Gender And Human Rights Implications For Planning And Development

Challenging the traditional treatment of human rights cast in purely legal frameworks, the authors argue that, in order to promote the notion of human rights, its geographies and spatialities must be investigated and be made explicit. A wealth of case studies examine the significance of these components in various countries with multi-cultured societies, and identify ways to integrate human rights issues in planning, development and policy making. The book uses case studies from UK, Israel, Canada, Singapore, USA, Peru, European Union, Australia and the Czech Republic.

Challenging the traditional treatment of human rights cast in purely legal frameworks, the authors argue that, in order to promote the notion of human rights, its geographies and spatialities must be investigated and be made explicit. A wealth of case studies examine the significance of these components in various countries with multi-cultured societies, and identify ways to integrate human rights issues in planning, development and policy making. The book uses case studies from UK, Israel, Canada, Singapore, USA, Peru, European Union, Australia and the Czech Republic.

Gender Justice and Human Rights in International Development Assistance provides a critical analysis of how frameworks of gender equality play out in the field of international development assistance, at theoretical, international legislative and policy levels, donor and national policy levels and programme levels. If current dominant theoretical perspectives are not interrogated, the consequences could be that gender inequalities and injustices are inadequately addressed, or that opportunities are missed to impact on poverty reduction and on transformative gender changes. Through a renewed interpretation of gender equality in IDA, the book aims to show the way towards a more effective response to gender inequalities and injustices faced by women in developing countries. Drawing on 20 years of experience working with IDA policies and programming across three continents, this book makes an important contribution to the active and dynamic field of critical feminism, as well as providing practical illustrations on how such critical thinking might contribute to gender transformational changes. Gender Justice and Human Rights in International Development Assistance will be important reading for scholars and upper level students working in the fields of gender equality, human rights, development assistance, foreign affairs, international law, and international relations.

The book explores the relationship between gender and development, and provides an introduction to Third World gender policy and planning practice. It describes the conceptual rationale for a new planning tradition based on gender roles and needs, and identifies methological procedures, tools and techniques to integrate gender into planning processes

Recent years have seen a shift in the international development agenda in the direction of a greater emphasis on rights and democracy. While this has brought many positive changes in women's rights and political representation, in much of the world these advances were not matched by increases in social justice. Rising income inequalities, coupled with widespread poverty in many countries, have been accompanied by record levels of crime and violence. Meanwhile the global shift in the consensus over the role of the state in welfare provision has in many contexts entailed the down-sizing of public services and the re-allocation of service delivery to commercial interests, charitable groups, NGOs and households. Gender Justice, Development, and Rights reflects on this ambivalent record, and on the significance accorded in international development policy to rights and democracy in the post-Cold War era. Key items on the contemporary policy agenda-neo-liberal economic and social policies; democracy; and multiculturalism-are addressed here by leading scholars and regional specialists through theoretical reflections and detailed case studies. Together they constitute a collection which casts contemporary liberalism in a distinctive light by applying a gender perspective to the analysis of political and policy processes. Case studies from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, East-Central Europe, South and South-east Asia contribute a cross-cultural dimension to the analysis of contemporary liberalism-the dominant value system in the modern world-and how it exists, and is resisted, in developing and post-transition societies.

This book brings together the papers commissioned for a Pan-Commonwealth Expert Group Meeting on Gender and Human Rights which took place at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in February 2004. These papers, together with other key background papers, represent much of the analysis and experience from Commonwealth member countries that informed the development of the Human Rights section of the new Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015. The papers address a wide range of Gender and Human Rights issues, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), gender-based violence, culture and the law, indigenous peoples, trafficking and migration, land and property rights, diversity, and a life cycle approach to gender and human rights. The contributors include government policymakers, judges, lawyers, academics, representatives of civil society organizations, and specialists from multilateral agencies including the Commonwealth Secretariat. The purpose of this book is to contribute to current policymaking, program planning and implementation on Gender and Human Rights. It is intended for a wide audience of policymakers, magistrates, judges and lawyers, academics, and civil society organizations grappling with these issues. It is also intended as a conceptual and policy-oriented resource for those committed to implementing and supporting the Human Rights goals of the new Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015.

Since the late 1990s approaches to women's reproductive health has shifted from a service-based model to a human rights approach. This approach associates reproductive health with freedom from discrimination and enjoyment of a satisfying and safe sex life, and full access to information and services related to reproduction. In spite of this shift, and the global effort to promote women's reproductive health through the enhancement of human rights and gender equality, progress has been very slow. In this book the author fills a much-needed empirical study of women's reproductive health. The author assesses data from 137 developing countries (or areas) and challenges the prevailing bioscience and public health models by linking women's reproductive health to gender equality measures and development policies. Discussion on abortion rights, regional variations and reproductive health needs among refugees and internally displaced persons are also discussed. This is a timely study which provides a theoretical and social policy basis for monitoring and improving women's reproductive health in developing countries. This is particularly important in the light of insufficient research in the field and a lack of analysis on the empirical and theoretical linkages between reproductive health and gender equality. The book will be of interest to researchers, professionals and students interested in women's health issues, gender/women's studies and human rights.

First published in 1999, this volume represents an empirical model of reproductive rights in developing countries. The model encompasses three explanations of reproductive rights. The first proposes that reproductive rights levels are negatively related to population growth. The second explanation argues that gender equality has a positive effect on reproductive rights. Finally, the authors propose that women’s education has a positive effect on reproductive rights. The empirical model takes into account the effects of modernization, secularization, and family planning program effort on population growth, women’s education, and gender equality.

The book addresses critically the question: "What is the societal impact of urban and regional planning?". It begins with a theoretical discussion and then analyses, through a series of case studies, the intentions, contents, struggles and consequences of urban and regional planning. It shows that plans and policies often defy the commonly perceived role of advancing equality, justice, development and amenity, by causing social problems, marginalisation and inequalities. The book looks at planning from a critical distance, without a priori belief in its necessity or usefulness. The 12 chapters, written by renowned international scholars, demonstrate the multiplicity of social and political struggles over the contested terrain of spatial policies. The book focuses on four key areas where the impact of planning is explored: the community power, gender relations, ethnic tensions, and social polarisation, while comparing three societies: Australia, Israel and England. Audience: This volume is mainly intended for faculty and students of academia, but also for urban professionals and policy-makers. The book is relevant to fields such as urban and regional planning, geography, political science, urban studies, urban sociology, urban anthropology, ethnic and gender relations.