Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020)

Icono localización

Santiago de Cali - Colombia

Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Range of Demographic Size
1,000,000 inhabitants or more (metropolis)

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere in the world.

5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.

5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.

5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.

5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.

5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.

5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.

16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.

16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.

E - Gender equality

American Convention on Human Rights

• Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará)

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in economic, social and cultural rights (San Salvador Protocol).

Others

Summary

The Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020) aims to develop gender equality and equal rights and opportunities between men and women; and to ensure women’s full enjoyment of their human rights and exercise of their citizenship, regardless of their ethnicity or race, age, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, religion, political option, origin, physical or mental condition or socioeconomic status.

To achieve these objectives, some strategies on eleven (11) themes are proposed and developed:

  1. Women’s political participation and representation.
  2. Women, education, communication and culture.
  3. Women and economy.
  4. Integral health, sexual and reproductive rights.
  5. Decent life free from any violence against women and access to justice.
  6. Women under forced displacement.
  7. Ethnic-racial equality.
  8. Women’s sexual and gender diversity.
  9. Women, territory, environment and mobility.
  10. Women, sports and physical activity.
  11. Family experience from gender equality.

Implementation Date:

Start: 07 / 1 / 2010

End: End: Currently in force

Local economic development - Education / Labor Training Gender and sexual diversity - Equality Gender and sexual diversity - Women HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE - Sexual and reproductive health Gender and sexual diversity - Gender violence Gender and sexual diversity - Domestic violence
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The problem addressed by the public policy is framed within the changes experienced by women and their families based on the cultural, social and productive changes in the role of women. Although such changes are recognized by social and political stakeholders, public opinion and the media, some inequalities in gender relationships within several spheres of the social, economic, cultural and political life of the municipality still remain. Despite the fact that women in Santiago de Cali have a higher education level than men, they have not managed to broaden and diversify their work opportunities. Besides, such situation is not reflected on the salaries, positions and hierarchical titles they can have access to. There is an “extra” institutional pressure exerted on women over their training and educational level to have access to competitive scenarios compared to men. Consequently, this type of inequalities in different aspects contribute to the fact that women earn less than men and get lower quality jobs, as well as have their work field limited to those activities which have been historically considered “women-like”, as shown by women’s greater presence in jobs related to the provision of care, health or basic services. Likewise, even when women managed to be part of the paid-job world, this has not helped overcome poverty in many homes due to the quality of women’s jobs, and has not resulted in significant changes in the domestic relationships either, since their position has not improved within the intra-family space. If we also consider private and public women’s violence, it becomes evident that significant changes are still required in this field. Gender breach is clearly seen in the decision-making processes of the political and economic areas as well. There, women’s participation is extremely small compared to their electoral participation (more than half the electoral rolls are made up of women). As a result, if women’s ability to represent their own demands and interests is restricted, their integral development is noticeably conditioned. Therefore, the pursuit of gender equality in Santiago de Cali City Hall has not been a mere expectation but a constituent of public policies and, even more, its democratic exercise. Gender equality is here understood as the equality of opportunities between men and women which ensures both sexes’ equitable access to the benefits and resources offered by development; equality of rights; the construction of an equality culture during coexistence; and the social and political participation of the municipality.
The objectives stated in the Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020) are: • To secure development with gender equality and equality of rights and opportunities between men and women. • To ensure women’s full enjoyment of their human rights and exercise of their citizenship, regardless of their ethnicity or race, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, political opinion, origin, physical or mental condition or socioeconomic status. • To strengthen the organizational processes of women in their ethnic-cultural, territorial diversity and others, boosting their abilities, knowledge and experiences; ensuring their representation, equitable participation in the discussion and decision-making spaces, stages and processes. • To promote coordination and exchange processes and actions with regional, national and international organizations; public and private universities; and other sectors of the social movement and civil society aimed to favor women’s inclusion and the overcoming of inequality conditions and cultural barriers in order to enhance a developmental model based on gender equality and equality of rights and opportunities.
The Undersecretariat of Gender Equality, which belongs to the Secretariat of Social Welfare of Santiago de Cali City Hall, is the organization in charge of coordinating the implementation of the public policy in the city. This is a cross-sectional job conducted in different areas of the city hall; the work teams should develop strategies from the eleven themes established and ensure their compliance.
