for and monitor the implementation of educational reforms;
Promote lifelong education and training for girls and women.

Increase women's access throughout the life cycle to appropriate affordable and quality health care, information and related services;
Strengthen preventive programmes that promote women's health;
Undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues;
Promote research and disseminate information on women's health;
Increase resources and monitor follow-up for women's health.

Take integrated measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women;
Study the causes and consequences of violence against women and the effectiveness of preventive measures;
Eliminate trafficking in women and assist victims of violence due to prostitution and trafficking.

Increase the participation of women in conflict resolution at decision-making levels and protect women living in situation of armed conflicts or under foreign occupation;
Reduce excessive military expenditures and control the availability of armaments;
Promote non-violent forms of conflict resolution and reduce the incidence of human rights abuse in conflict situations;
Promote women's contributions to fostering a culture of peace;
Provide protection, assistance and training to refugee women in need of international protection and internally displaced women;
Provide assistance to the women of the colonies and non-self-governing territories.

Promote women's economic rights and independence, including access to employment and appropriate working conditions and control over economic resources;
Facilitate women's equal access to resources, employment, markets and trade;
Provide business services, training and access to markets, information and technology, particularly to low-income women;
Strengthen women's economic capacity and commercial networks;
eliminate occupational and all forms of employment discrimination;
Promote harmonization of work and family responsibilities for women and men.

Take measures to ensure women's equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making;
Increase women's capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership.

Create or strengthen national machineries and other government bodies;
Integrate gender perspectives in legislation, public policies, programmes and projects;
Generate and disseminate gender-disaggregated data and information for planning and evaluation.

Promote and protect the human rights of women, through the full implementation of all human rights instruments, especially the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;
Ensure equality and non-discrimination under the law and in practice;
Achieve legal literacy.

Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication;
Promote a balanced and non-stereotypes portrayal of women in the media.

Involve women actively in environmental decision-making at all levels;
Integrate gender concerns and perspectives in policies and programmes for sustainable development;
Strengthen or establish mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels to assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women.

Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child;
Eliminate negative, cultural attitudes and practices against girls;
Promote and protect the rights of the girl child and increase awareness of her needs and potential;
Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training;
Eliminate discrimination against girls in health and nutrition;
Eliminate the economic exploitation of child labour and protect young girls at work;
Eradicate violence against the girl child;
Promote the girl child's awareness of and participation in social, economic and political life;
Strengthen the role of the family in improving status of the girl child.

Source: NGLS Roundup, November 1995.

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