Gender Glossary
Overview of Related Terms and Concepts
Concept of Discrimination against Women
It is a term that describes the unfair process of excluding and distinct women based on their sex despite their abilities and capacities. Also, violate women's rights and freedom in different aspects of life based on their sex, mainly the process of discrimination against females usually takes place since their birth.
Concept of Women Empowerment
Women's empowerment refers to the process of increasing women's ability to participate fully in aspects of economic, social and political life to become influential in all sectors to build stable economies, achieve development goals and improve the quality of life for women, men, families, and societies. “Empowerment” means a shift in power relations that causes a particular social group to suffer from inferior social status or systemic injustice.
The European Institute for Gender Equality further notes that women's empowerment consists of five components: (1) a woman's sense of self-worth; (2) the right of women to enjoy and make choices; (3) the right of women to access opportunities and resources; (4) the right of a woman to have the power to control her life both inside and outside the home; and (5) the ability of women to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order at the national and international levels.
Concept of Gender
Gender refers to the socially constructed attributes and characteristics that are learned or acquired during socialization as a member of a specific community. It refers to the norms, roles, responsibilities, relationships, and behavior connected to being male or female in society at a given time. It therefore varies across societies and time. Gender is a socially acquired identity in opposite to the biological given sex of a person.
Gender-Based Violence
Gender Equity
Gender Equity is a term that refers to the process of acting reasonably and equally towards women and men regarding rights, duties, and opportunities.
Gender Justice
Gender justice refers to the process of acting fairly and equally towards women and men with regard to rights, duties, and opportunities. This concept, as noted by the European Institute for Gender Justice, recognizes that women and men have different needs and strengths and that these differences should be identified and addressed in a way that corrects gender imbalances. fairness means. Equality is the result.
Gender Gap
It is a term that indicates the difference between women and men socially, politically, and even economically manners.
Sex
Care Work
The term refers to care provided to the elderly, children, sick and disabled people either in institutions or in the home of the person in need of care. The majority of care work is done by female family members worldwide. Informal care work which is done at home outside of institutions is unpaid and the social as well as economic contributions of the female workers often remain unrecognized.
CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Violence against Women)
The international convention was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly and comprises rights of women and definitions on various forms of discrimination against women. It is signed and ratified by almost all countries in the world. States are obliged to take action to end discrimination against women in all forms and submit national reports every four years on the progress of their actions.
Displaced Women
Displaced persons are those who fled or were driven from their homes and local communities to other locations as a result of force factors within their country of residence. The majority of displaced persons are women and children who are in danger of sexual or physical violence due to the lack of safety nets as a consequence of being away from their local community.
Intersectionality
The term describes how multiple forms of discrimination intersect at the same time and determine the scope of suffering. Individuals can suffer from different categories of discrimination such as gender, race, religion, social class or disability and the combination of more than one intensifies the experiences with and suffering from discrimination.
UNSCR 1325 / Agenda on Women, Peace and Security
The United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was unanimously adopted in 2000 and is the first one that highlights the gendered experiences of conflict, the importance to include women and vulnerable groups in the peace process and recognizes the crucial role of women to achieve sustainable peace and security. The women, peace and security agenda includes further resolutions that comprise a policy framework guided by four pillars: participation; prevention; protection; relief and recovery efforts.
Patriarchy
Historically, the term describes a social structure that is organized around sustaining men’s power and in which power, status, property and rights are managed by fathers and passed on to their sons. Nowadays it can be understood as the continuous and institutionalized sexism that preserves male hegemony and privilege. Factors like race, gender, class, sexuality or ability influence the degree of benefiting or suffering from a patriarchal society.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
FGM involves the injury of female genital organs for non-medical reasons and their partial or total removal. It can cause severe bleedings, complications, and long-term injuries. It is mostly carried out on young girls up to age of 15.
Sexual Violence
Any form of sexual act committed against the will of a person, either when consent is not given or cannot be given by the person e. g. because of intoxication, mental disability or being under-aged.