World 'failing' to deliver on gender equality as economic violence against women continues: UN rights chief

GENEVA

The UN human rights chief on Friday said the world is "failing to deliver on the promise of gender equality" as "all women and girls live with the threat of gender-based violence," including economic violence.

Volker Turk's remarks came in his opening speech at an annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women as part of the 56th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Noting that economic violence is a form of gender-based violence against women and girls, Turk said: "Today, regardless of income or background, all women and girls live with the threat of gender-based violence."

Almost one in three women have been subjected to some form of it at least once in their life, he stressed, and added that those forms would be physical, sexual, psychological, or economic.

"If one in three men globally were subject to such devastating and pervasive harm we would be convening an emergency summit," he said.

Explaining forms of economic violence as economic control, economic sabotage, and economic exploitation, he said in all its forms, economic violence is facilitated by "archaic gender norms" that consider men the financial decision-makers.

"The world is failing to deliver on the promise of gender equality," the human rights chief said. "Failing to put in place the measures needed to ensure half of humanity enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms."

Some 3.9 billion women worldwide face legal barriers affecting their economic participation, Turk said, adding that women earn just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.

While 92 countries lack provisions mandating equal pay for work of equal value, the wealth gap between women and men globally stands at a "staggering" $100 trillion, he lamented.

"To put a stop to economic violence, and proactively to ensure economic equity, we need a complete overhaul of discriminatory laws and practices," he said. "Gender equality needs to be positively fostered through laws governing all areas of life – economic, public and political."

"And we need policy measures to ensure that these laws are applied," he added.

Turk also noted that violence against women and girls -- in all its forms -- is "abhorrent and inexcusable."