Brief summary of presentation of information made: 

 

Riju Manandhar,23 years old, Gender equality and body confidence activist, WAGGGS:  Made opening remarks as the emcee, around the question “What empowers you to live in a better world?” where we were invited to share our answers on a live slide, most of the answers were around the meeting theme, such as women’s rights, gender equality and advocacy.

 

Elizabeth Gerard, 24 years old, Youth Leader and Mental Health Counselor, WAGGGS: acted as the moderator and asked some questions to the first invited about how to tackle mental health and gender equality issues in this time of COVID-19.

 

1. How do we ensure the online sphere is a safe space for girls and women against violence and harm and how do we tackle the scrutiny girls and women face in the digital world which impacts their body confidence and their self-esteem?

 

Antonia Kirkland, Global Lead of Legal Equality and Access to Justice, Equality Now:

• Digital space is global and any issue around the digital sphere is something that needs to be addressed globally. Countries need to work together.
• International human rights organisations and legal advocacy organisations should look at how to get the international law to encourage governments to take that responsibility.
• UN Committees on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Committee on the Rights of the Child need to look at these issues and encourage countries to do better.
• It might be that new treaties about women’s and child rights are needed existing ones are updated since they were formulated before the internet existed.
• Cooperation of tech companies and the civil society to tackle this issue.

 

2. How would you recommend optimising the efforts of advocates against all forms of violence against girls and young women since it is an issue that has been intensified during the pandemic? Governments have put it aside since at these times they have more urgent needs to solve.

• UN Meetings to connect with people working on positions of power or in the government is a good way to put pressure and now that everything goes online, we all can attend these meetings which is an advantage when it comes to build relationships and networking.
• Social media is also a good way to put pressure and get the attention of governments to look at these issues.

 

3. What would you say it is the fundamental and non-negotiable thing that all governments should be making available to young female advocates in this time of pandemic?

• Girls and young women can demand to have a seat at the table.
• Girls and young women participation is needed to demand to be heard. She encouraged young women to get involved.
• Sexual education is non-negotiable and should be in the agenda of every country.
• Governments need to create spaces for young women to speak and get involved in decision-making.

 

4. Social norms, stereotypes and patriarchy are harmful barriers that keep us from achieving gender equality so, how do you see the future of policy changing to ensure girls and young women are confidently participating in al decision-making spaces in the next decade?

• It’s a cycle: More equal laws mean more women participating in politics which get more women in parliaments and if you have more people in parliaments you get more equal laws, so we need to continue putting pressure on governments to include women on Politics, Law and decision-making.

What was of particular significance to share with The Salvation Army globally?

As an organisation that works with young girls and young women, we need to hear what they say and be aware of the situations they may go through throughout their lives. Body image, mental health and violence against women and girls are real and global issues nowadays and we need to find ways to address them and create safe spaces for girls and young women to be seen and heard.

What is The Salvation Army currently doing to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals addressed in this meeting?

SDG 3: The International Youth and Children Section of The Salvation Army exists to ensure children and youth in The Salvation Army, whether it is at church or social programmes, experience life in all its fullness and are kept safe while doing this through different programs and child protection training.

SDG 5: The International Social Justice Commission of The Salvation is the voice of the voiceless and works strategically to promote social justice related resources which includes gender equality and women’s participation.

What opportunities are there for The Salvation Army to create or further develop the work in this area?

Mental health is a subject that still a taboo and we need to talk more about it since it certainly affects a large part of the population, including people within The Salvation Army. So, we must create spaces to talk more about this topic and share resources and provide help and counseling for those who may need it.

Web links for more information

https://www.wagggs.org/es/

A call to action - http://www.listentogirls.wagggs.org/this-is-what-we-want-you-to-do.html 

A body confidence project by girls for girls - https://free-being-me.com/films-to-inspire/