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Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection has reiterated that inequalities undermine poverty reduction, economic growth and social mobility.

     “With high and growing inequalities, development cannot be sustained. But the right mix of social policies can curb inequality. Efforts to equalize opportunities and foster participation do make a difference.

      “Prosperity within countries is limited to the privileged few, as seven out of 10 people live in countries where income inequality has increased, citing the 2013 Report on the World Social Situation,” Nana Oye Lithur told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at New York.

     She noted that against the backdrop of a weak global economic recovery and harsh fiscal austerity measures, continued unemployment and an aging world population, the United Nations and its partners must lead efforts to put people’s needs at the forefront of development.

     Meanwhile a UN Women survey report obtained by the GNA at the UN Headquarters reveals that all regions have unacceptably high rates of violence against women, with recent global estimates showing that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

     The report identified as a major obstacle for ending violence against women is the persistence of discriminatory attitudes and social norms that normalize and permit violence.

     Ensuring the implementation of strong and comprehensive legal and policy frameworks which address all forms of violence against women in all countries remains an urgent priority, along with adequate resourcing for implementation, long term strategies to prevent violence against women and ensuring accessibly and high quality services for survivors.

    The UN Women therefore tasked states to strengthening legal and policy frameworks to address all forms of violence against women through: the adoption and reforms of laws; increased efforts to implement and enforce laws and improve women’s access to justice and continued efforts to adopt and improve national action plans.

     States must also accelerate efforts to prevent violence against women through public awareness campaigns, interventions in the education system and community mobilization activities.

     States must increase the provision and integration of multi-sectoral support services by strengthening referral mechanisms, improving specialized services and a greater focus on training and capacity building of service providers.

      States are also mandated to improve data and evidence on violence against women through dedicated surveys and crime surveys and research on the causes of violence against women, prevalence, attitudes and consequences.

      On women and armed conflict, the report revealed that despite advances in implementation of the global women, peace and security agenda, the broader context of insecurity, protracted crises, poverty and growing inequalities, as well as emerging threats such as the rise of violent extremism, has served to limit and even derail progress.

      Women’s full and equal participation in all matters related to peace and security is vital to achieving and sustaining peace, however women remain under-represented in the structures of the security sector, particularly in decision-making and leadership positions.

      According to the report, accelerating progress requires ensuring the accelerated implementation of the global women, peace and security agenda through gender-responsive policies, ensuring women’s equal participation and representation in peace processes, and improving the collection and use of sex-disaggregated data for gender analysis and policy making in conflict-affected areas.

     It also called for enhanced emphasis on linkages between peace and security and the broader development agenda, by improving women’s access to legal institutions, promoting education for women and the economic empowerment of women through employment generation and specific programmes to support internally displaced persons and refugee women and girls.

     States are therefore tasked to expand national and regional policies and strategies on women, peace and security, including the implementation of global commitments.

     Growing support for women’s participation in peacebuilding and security sector institutions through the increased efforts to implement gender equality action plans and guidelines to remove barriers to the entry of women in security-related career paths, such as the military and police; supporting women’s participation in peace negotiations, peacebuilding and other forms of conflict resolution and greater visibility given to the contributions of women’s organizations in fostering the conditions necessary for women to influence decision-making processes.