IMPACT
GENDER JUSTICE
I know a lot of people my age who were harmed during this crisis.
Specifically, people who don’t have the purchasing power to buy menstrual health products – especially now that these products cost a lot more and are no longer available in every household.
“We ask that the authorities think of the people, and especially women and girls, who make up half of the population – that they really consider our needs and priorities.”
– Ola
Women like Ola have been heavily affected by Lebanon’s economic collapse, with some now referring to ‘period poverty’ as a form of gender-based violence.
The fight for women’s rights is an integral part of the fight for a more equal future.
Every day, in every country in the world, women are confronted by discrimination and inequality. They face violence, abuse and unequal treatment at home, at work and in their communities. They are denied opportunities to learn, to earn and to lead.
OUR WORK
In 2022–23 Oxfam made enormous gains advancing women’s rights and gender justice around the world.
Feminist power and activism has driven policy change and practice towards gender justice, and Oxfam has collaborated with some of these movements to expose the scale of gender-based violence (GBV) across the world.
In the16 Days of Activism Against GBV, Oxfam made the case, with stories of resistance, that austerity is #AlsoViolence. Part of the struggle lies in not only providing a critique and defining the problem, but in presenting proposals for solutions.
Oxfam, together with partners, are at the forefront of challenging harmful social and gender norms through influencing and programs.
In the Middle East and North Africa region, we strengthened services for GBV survivors, challenged and transformed harmful norms in their communities and advocated for better legal frameworks.
Oxfam, together with partners, are at the forefront of challenging harmful social and gender norms through influencing and programs.
In the Middle East and North Africa region, we strengthened services for GBV survivors, challenged and transformed harmful norms in their communities and advocated for better legal frameworks.
On Valentine’s Day, traditionally associated with romantic relationships, Oxfam engaged the public to shift the narrative to demand changes to the sexist, and racist, systems that drive inequalities. Our message reached 1.8 million people on Oxfam International’s social media platforms.
Oxfam joined LGBTQIA+ movements to celebrate the enormous progress made for rights and justice. In too many countries, LGBTQIA+ people remain criminalized under colonial-based laws, and in too many others they are under attack for who they are and love.
In June 2022 Oxfam celebrated Pride Month in collaboration with LGBTQIA+ activists and artists, presenting a Queer Joy Manifesto. Content around social norms that influence attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people received the most interest from our audiences. Our campaign was viewed nearly 4 million times, with nearly 240,000 people liking and sharing our content.
We affirm that everyone has the human right to dignity and to freedom of sexual identity, gender identity and expression.
In March 2023, for International Women’s Day, Oxfam celebrated the power of feminist movements and asked leaders across the world, including those at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, to support, celebrate and fund feminist solutions to achieve gender justice.
The campaign recalled the political slogan from the women’s suffrage activist Helen Todd during a textile strike in Massachusetts in 1912 to have ‘bread for all, and roses too’, expressing a desire not just for higher wages, but for dignity, respect and equality.
We facilitated the accreditation of 22 partners and supported 28 to participate. The delegation engaged in events with Member States, regional blocs and UN agencies. Oxfam was among only a few CSOs who had the opportunity to deliver an oral statement, calling for the need to ensure equal access to education.
OUR WORK ACROSS THE WORLD
CANADA
Safe spaces for activism
In Canada, Oxfam partnered with the Canadian Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity for the 2023 Youth Summit in February 2023 as part of the Her Future, Her Choice program. The program aims to strengthen young women's sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the adolescent birth is more than double the global average.
Young people (aged 18–29) from coast to coast to coast convened in Ottawa to improve their knowledge and advocacy on SRHR. Topics and workshops included decolonizing SRHR, abortion advocacy, anti-racist approaches to child sexual exploitation (CSE), art for activism, queer advocacy, and Indigenous teachings by local elders.
With SRHR under attack the world over, and targeted hate speech towards LGBTQIA+ people, it is more important than ever to foster safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces for young leaders to take action and advocate for their rights. And to remind us that activism and advocacy can be and should be fun, while also remembering the importance of self care and community care.
BOLIVIA
Caring cities and communities
Since 2021, Oxfam has mobilized communities in the heart of Bolivia to acknowledge and give value to care work. So far, strides have been made both in shifting attitudes in communities, and effecting policy change, including the passing of a new legislation and strengthening of institutions that help promote care work in three Bolivian municipalities: Cochabamba, Arbieto and Colcapirhua.
During 2022–23, women's organizations, educators, parents and government authorities have developed and strengthened their skills and knowledge around care work as a key foundation for life sustainability, and have advocated for the co-responsibility for care.
Advocacy by Oxfam, along with two partners, IFFI and Ciudadanía, led to the adoption of a municipal care law in Colcapirhua in December 2022. The new law increases municipal care budgets and re-opens childcare centers that had closed during the Covid pandemic.
An estimated 4,340 people are due to benefit directly, of whom 3,322 are women and girls.
PHILIPPINES
Partnering to protect rights
In June 2022 Oxfam partnered for the first time with TikTok, local groups (Babaylanes and PANTAY) and influencers to celebrate Pride month in the Philippines. A TikTok series, which was co-created with LGBTQIA+ groups and influencers, offered tips and discussion on how to overcome cyberbullying and online harassment in school and the workplace, raising awareness of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
According to Human Rights Watch, only 15% of Filipinos live in areas that have ordinances against discrimination based on SOGIESC; while anti-discrimination laws were first proposed over two decades ago, people of the Philippines are still waiting for a national legislation to protect LGBTQIA+ citizens.
