On the Job! Gender violence/Haiti

(On the Job! pays occasional notice to interesting intlaw job notices)

UNICEF and the U.N. Population Fund are seeking a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Coordinator for Haiti, who will effectuate rapid implementation of gender-based violence programming in the aftermath of last month's earthquake, about which IntLawGrrls have posted here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Qualifications required include:

► A postgraduate degree in social work or other social sciences, public health, community health, international relations, international law, or human rights or related field;

► Prior training in gender issues and their application in international humanitarian or development settings; and

► Fluency in French.

Inquiries may be sent to Mendy Marsh, mmarsh@unicef.org, with "GBV Coordinator" in the subject line. Deadline for applications is February 26, 2010. Further details here.

Condoms against climate change

'Women are on the front lines of many societies buffeted by climate change -- and research indicates they tend to be more vulnerable to these impacts.'

So said Robert Engelman, author of a report by the U.N. Population Fund, quoted in a CNN article. Entitled The State of World Population 2009, the report was released yesterday as part of the runup to COP15, the U.N. Climate Change Conference due to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7 to 18.
The report focused on climate change and women; in particular, older women less able to leave communities suffering from drought and other ill effects.
As reported by the Associated Press, the Population Fund
did not recommend limiting the number of children a woman should bear, yet said:

'Women with access to reproductive health services ... have lower fertility rates that contribute to slower growth in greenhouse gas emissions.'

That reference to contraception (photo credit) drew the ire of Caroline Boin (below right), a Conservative critic and property rights advocate at the London-based International Policy Network, who told CNN:

'Whatever the problem, UNFPA repeats the same old mantra -- the culprit is population and the solution is condoms. Food scarcity, water shortages, and health problems in poor countries truly are threats for women. Population and climate control policies are not the solution, and if anything, will give governments an excuse to remain complacent in addressing poverty.'

Fistula Pandemic Persists

Despite the efforts of public figures like talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, singer and actress Natalie Imbruglia, and model Liya Kebede, most Americans have never heard of obstetric fistula. Fistula, which affects at least 2 million women in Africa, Asia and the Arab region, receives little media attention because it is a condition that primarily affects impoverished women and girls living in rural areas. (credits for photos of girls, left and below right)
Obstetric fistula refers to a hole created in the birth canal caused by prolonged childbirth. During the unattended and days-long labor, the baby’s head puts pressure on the woman’s sensitive tissue around the pelvic bone. The pressure causes a hole to form between the vagina and the bladder, the vagina and the rectum, or both. Women are left incontinent and in almost all cases the baby is born dead.
Women suffering from fistula face devastating social consequences. They are shunned by their communities, their families and even their husbands. Unable to work or socialize, many are simply left to the ravages of additional medical complications, the grief of losing a child, and deep shame and humiliation which often leads to suicide.
The condition, despite the immense misery it causes, is easily treated with a 90% success rate for just $300, including post-operative care and support. While access to adequate medical care during delivery is urgently needed in many parts of the world, more than that will be required to stop the problem altogether. The United Nations has taken action through the Population Fund, launching the Campaign to End Fistula in 2003. With a goal of eliminating the problem by 2015, the focus is on “empowering women and girls, enhancing their life opportunities and delaying marriage and childbirth.” But that is no easy task; “ending fistula worldwide will demand political will, additional resources, and strengthened collaboration between governments, community groups, NGOs and health professionals.” (credit for photo of surgery, left)
Films like A Walk to Beautiful, an award-winning documentary chronicling the lives of girls seeking treatment, play a tremendous role in educating the developed world about the problem, and hopefully inspire a flow of additional resources to organizations working to alleviate the problems causing fistula in the first place. For those in the San Francisco Bay Area, the film premiers there on April 4th with a Q&A with the filmmakers. The film will begin its regular run on April 8th.