Resisting Pauperisation – Upholding Women’s Human Rights

THE SITUATION OF CARIBBEAN WOMEN WITHIN THE PROCESS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION

INTRODUCTION

The Caribbean Association for Feminist research and Action (CAFRA) is a regional network of feminists, individual researchers, activists and women’s organisations that define feminist politics as a matter of both consciousness and action. CAFRA was launched in April 1985 and is governed by a Regional Committee. Each of its sixteen (16) member countries has a National Representative.

CAFRA’s mission is to celebrate and channel the collective power of women for individual and societal transformation, thus creating a climate in which social justice is reaslised.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION

I will speak on the processes of regional integration from two levels:
(a) Actions by governments and State Mechanisms
(b) The Civil Society response, particularly women’s organisations and locate the situation of women within these processes.

CONTEXT

The challenges of the rapidly changing international trading environment have been the major focus of attention of Caribbean Economists and Social Scientists, who speculated on the likely outcome of the removal of barriers to trade in the region, particularly in relation to the impact on vulnerable groups in the society, particularly women.

The continued threats from trade liberalisation signed by our governments are manifested through:

1. The accelerated loss of agricultural land to tourism and housing.

2. The promotion of tourism over agriculture - The importance of agriculture to the region cannot be over-emphasised, not only in terms of its economic benefits, but also for its social, cultural and political benefits in relation to food security – having enough to eat, and food sovereignty – having control of what you eat.

3. Moves to privatise water in many countries of the region.

4. Threats from trade liberalisation - Caribbean agriculture cannot compete against the lower cost of production in other countries. In many countries agricultural decline is also accompanied by a loss of manufacturing capacity, and take over of family firms by foreign companies.

5. Increasing indebtedness - In some countries, the external debt is as high as 65% of Gross Domestic Product.

6. Increases in criminality and violence - Gang activity is prevalent in many countries. There are reports of gang rape of girls, and more violence in schools. There is an increase in the presence of guns in the society, and trafficking in women.

7. Social alienation – There is an increase in suicides among farmers, and even among children. Many women have migrated in search of greener pastures, leaving young children behind. There is indifference about the deterioration in the quality of life.

8. Loss of faith in the governments’ willingness, or ability to deal with events.

The Caribbean region is uniting itself in several processes at the government level – Association of Caribbean States, the EU/ACP Cotonou Agreement, the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). All these processes develop policy, which could be beneficial to the people of the region, but specifically, the FTAA and CSME processes have to be WTO compatible, resulting in the negative impacts already outlined. Within this context, women are most affected.

THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION

When the Beijing Platform for Action was approved by governments in 1995, it outlined twelve critical areas of concern for the advancement of women, and strategies to bring about gender equality.

This was a triumph for the women’s movement and its efforts to move women from a position of weak second-class citizens to centre-stage as equal partners in development.

However, trade liberalisation has proven to be the greatest threat to the fulfillment of the Beijing Platform of Action.

Trade liberalisation is proceeding rapidly and comprehensively without consideration of the implementation and developmental cost to many developing countries, especially the least developed and small island developing states, or on its impact on gender and social equality. It impacts women and men differently in terms of social and reproductive responsibilities, employment, wage level and the nature and process of pauperisation of men and women as well as their overall economic and social well-being.

WOMEN AND HEALTH

The Beijing Platform for Action outlined health as a critical area of concern for women. However, a clear expression of inequality and discrimination is seen in the precarious conditions of women’s sexual and reproductive health, the high levels of adolescent pregnancies, maternal mortality, and unsafe abortions. HIV/AIDS continues to pose serious health, social, economic and cultural challenges in the Caribbean in the last five years. Not only has the pattern of transmission changed in some populations, but also the rate of infection among girls and young women has increased very rapidly. There has also been a noted increase in pediatric cases of HIV.

