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On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2005, UNIS Vienna hosted a panel discussion on “Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future". The discussion was held in cooperation with the City of Vienna, the Vienna NGO Committee on the Status of Women, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA).
The panellists included City Councilor Ms. Sybille Straubinger of the Municipal Committee for Gender Issues and Integration of the City of Vienna; Ms. Susanne Shaked, Chairperson of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women; Ms. Kristiina Kangaspunta, Programme Officer, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, UNODC; Ms. Fariba Soltani, Drug Abuse Treatment Expert, Global Challenges Section, UNODC; Ms. Irka Kuleshnyk, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Terrorism Prevention Branch, UNODC; and Ms. Alice Lee, Chief, Space Applications Section, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA). Ms. Nasra Hassan, UNIS Director/UNODC Spokesperson, chaired and moderated the event.
In her statement, Ms. Straubinger provided an overview of strategies and measures developed to improve the living conditions of women in Austria, and more specifically, in Vienna. While the situation of women in Austria and Vienna was good compared to most of the world, Ms. Straubinger added that “poverty was female”, affecting mostly women.
Ms. Shaked took the floor saying that women remained “losers of globalization” and had to be empowered in order for their work and contributions to society to be valued and respected. She informed the audience of the successful cooperation between the United Nations and the NGO Committee on the Status of Women. She added that despite limited success progress was painful, slow and uneven, and much work remained to be done.
Ms. Kangaspunta gave a brief presentation on the subject of women trafficking, its challenges for human security and the work that had been done in the field. She pointed out that trafficking used to be considered only in relation to women, most often associated with sexual exploitation. However, the international community had noted increased instances of trafficking in men and children for the purposes of forced labour. Ms. Kangaspunta underlined the importance of empowerment of victims, increased awareness of the problem, prosecution of offenders and increased cooperation between various stakeholders.
Ms. Soltani talked about drug abuse among women, and the impact of drug abuse on women. She emphasized that women were much more exposed to the stigma of drug abuse compared to their male counterparts, but cited some examples of successful drug abuse assistance projects implemented by UNODC field offices.
The next panelist, Ms. Kuleshnyk, gave an overview of how terrorism can affect women. She pointed out that women were not only victims, but also perpetrators of the crime, law enforcement practitioners as well as involved in peacekeeping operations.
Ms. Lee gave specific examples of space applications in disaster management and highlighted women’s contribution to a more secure environment for humankind. According to Ms. Lee, the number of women in engineering and scientific fields was increasing. She emphasized, however, the importance of encouraging young girls to learn science by showing them confidence, providing mentoring and opportunities.
The 2-hour panel discussion was followed by a question and answer session, during which the participants asked for studies on women’s participation in terrorist groups and examples of good cooperation between NGOs, police and other parties.
About 30 persons representing non-governmental organizations, government officials and staff members of the Vienna-based organizations attended the discussion. The audience had the opportunity to approach the speakers on an individual basis after the discussion.
UNIS tour guides at the Vienna International Centre made special mention of the events being commemorated.
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