Women suffer violence in their families too – UN Report

“Families can be places of love, care, and fulfillment but, too often, they are also spaces where women’s and girls’ rights are violated, their voices are stifled, and where gender inequality prevails.”

A flagship report by the UN Women “Progress of the world’s women 2019–2020: Families in a changing world” evaluates the reality of families today in the context of sweeping economic, demographic, political, and social transformation. The report features global, regional, and national data. It also analyses key issues such as family laws, employment, unpaid care work, violence against women, and families and migration.

During the launch of the report on Tuesday, U.N. Women’s Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka stated that the report is a burning issue because of “the shocking pervasiveness of intimate partner violence. In 2017, for example, every single day 137 women were killed by a family member”, she said.

“Women around the world, and their allies, will not allow a roll-back of everything that we have achieved” – Mlambo-Ngcuka.

According to the report, 38% of households globally are couples living with children, 27% are extended families including other relatives and 8% are one-parent families, the vast majority led by women often juggling paid work, raising children and unpaid domestic work. Households including couples without children accounted for about 13% and one-person households for 12.5%.

The report proposes a comprehensive family-friendly policy agenda to advance gender equality in diverse families. A compendium of policies to deliver this agenda is affordable for most countries, according to a costing analysis included in the report. When families are places of equality and justice, economies and societies thrive and unravel the full potential of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Families around the world look, feel, and live differently today. Yet, families can be “make or break” for women and girls when it comes to achieving their rights.”