IOB Evaluation | no. 405 IOB Evaluation | no. IOB Evaluation Gender sense & sensitivity Policy evaluation on women’s rights and gender equality (2007-2014) Gender sense & sensitivity | IOB Evaluation | no. 405 | Gender sense & sensitivity | IOB Evaluation | no. 405 | Gender sense & sensitivity | IOB Evaluation | Gender sense & sensitivity IOB Evaluation Gender sense & sensitivity Policy evaluation on women’s rights and gender equality (2007-2014) July 2015 Preface Preface Twenty years ago, the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted. As ‘an agenda for women’s empowerment’, it aimed at ‘removing all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making’. It reconfirmed what was agreed upon in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of 1993, i.e. ‘that the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights’. It also made equality between women and men a precondition for social justice and a necessary and fundamental prerequisite for equality, development and peace. Together with the Programme of Action that was adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 and its focus on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as the Millennium Development Goals of 2000, ‘Beijing’ remains one of the sources of inspiration for the Netherlands’ policy on women’s rights and gender equality. And rightly so. This is also evident from this report, which focuses on attention to women’s rights and gender equality in the international policies pursued by the Netherlands in the period | 3 | 2007-2014. The report not only talks about policies but also makes an effort to reflect on the results that have been realised. Results that are very much needed, since gender equality is often still more a matter of policy intentions than policy implementation – including in the Netherlands itself. The report also demonstrates that gender sensitivity is needed if we want to contribute to addressing the gendered inequalities that prevail to date. Paul G. de Nooijer and Kirsten Mastwijk of IOB wrote the report. IOB senior evaluators Marijke Stegeman and Margret Verwijk acted as internal peer reviewers. External quality control was provided by a reference group, chaired by myself, which monitored the evaluation process and advised on the policy evaluation report. This reference group consisted of a representative of the Ministry’s Task Force Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (Mirjam Krijnen, head of the Task Force), and the following external experts: Serena Cruz (indepen- dent consultant), Marleen Dekker (African Studies Centre, Leiden University), and Wendy Janssens (VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute for International Development). IOB would like to thank the interviewees and the participants in the focus group discussions for generously availing their time and sharing their thoughts. IOB hopes that, together with the other documents that were prepared within the framework of this policy evaluation, this report can help to draw valuable lessons for future policies. Final responsibility for the report remains with IOB. Geert Geut Deputy Director Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands | 4 | Table of contents Table of contents Preface 3 List of tables, figures and text boxes 8 List of acronyms and abbreviations 10 Main findings and lessons 12 1 Introduction 24 1.1 Background 25 1.3 Goals of the policy evaluation and main research questions 28 1.4 Scope, methods and limitations 28 1.5 Structure of the report 34 2 Gender equality and women’s rights in Dutch foreign policies 36 2.1 Introduction 37 2.2 2007-2010: Balkenende IV 38 2.3 2010-2012: Rutte I 44 2.4 2012-present: Rutte II 47 2.5 Conclusions and reflections 52 | 5 | 3 Organisational aspects 54 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 The need for gender expertise 55 3.3 Attention to gender in the early stages of the programme cycle 58 3.4 Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) 62 3.5 Finances & efficiency matters 64 3.6 Commitment & accountability 67 4 Violence against women 72 4.1 Introduction 73 4.2 Violence against women – the issues 73 4.3 Dutch policies for combating violence against women 75 4.4 Dutch diplomacy on women’s rights 76 4.5 Results 83 4.6 Conclusions and reflections 89 Gender sense & sensitivity 5 Women, girls and education 92 5.1 Introduction 93 5.2 Women’s right to education – the issues 93 5.3 Dutch policies on education and gender 94 5.4 Results 95 5.5 Conclusions and reflections 99 6 Women as economic actors 102 6.1 Introduction 103 6.2 Women as economic actors – the issues 103 6.3 Dutch policies on the economic role of women 105 6.4 Results 107 6.5 Conclusions and reflections 116 7 Women and