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Regional Consultation on Gender Concerns Focusing on Girls Trafficking and Forced Prostitution STATEMENT 14 - 19 September 2001, Bangkok, Thailand
We are women from Asia and the Pacific. We are youth. We are men. We are YMCA members. We live in the third millenium facing the forces of globalization - reinforcing the gender-biased traditions that had existed and those that were brought to our region by colonisers. Amidst globalization, we are challenged not only by the growing impoverishment of people, but also by the feminization of poverty and the increasing vulnerability of women. The multiple roles of women in sustaining families continue, and in many cases they have increased with a worsening of unjust, inhuman and marginal treatment to women. Women migrate to urban centers within their nations and go abroad at great costs often leading to indebtedness, and are paid low wages, vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse. Increasing social pressures make women more vulnerable to domestic violence. Globalization increases poverty among women forcing many of them into prostitution. Women are not acknowledged as independent farmers, as workers entitled to salaries equivalent to their male counterparts - because they are women. Women are the last to be hired and the first to be fired due to the perception that they will deplete the companies' resources for maternity-related benefits and that they are incapable of doing the works regarded suitable for males. Policies for implementing development approaches focusing on economic growth continue to marginalise women. While women are often not given their due respect, men are also subject to social pressures, making some of them lonely and alienated. The resulting frustration is often manifested in alcoholism, domestic violence and even suicide. We, both women and men, share a vision of a gender-just society. We understand that the girl's trafficking and forced prostitution as we have seen in Bangkok represent the opposite of gender-justice. We want to reclaim our dignity as women, as peoples of Asia and the Pacific. We have come to understand what it means to be women and men. We learned that sex is biologically determined while gender refers to the set of meanings, expectations and roles that a particular society ascribes to both men and women. That is why gender differences vary widely from one culture to another. We have reached a common understanding that a gender perspective takes into account the gender relations in our families, communities and our YMCAs. It establishes justice between women and men, and an environment of fairness and tolerance. It is inclusive, upholding life-affirming values. We re-examined our realities from this gender perspective, and learned to take into account the different roles, interests and needs of women and men. We are trying to uncover the relationship between women's subordination, and all other forms of violence and oppression. We are not only seeking to integrate women into the ongoing development processes, but also to transform unequal social and gender relations. Our goal is to empower women in order to create an equal partnership of women and men in determining and directing our collective future. We have also touched on the homeground - our YMCAs in relation to gender issues. We recognized the importance of self-assessment and constructive critiquing in our YMCAs. While there are many service-delivery programmes for women i.e. to meet women's basic needs, few programmes aim at women's empowerment, and fewer programmes address gender equity in terms of justice and human rights of women. We also admitted that some of our existing programmes are not oriented to gender concerns. We have so many women participants in our programmes, but many of the YMCAs are not addressing gender equity. Most of the ongoing YMCA programmes are 'welfare-oriented,' and very few relate to policy-level advocacy actions. In our survey of the region's YMCA movements, we found evidence of discrimination in women gaining full membership, and thus minimal participation by women in decision-making processes. It appears that in many cases the more institutionalized the YMCAs become, the less space is provided for women and youth participation in leadership. We have noted that gender issues are easier to introduce to new YMCAs as well as the younger generation. Further, we noted that the YMCAs in our region expressed that their non-involvement in gender issues is mainly due to their lack of understanding of the issue as well as historical and cultural barriers and other factors. What We Want to Achieve: Following the mandate of 'Challenge 21,' adopted in 1998 by the World Alliance of YMCAs, we deliberated on what we want to achieve in the coming three years. Some of the specific goals that surfaced as our consensus during our discussions include:
Women must be encouraged to participate in the YMCAs and we will strive to mainstream the gender issues into the structures and programmes of the YMCAs. Strategies/Approaches We feel that the task at hand is challenging and difficult. Nevertheless, we are determined to move on. Some of the ideas on strategies/approaches suggested in order to reach our goals include: National/Local levels:
Regional/World levels:
Our Commitment Half the world is women; the other half is men. We share this world equally, but the pervasive patriarchy in our societies reinforces a gendering process where "men and women learn and act out the different qualities that society considers 'natural' for us but are actually created by social pressures and conditioning." We are conscious of the cultural traditions we have inherited, and understand the difficulty of moving toward gender equality. We recognize our own gender-biases. However, we are determined to free ourselves from the structures that inhibit us from dignified, peaceful and just lives. We have seen one of the horrific impacts of globalization through the example of girls' trafficking and forced prostitution, and have come to understand the connections between the violence and abuses of power in our societies and the subordination of women. We see that there are different manifestations in every society, and celebrate our diversity and wealth of experience for dealing with these issues. We call on men to work in solidarity with women, and declare our commitment to be instruments of transformation towards a gender-just society.
(Years 2002 - 2004) Based on the above Statement, we highly recommend the following actions to be taken as appropriate by national/local YMCAs as well as regional/world bodies for programmes and for increased YMCA responsiveness to gender concerns: National/Local levels:
Regional/World levels:
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