Countries of the Caribbean are undergoing reform of the State Sectors, introducing policies of cost sharing and cost recovery in health and education. This has a negative impact on low-income women. Communicable diseases are on the rise in some countries of the Caribbean. Outbreaks of cholera and malaria are linked to the low standards of living and the lack of sanitation in areas where migrant populations live.

WOMEN AND WORK

Although women are entering the formal labour market in record numbers, they still face gender-based discrimination on many levels. Women are often concentrated in low paying, low-skilled jobs. Around the world, regardless of what type of job women hold, they earn an average 75 percent of what men earn for comparable work. Studies have shown that gendered wage differences remain even if men and women are similar in age, education and experience of work.

Many other women, unable to afford childcare, or failing to gain secure work in the formal sector, turn to the informal sector. In this sector, women can combine work and childcare, although the work is poorly paid and tenuous. Workers in the informal markets range from street vendors to micro-entrepreneurs, to craft producers. Women vendors and crafts producers are very vulnerable to global and national economic changes. Higher costs for materials, or the influx of cheap imports resulting from new trade rules can decimate a woman’s craft sales.

Trade liberalisation has also led to increased outsourcing of work, where women work at home for a company, and are paid a certain amount for each piece they complete. This type of work blurs the lines between formal and informal labour. “Home-based workers” are often paid less than EPZ workers and are not protected by national labour laws.

THE RESPONSE OF THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

Historically, women have formed or joined social movements to respond to the crises affecting their lives. It was in an attempt to support these efforts and break down isolation that the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) was formed – “a network of feminists, individual researchers, activists and women’s organisations that define feminist politics as a matter of both consciousness and action”

What made CAFRA different from other regional networks was its bold move to work in all the language areas of the Caribbean and encourage membership from women in the Diaspora. It is a unique formation that has brought CAFRA and the women’s movement into centre stage of both Caribbean integration and Caribbean liberation.

Women have responded through research and activism, targeting the policy-makers and our communities. CAFRA became part of a regional and international lobby, and facilitated several important initiatives, including:

• A Position Paper on the future of EU/ACP development cooperation, to ensure that a gender perspective is taken into account when projects and agreements are negotiated. This work is going on in collaboration with the CPDC on the Cotonou Agreement.

• An open letter and Position Paper saying “No to trade in women’s human rights”. In this still valid paper, we stated, among other things:

• Collaboration with other stakeholders in a project to develop systematic and objective indicators for assessing the impact of trade agreements on the livelihoods of women

• Advocacy for legislation to protect women’s human rights and for new approaches to our political, economic and social development, including increasing the numbers of women serving in positions of power

• Strengthening our NGOs and improving networking among ourselves and with others

• Facilitating the creation of sustainable development projects with grassroots women

• Sensitising governments and citizens on the roles that women play in the productive and reproductive spheres of development

• Pressuring governments to resist the stringent measures imposed as conditionalities by lending agencies, and to introduce social safety nets

• Pressuring governments to introduce gender mainstreaming in development planning
  
  

CAPACITY BUILDING AND PARTNERSHIP

To equip women for this critical advocacy role, in addition to human rights training, CAFRA has joined forces with several other regional NGOs in launching a regional economic literacy programme for women. Special emphasis is placed on rural, grassroots and indigenous women.

By providing them with relevant information on their rights, a critical mass of women will be enabled to influence the content of treaties and trade agreements, and demand accountability from their governments and the international financial institutions.

CAFRA, in turn has to be equipped to deliver this leadership and service, from its nucleus the Secretariat to the national representatives, national committees and communities in countries in the four language areas of the Caribbean (Dutch, French, Spanish and English). It is necessary to harness the resources and skills of all these actors – in other words build a truly regional women’s movement.

CAFRA acknowledges the vision of the Heinrich Boll Foundation in taking a lead in building this unity. Our vision is supported and strengthened and we welcome this workshop as a significant step forward for the regional women’s movement.

Nelcia Robinson
Coordinator
CAFRA

January 24, 2004