The public policy comprises different stages of the municipal administration as guarantors and promoters of more equitable and safer spaces, with greater opportunities for women in cities. Therefore, the theme Women, education, and culture is in charge of the Secretariat of Social Welfare and Secretariat of Education; Integral health, sexual and reproductive rights, in charge of the Secretariat of Public Health; Ethnic-racial equality, in charge of the Secretariat of Culture; and Women, territory, environment and mobility, in charge of the Secretariat of Territorial Development and Participation. Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020) also interacts with the Secretariat of Security and Justice, which is in charge of measuring and generating interventions in safe urban design topics for women in Santiago de Cali.
Year 1984-Document CONPES No. 2109: Policy for the Farming Women, Ministry of Agriculture. Year 1992-Document CONPES No. 2626: Integral Policy for Women, Presidential Advisor for the Youth, Women and Family. Year 1992-Resolution No. 1531: Health Policy for Women, Women for Health, Ministry of Health. Year 1994-Document CONPES Social: Policy for the Development of Rural Women, Presidential Advisor for the Youth, Women and Family. Year 1994-Document CONPES No. 2726: EPAM Policy. Policy for Women’s Equality and Participation, DNP. Year 1997-Document CONPES No. 2941: Progress and Adjustments of the Policy for Women’s Equality and Participation, DNP. Year 2003-National Policy of Sexual and Reproductive Health, Ministry of Social Protection. Year 2003-National Policy. Women Builders of Peace and Development. Year 2006-National Policy. Women Builders of Peace and Development 2006-2010. Year 2010-Agreement 292, section 6: The Gender Equality Advisory Service is in charge of the coordination and follow up of the implementation of “Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities, 2010-2020.”
Women
Social/citizen participation
Advice
Communication and information channels, platforms and tools
Awareness and/or information campaigns
Education and training
Building of partnerships, networks, associations and coalitions
The statistical data generated by the National Institute of Legal Medicine in Colombia shows that women are exposed to different forms of violence in almost all their vital cycles, and that such violence is more frequently exerted by their partners as a control mechanism. The national indicators show that over 47,000 cases of intimate partner violence were registered in Colombia in 2015. This assumes a rate of 119.24 every 100,000 inhabitants, showing that women continue being the most affected population by this type of violence (86.66%). In the same year, 1,230 cases of women murders were registered, 9.6% of whom were killed by their partners or former partners, falling into the “femicide” legal description. This has led Cali authorities to delve into the problem based on local logics and promote solutions. In the local case of Santiago de Cali, the Undersecretariat of Gender Equality surveyed that family violence is mainly exerted on women. During the five-year period between 2009 and 2014, there was an increase in the cases of family violence registered against women. From the record above, 1,676 cases of family violence committed by the man in the couple were submitted in 2014; 155 cases were against girls and teenagers; in the same year, 761 legal examinations were conducted in relation to an alleged sexual abuse, which accounts for 62.19 examinations every 100,000 inhabitants. The outlook of violence is reflective of a constant which remains associated to the forms of socio-cultural relationship and interaction that create asymmetric bonds and place women in an undermined and dominated position against everything connected with or recognized as “man-like”. The cultural origin of violence against women forced the identification of multiple aspects, such as a deep knowledge of the preceding contexts, archetypes and stereotypes where daily habits and practice are shown. It is worth reminding that the social approval of violence in the different scenarios leads to finally considering violence normal and valid. Therefore, the development of the political strategy suggests the promotion of meeting scenarios which provide methodological and conceptual tools for the purpose of anticipating and detecting “chauvinistic” behaviors, and incorporate the gender perspective as a category of analysis which may help change Cali society and recognize basic human rights. The Undersecretariat of Gender Equality, acting as the implementation coordinator of the Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020), created internal work teams in order to ensure compliance with each policy theme and design and implement the intervention strategies within the territory. Work proposals were as follows: • Prevention of gender-based violence: this strategy aims to socialize the public policy and the associated regulations (Act 1257/2008), the differential approaches as the governing themes to reach equality, equitable and non-violent masculinities as a commitment towards a cultural and social change. • Day care: in charge of providing legal and psycho-social support to women who are victims of violence. In parallel, they work with the construction of safer networks for women through gender resilient strategies which allow reframing those facts that turned them into victims. • “Shelter” modality protective measure: it provides interdisciplinary legal, psychosocial and therapeutic support since it aims to reestablish the rights of the women entering the program, in an attempt to save their life before a certain threat of femicide. This line of action provides a shelter place within the immediate family until reaching a safer network for women. • Social empowerment: this strategic line creates academic strengthening places which promote women’s economic autonomy as a tool for reducing violence. Likewise, it proposes interactions with employability spaces in order to break with the job stereotypes, by inviting women to be part of academic job entrepreneurs which have traditionally been associated to men. • Political empowerment: to promote awareness and information campaigns on political incident topics in order to create spaces for citizen oversight and participation which foster gender equality as the flag of change. The “School of Political Incidence with a Gender Approach”, the support to the territorial groups (stages of citizen participation) and the Municipal Women’s Group of Santiago de Cali. • Knowledge mainstreaming and management: in charge of following up on the public policy implementation according to the different citizen scenarios. Due to its monitoring work, this line is the bridge between the secretariats responsible for enforcing the themes, raising awareness and articulating processes with universities, offices and other sectors involved. • International cooperation: this strategy aims to raise awareness of the role of the Undersecretariat of Gender and its function at both the national and international level. It works jointly with social organizations towards its institutional strengthening, providing tools and support for the projects seeking the resources from the international economic cooperation.
The Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020) is innovative since it incorporates a differential approach of Cali citizens, considering women from different perspectives. The “cross-sectional” practice proposed by public policy is also innovative since it involves several offices of the local administration in auditing their degrees of compliance, with a daily exercise of meeting and gathering in inter-institutional groups and internal committees with the purpose of making the relevant themes effective. Finally, the initiative from Cali is also innovative due to its dynamics, since it is subjected to permanent changes. Continuously, the different Secretariats prepare and update strategies to intervene within the territory, trying to create more equitable and less violent spaces through different tools (awareness campaigns, connection programs between the population and strategies which improve women’s living conditions in the city hall).
• Secretariat of Public Health of Santiago de Cali City Hall. • Private and business sector. • Organizations from the civil society and feminist groups.
The Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020) was based on citizen participation, because it was a long process which included as many sectors as possible regarding their social, economic, cultural, work and sexual conditions. Besides, since its design in 2008 and by means of the intermediate documents in 2009 and 2010, it has convened academic and women’s organizations, specialized technicians’ groups and created the “School of Political Incidence” aimed to mobilize individual and collective interests in favor of the expected social changes. There was a noticeable and active cooperation with the team of the Undersecretariat of Gender Equality in order to reduce violence, social inequality and work breaches related to the gender issue in Cali. The results of the application of each strategy were consulted with the citizens, who directly took part in the final agreement, as it is currently known and implemented.
• Family referents: symbolic referents at home (grandmothers, mothers). • Municipal budget directly allocated to the maintenance of the Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities 2010-2020.
At present, the main monitoring system of the public policy is the “Development Plan of Santiago de Cali Municipality”. Moreover, the Undersecretariat of Gender Equality is promoting a new exclusive evaluation strategy for the Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010–2020): it is a priority to design and implement a similar tool, since it believes that access to reliable figures and concrete measuring indicators is essential for every State action.
Local goverment
The prevention of violence against women has had a positive influence on Cali citizens. It has also provided direct support to women and social organizations that started coming to the Undersecretariat of Gender Equality in search of guidance and responses to specific demands. By the end of 2018, the results of the policy implementation showed the following figures: - 416 women have completed the supplementary technical training process; - 347 women have been involved in employability processes; - 269 productive units linked; - 26 companies have participated in the employability line of action; - 113 women have been trained at the School of Political Incidence; - 120 women have gone through a replication process at the School of Political Incidence; - 17 territorial groups have strengthened; - 870 people have been involved in the strategy of gender violence prevention; - 2,181 people have been reached by the prevention and awareness campaign; - 894 women have been assisted, 102 within the “shelter” modality and 792 in the “day” modality; - 1,700 cases are being followed up; - 150 people from the municipal administration have been receiving common training and guidance for the mainstreaming and implementation of gender policy; - 750 people have received support and awareness services in gender perspective and differential approaches; - 1,804 people participated in international cooperation actions.
The main spread mechanisms of the Public Policy for Women in Santiago de Cali: Recognition, Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities (2010-2020) have been the theme forums and the production and distribution of printed educational material which collect and communicate all the statements of the initiative. From the electronic media, an intensive campaign is carried out through the official social media of the city hall and the Undersecretariat of Gender Equality.
● Construir Igualdad Mention Award (2018 edition) – CIPDH-UNESCO

Instrumentos

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere in the world.

5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.

5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.

5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.

5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.

5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.

5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.

16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.

16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.

E - Gender equality
American Convention on Human Rights
• Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará)
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in economic, social and cultural rights (San Salvador Protocol).
Others

Location

Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Range of Demographic Size
1,000,000 inhabitants or more (metropolis)

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