UN Women Transparency Portal

Region:Asia Pacific Current UN Women Plan Period Afghanisthan:2018-2022

World Bank Income Classification:Low Income

Least Developed Country:Yes

Gender Inequality Index:0.575

Gender Development Index:0.723

Population:209,497,025 Male:19,976,265 (9.5%) Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)

Disclaimer

outcome XM-DAC-41146-BRA_D_1.1

Women, particularly those facing multiple forms of discrimination, increasingly participate in decision-making processes; and influence formulation, implementation and monitoring of national and subnational laws, policies, plans and budgets.

In 2022, women still experienced significant barriers to participating in decision-making, and influencing laws, policies, plans and budgets. Some progress was made as the Parliament passed new special measures to improve women candidates’ access to campaign funds, activists influenced policymaking at the state and municipal levels, and indigenous women’s movements successfully positioned their rights in the national and international agendas. However, the lack of policy frameworks hindered the implementation of measures to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWP). Congress approved Constitution Amendment #177/2022, reaffirming a prior decision of the Electoral Court mandating that the distribution of public campaign funding by parties for women candidates should be proportional to the number of women and people of African Descent running for elections, observing the minimum of 30 per cent of the funds for each of these groups. Nevertheless, while women of African Descent were almost 18 per cent of the candidates in the 2022 elections, they received only 11 per cent of the resources of the public electoral fund. Women’s participation was hindered by the lack of coordination and definition of institutional roles to enforce the legislation on VAWP adopted in 2021 and generate evidence (ONMP, 2022). To tackle the existing gaps, the Electoral Court and the Electoral Attorney General’s Office established a joint response protocol, as a result of their enhanced knowledge of VAWP. The observatory of women in politics chaired by the Chamber of Deputies ( Observatório Nacional da Mulher na Política – ONMP) launched a pilot for monitoring data on VAWP, as a result of their increased access to knowledge on interventions to prevent VAWP made available by UN Women. These developments represent a contribution towards the participation of women in public life and are, partially, an outcome of UN Women’s efforts with key stakeholders to advocate for women in politics, resorting to evidence-based advocacy, technical advice and campaigning. The CO also fostered an intersectional approach that relies on global norms and standards. The federal government and the Judiciary discussed joint actions to grapple with VAWP, in a working group created and facilitated by UN Women. As a result, VAWP is now positioned in the political agenda and some of the key government institutions are collaborating to introduce concrete prevention and response measures. Local governments Women subject to multiple forms of discrimination increasingly influenced decision-making in the states of Maranhão and Pará, and for the first time, the state plans on policies for women in both federal units integrate measures to address the needs of indigenous and quilombola women – namely the III Plan of Policies for Women of Maranhão state and the of III Plan of Policies for Women of Pará – , as a result of enhanced capacities to formulate and implement gender, race and ethnicity-responsive policies. In Maranhão, the government also launched the second edition of the programme Mulheres Guardiãs, aimed at enhancing women’s mobilization and human rights awareness, which for the first time specifically targeted indigenous and quilombola women, as a result of the government’s enhanced capacity to respond to their needs. In Maranhão, in the municipality of Penalva, the mayor appointed a coordinator for policies for women for the first time, In the Grajaú municipality, also in state of Maranhão, the women’s council includes an indigenous representative, who for the first time was appointed by the civil society . The changes demonstrate that decision-makers now plan policies based on sustained dialogue with CSOs and evidence on gender and race inequalities. UN Women’s partnership with the government of Maranhão and Pará and municipalities through capacity building and integrated policy advice enabled this change to happen. The women’s machinery in the states of Maranhão and Pará played a pivotal role in mobilizing other government bodies, and the collaboration will continue in 2023, supported by the Government of Norway. In the municipality of Itabira (state of Minas Gerais), authorities increasingly used evidence and an intersectional approach to policy-making. For the first time, the municipal administration provided quilombola women with training on the use of agroecological logbooks. The municipality also revised essential services protocols to avoid the revictimization of women and girls subject to violence. These results come after years of collaboration between the municipality and UN Women through the project Itabira: Cidade 50-50. Indigenous women As a result of enhanced capacities for advocacy and social mobilization, indigenous women successfully positioned their rights in the national and international agenda and elected two members of the Articulação Nacional das Mulheres Indígenas Guerreiras da Ancestralidade (ANMIGA, a national articulation of indigenous women) for the Lower House: Ms Celia Xakriabá and Ms Sonia Guajajara – later appointed by elected President Lula to be the first Minister of Indigenous People. Also in 2022, ANMIGA developed its first national strategy of articulation and mobilization in the territories, which reached 15 states and 189 indigenous peoples and provided technical advice to 13 candidates. This comes after eight years of UN Women’s partnership with Indigenous women and technical support for movement building, including for the national strategy.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-BRA_D_2.1

Policies and strategies of public and private companies and institutions to strengthen women’s economic rights and opportunities are adopted, implemented and monitored.