food security 118 7.1 Introduction 119 | 6 | 7.2 Women and food security – the issues 119 7.3 Dutch policies on women and food security 121 7.4 Results 122 7.5 Conclusions and reflections 130 8 Women and water and sanitation 132 8.1 Introduction 133 8.2 Women, water and sanitation – the issues 133 8.3 Dutch policies on women, water and sanitation 134 8.4 Results 135 8.5 Conclusions and reflections 137 9 Women’s voice in politics and beyond 138 9.1 Introduction 139 9.2 Women’s participation in politics – the issues 139 9.3 Dutch policies on women’s political participation 141 9.4 Results 143 9.5 Conclusions and reflections 150 Table of contents 10 Women, peace and security 152 10.1 Introduction 153 10.2 Women, peace and security – the issues 153 10.3 Dutch policies on women, peace and security 155 10.4 Results 159 10.5 Conclusions and reflections 165 Annexes 168 Annex 1 About IOB 169 Annex 2 Summary Terms of Reference 171 Annex 3 Literature 175 Annex 4 Interviews 204 Annex 5 Brief history of Dutch policies on women’s rights and gender equality (1950-2007) 213 Evaluation and study reports of the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) published 2011-2015 221 | 7 | Gender sense & sensitivity List of tables, figures and text boxes Tables Table 1.1 Methods used for the gender policy evaluation by theme 32 Table 3.1 Attention to gender in multi-annual plans of selected Dutch embassies 60 Table 4.1 Channels, instruments and diplomacy used to implement VAW policies 76 Table 4.2 Overview of agreed conclusions and resolutions of the CSW on combating VAW (2007-2014) 79 Table 4.3 Projects and organisations working on VAW in Bangladesh supported by the Netherlands 87 Table 4.4 Projects and organisations working on VAW in Mozambique supported by the Netherlands 88 Table 7.1 Supported land rights interventions in Mozambique 125 Table 8.1 Water and sanitation projects and the impact for women 136 Table 9.1 Overview of on-going NIMD projects and programmes 148 Figures | 8 | Figure 2.1 Cabinets and policy documents (2007-2014) 37 Figure 3.1 Expenditures under budget line 3.2 (2007-2014) 65 Figure 3.2 Overall gender earmarked and un-earmarked commitment (2007-2013) 66 Figure 10.1 Overview of the UNSC resolutions on women, peace and security 154 List of tables, figures and text boxes Text boxes Text box 1.1 Main findings from IOB’s previous evaluation on women and development (1998) 25 Text box 2.1 The overall emancipation policy note ‘More opportunities for women’ 39 Text box 2.2 Basics of the MDG3 Fund 42 Text box 2.3 Main features of the emancipation policy note 2011-2015 45 Text box 2.4 FLOW 47 Text box 2.5 Main features of the Dutch overall emancipation policy (2013-2016) 51 Text box 3.1 On the importance of gender analyses 58 Text box 3.2 Summary of efficiency findings from the MDG3 Fund evaluation 66 Text box 4.1 The Dutch-French resolutions on violence against women 78 Text box 4.2 The EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment 82 Text box 5.1 UNICEF Programme Learning for Peace 98 Text box 6.1 Women and tea value chains 112 Text box 7.1 The Gender Evaluation Criteria for Large-scale Land Tools 124 Text box 9.1 Political participation in Mozambique 144 Text box 9.2 Completed NAP UNSCR 1325 projects 146 | 9 | Text box 9.3 NIMD initiatives on women in politics (2010-2014) 149 Text box 10.1 Other relevant international commitments, treaties and conventions on women’s rights 155 Text box 10.2 The Dutch National Action Plans for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 156 Text box 0.1 The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 213 Text box 0.2 Beijing 1995 and the Platform for Action 216 Text box 0.3 Gender equality and the MDGs 218 Gender sense & sensitivity List of acronyms and abbreviations AfDB African Development Bank ARTF Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund ASF Acid Survivors Fund (Bangladesh) CEDAW Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CFJJ Centre for legal and judicial training (Centro de Formação Jurídica e Judiciária – Mozambique) CSW Commission on the Status of Women DFID Department for International Development (UK) DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EKN Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands EU European Union EUR Euro FLOW Funding Leadership and Opportunities for Women FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank (Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden) GEC Gender Evaluation Criteria for Large-scale Land Tools | 10 | GLTN Global Land Tool Network GPE Global Partnership for Education IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative (Initiatief Duurzame Handel) ILC International Land Coalition IOB Policy and Operations