In 2022, UN Women contributed to changes in institutional performance and behaviour among individuals or groups through partnerships established with focus on women’s economic empowerment, which translated into new policies and strategies by public and private companies and institutions. In the reporting year, the response to the Venezuelan refugees and migrants’ influx became more gender responsive with the contribution of UN Women. According to the Gender with Age Marker (GAM), 92 per cent of the organizations that compose the Coordination Platform for Refugee and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V) developed gender sensitive actions, representing an increase compared to the 80 per cent reported in 2021. Building on the capacities developed in the scope of the Joint Programme Moverse : Economic Empowerment of Refugee and Migrant Women in Brazil, implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNHCR and UNFPA, four civil society organizations and 12 companies developed and initiated the implementation of Action Plans for the economic empowerment of refugee and migrant women, as a result of the technical support offered by UN Women and a public commitment assumed by 15 companies to develop strategies for the socioeconomic inclusion of this population in Brazil. 86 per cent of the companies that developed the action plans adopted strategies to effectively hire and integrate refugee and migrant women into the workspace. 53 per cent of the companies committed to developing communication strategies that represent and empower refugee and migrant women, breaking harmful stereotypes that are frequently associated with them. 33 per cent of companies committed to funding external initiatives for the economic empowerment of refugee and migrant women. Furthermore, UN Women made progress towards establishing a municipal care system in Belém do Pará. The institutional framework of the Belém municipal government became more gender-sensitive to care economy issues as 11 governmental institutions , which are part of the newly created advisory committee of project Ver-o-Cuidado , financed by Open Society Foundations, incorporated actions in their 2023 workplans to contribute to the development of a care system in Belém. This is largely attributed to increased capacities of Belém’s government officials on care economy and public policies, as a result of capacity-building and technical assistance provided by UN Women in 2022 to the government. These institutions are expected to be directly involved in the implementation of activities as well as in the development of the care system. This is strategic as an intersectoral approach to public policy implementation is needed to allow for a care system to be implemented. For the first time since the establishment of Premio Pro-Equidade , a national award that recognizes companies that invest in gender equality, the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights added “integrating refugee and migrant women” as a scoring criterion for the companies applying for the award. This was a result of continuous technical assistance from UN Women. The award is expected to encourage companies to offer decent work, opportunities for career growth and, ultimately, socioeconomic integration to refugee and migrant women in Brazil, based on the principle of leaving no one behind. Also in 2022, the the Happy Child Programme (HCP) continued to be implemented by the Brazilian Ministry of Citizenship, and incorporated a stronger gender component which is expected to contribute to strengthening women's rights. The Ministry included three courses on Violence Against Women, Attention to Pregnant Women and Corresponsibility in Care in the programme’s staff training platform, as a result of enhanced capacities of public sector employees in charge of the management and coordination of the programme on gender equality and gender-responsive social protection strategies. This is attributed to UN Women’s technical support to the Ministry through the Joint SDG Fund Programme. The HCP is a social protection policy that aims to promote the integral development of children in early childhood, having as target audiences pregnant women, children up to 36 months old and their families. Therefore, discussing the gendered aspects of care and the perspective of shared responsibility is strategic for advancing gender equality and contributing for the programme to be more gender responsive.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-BRA_D_3.1

An enabling legislation, policy and social environment is in place to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.

In 2022, UN Women contributed to an enabling legislative, policy and social environment to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG). In terms of an enabling legislative environment, the Brazilian Senate approved Bill 1604/2022 in December 2022 to advance Maria da Penha Law and grant women urgent protective measures based solely on the allegation of existing threat, with no need to formally register the occurrence or to assess the relationship between the parties or the reason that triggered the threat or aggression. This can be partially attributed to a diagnosis document on the status of existing protective measures, delivered by civil society organization (CSO) Consórcio Lei Maria da Penha (CLMP) to the Senate, which is cited in the Bill, along with Recommendation 19/1992 of the CEDAW Committee. The document was produced by CLMP as a result of UN Women support through a small grant. Also in 2022, UN Special Rapporteurs, including the Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, issued a statement on the impact of gender-discriminatory legislation in Brazil, which can be partially attributable to women’s organizations CLMP, Coletivo de Proteção à Infância Voz Materna (a child protection collective), Coletivo Margarida Alves (CMA), and Comitê Latino Americano e do Caribe para a Defesa dos Direitos da Mulher (CLADEM, a regional committee for women's rights) increased advocacy capacity as a result of UN Women support . This was the first statement by special rapporteurs on the Parental Alienation Law, law which often penalizes mothers and children when applied in cases of domestic violence and abuse, and whose revocation has been a key agenda for feminist and women's organizations since its approval. In terms of an enabling social environment, there was progress towards an enabling social environment for preventing VAWG in and through sports. In 2022 the Brazilian National Olympic Committee (COB, in Portuguese) instituted its Women in Sports Commission, which can be partially attributed to increased capacities on gender equality, to which UN Women has been contributing. The Commission aims at developing actions and promoting the integration of Brazilian NOC areas with the objective of planning strategies to include women in sport through a crosscutting approach. In addition to the Commission, in 2022 COB, in partnership with UN Women, launched a set of knowledge projects, including research, leaflets and an online course on gender and sport, demonstrating its increasing commitment to the gender equality agenda. Throughout 2022, UN Women provided COB with close technical assistance that is being translated in a progressive improvement and increase of technical and institutional capacity in promoting a more inclusive, equitable and safer sport environment for women and girls. Another UN Women partner, the CSO Empodera, implemented in the reporting period an educational approach to sport to promote the empowerment of girls and the reduction of harmful stereotypes, and received the title of National Center of Excellence in Sports Programs for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Girls and Women in Brazil, as a result of its strengthened technical and institutional capacities to use the transformative power of sport to promote girls’ and women’s empowerment. Rights-holders also contributed to progressive changes in social norms regarding VAWG, as a result of changes in their perceptions and behaviour towards it. In 2022, as a result of enhanced capacities on VAWG prevention, girls demonstrated positive shifts in perceptions, increased levels of confidence and knowledge and reduced conflict potential and tolerance of violence, particularly: An increase of 20 per cent in the number of girls presenting positive changes regarding gender norms and stereotypes; An increase of 35 per cent in the number of girls who considered themselves leaders; A decrease of 61 per cent in the number of girls who agreed with the statement “women beaten by their husbands who remained married to them like to be beaten”. In addition to these, Guarani and Kaiowá women also started to implement actions to protect their prayer sites from threats and destruction, such as to advocate for their recognition as heritage sites, as a result of their strengthened capacities on advocacy and knowledge on their rights. UN Women supported indigenous WHRDs organizations with financial resources and technical advice to raise awareness about the grave violations of human rights these groups experience and potential protection measures which can be sought.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-BRA_O_1

To drive more effective and efficient United Nations System coordination on gender equality and women’s empowerment

In 2022, the UNCT demonstrated an increased capacity for a coordinated action on advancing gender, race and ethnicity equality, as well as applying intersectionality of human rights and gender equality. UNCT met or exceeded minimum requirements in 40 per cent of the System-wide Action Plan (SWAP) on Gender and Race Equality scorecard performance indicators, which represented a 33 per cent increase comparing to 2021. The progress was attributed to the consistency and quality of the technical guidance and capacity development support provided under UN Women leadership by the Interagency Thematic Group on Gender, Race and Ethnicity (IATG-GRE). The group’s efforts focused on increased effectiveness and alignment with the newly launched UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) guidelines for Gender Theme Groups, clarification of roles and responsibilities between RC, UNCT, Heads of Agencies and the members of the IATG-GRE, knowledge building on practical aspects of mainstreaming gender and racial equality in the CCA, UNSCDF planning and development and focus on respective accountability frameworks and human rights commitments. The IATG-GRE also prioritized increased efficiency and focus on the implementation of the priority actions of the SWAP Plan, prioritizing key strategic joint UNCT activities, such as those related to the UNSCDF drafting, advocacy with the civil society and other stakeholders, as well as internal capacity development. The efforts resulted in a more focused and feasible plan of actions owned by the group and the UNCT (78 per cent reduction comparing to 2021). Another notable result achieved in 2022 was that the UNSDCF design process integrated gender equality, race, ethnicity, and intersectionality of human rights perspectives. The UN Women leadership, expertise and the focused IATG-GRE action were pivotal to the quality of the Common Country Analysis, with gender, racial and human rights-based analysis consistently integrated across all sectors, using disaggregated data and the international human rights treaties, in comparison with the last CCA. Through the process of UNSDCF results framework drafting, UN Women with the inputs by IATG-GRE, provided methodological guidance to the Pillar groups and the Programme Management Team compilation of the national and sectoral policies and programmes on gender equality and human rights to inform the formulation of the Outcomes and Outputs (the UNSCDF will be finalized in 2023). Also, during the reporting year with the UN Women and OHCHR leadership the UNCT submitted the reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Universal Periodic Review, OHCHR report on racial justice and equality and to the report of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement. The IATG-GRE therefore played a fundamental role in UNCT performance on the human rights normative agenda.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-BRA_O_2

To institutionalize a strong culture of innovation, results-based management, reporting, knowledge management and evaluation

Focused deepening the knowledge and skills of the team in results-based management (RBM) the Country Office rolled out the regular trainings, refreshers and on-job guidance for staff designed by the Programme Management Support Unit. In addition, 100 per cent of CO staff have accomplished the refresher of the corporate basic and advanced RBM trainings by 1 April 2022. The efforts resulted in high quality results-based donor and annual reports. The Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE) published in 2022, confirmed that the CO efforts to institutionalize, nurture and sustain the RBM culture through consistent prioritization of the RBM capacity building improved the overall performance of the CO. The CPE also concluded the strong M&E capacity of the CO, timely and quality monitoring of indicators. The CO has been implementing key actions to address CPE recommendation for further promoting “a culture of collaboration and innovation, building an enabling work environment for personnel while also strengthening results-based management practices to capture and communicate CO results and fine-tune its programming”. These include establishment of the peer task forces, reviewing SOPs based on staff feedback, regular RBM trainings, running annual strategic thinking workshops with the team, measures to reinforce the collaboration between operations and programme and the development of a proposal for establishing a Programme and Operations Management Support Unit (POMSU) to increase synergetic approach to country programme implementation.

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