In Tiktok’s #QueerTalk with Oxfam Pilipinas, LGBTQIA+ creators and professionals provided live open discussion on the importance of the SOGIESC Equality Bill and how it will address the discrimination and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.
Oxfam also used its streamed series, #DapatAllEqual, to tackle LGBTQIA+ rights and the importance of the SOGIESC Equality Bill. This was aired for the first time on a Catholic-run radio station, Veritas 846, which was one of the critics of the proposed bill in Congress.
IRAQ, YEMEN & OPT
Towards gender protection in conflict
The Middle East and Northern Africa face higher than global averages of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), with rates of intimate partner violence at 35% compared to the global average of 26%.
Internally displaced and refugee women and girls face even greater risks of sexual abuse and rape, forced marriage, and sexual exploitation as their displacement becomes more protracted.
Naseej (from the Arabic word for woven fabric or texture) was a four-year EU-funded project ending in 2023, involving an Oxfam-led consortium, to tackle SGBV in conflict settings in Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Yemen.
We took a holistic approach, supporting 23 women’s rights organizations (WROs) to be more effective and independent in their work of providing response to SGBV in conflict settings. We also increased awareness of men, boys, women and girls of their roles in preventing SGBV and supporting survivors; and we strengthened the global knowledge on GBV in conflict.
Key outcomes from the project were:
- 73% of women and girls reported improved safety from SGBV
- 23 partner WROs became more effective and independent in their work around SGBV
- People reported a 19% increase in satisfaction with accessibility of SGBV services
- The number of people who felt that SGBV could not be justified increased by 29%. This applied to men and boys as well as women and girls
- The project achieved an increase in knowledge of SGBV in WROs at both national and regional levels.
Update: The recent conflict has undoubtedly affected project outcomes in OPT.
KENYA
WE-CARE
Under the Women’s Economic and Care Project, known as WE-Care in Kenya, Oxfam aims to increase the recognition of unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW) as valued work. It seeks to redistribute the responsibility for UCDW more equally between men and women and between households and the state, ensuring that women’s working time is measured, valued and shared.
The work has been made possible through the partnership of Oxfam, Youth Alive Kenya, and the Association of Women in Agriculture Kenya (AWAK). Working with community health volunteers, the project used public participation advocacy to secure government approval for the construction of Ngomongo level 2 hospital.
The hospital has increased access to healthcare for those living in the informal settlement areas of Ruaraka and Korogocho, who now do not have to travel long distances to receive treatment. This is of particular benefit to women in accessing maternity services in close reach of their villages and therefore in a timely and safe way.
The project also engages men and boys, and chiefs, religious leaders and community elders, for example with events and meetings, to shift the narrative on unpaid work. AWAK and Oxfam established a working group in July 2022 that brought together religious and community leaders and self-help groups to create greater awareness of UCDW; the group has now registered as a community-based organization (CBO).
CANADA
Safe spaces for activism
In Canada, Oxfam partnered with the Canadian Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity for the 2023 Youth Summit in February 2023 as part of the Her Future, Her Choice program. The program aims to strengthen young women's sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the adolescent birth is more than double the global average.
Young people (aged 18–29) from coast to coast to coast convened in Ottawa to improve their knowledge and advocacy on SRHR. Topics and workshops included decolonizing SRHR, abortion advocacy, anti-racist approaches to child sexual exploitation (CSE), art for activism, queer advocacy, and Indigenous teachings by local elders.
With SRHR under attack the world over, and targeted hate speech towards LGBTQIA+ people, it is more important than ever to foster safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces for young leaders to take action and advocate for their rights. And to remind us that activism and advocacy can be and should be fun, while also remembering the importance of self care and community care.
BOLIVIA
Caring cities and communities
Since 2021, Oxfam has mobilized communities in the heart of Bolivia to acknowledge and give value to care work. So far, strides have been made both in shifting attitudes in communities, and effecting policy change, including the passing of a new legislation and strengthening of institutions that help promote care work in three Bolivian municipalities: Cochabamba, Arbieto and Colcapirhua.
During 2022–23, women's organizations, educators, parents and government authorities have developed and strengthened their skills and knowledge around care work as a key foundation for life sustainability, and have advocated for the co-responsibility for care.
Advocacy by Oxfam, along with two partners, IFFI and Ciudadanía, led to the adoption of a municipal care law in Colcapirhua in December 2022. The new law increases municipal care budgets and re-opens childcare centers that had closed during the Covid pandemic.
An estimated 4,340 people are due to benefit directly, of whom 3,322 are women and girls.
PHILIPPINES
Partnering to protect rights
In June 2022 Oxfam partnered for the first time with TikTok, local groups (Babaylanes and PANTAY) and influencers to celebrate Pride month in the Philippines. A TikTok series, which was co-created with LGBTQIA+ groups and influencers, offered tips and discussion on how to overcome cyberbullying and online harassment in school and the workplace, raising awareness of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
According to Human Rights Watch, only 15% of Filipinos live in areas that have ordinances against discrimination based on SOGIESC; while anti-discrimination laws were first proposed over two decades ago, people of the Philippines are still waiting for a national legislation to protect LGBTQIA+ citizens.
In Tiktok’s #QueerTalk with Oxfam Pilipinas, LGBTQIA+ creators and professionals provided live open discussion on the importance of the SOGIESC Equality Bill and how it will address the discrimination and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.
Oxfam also used its streamed series, #DapatAllEqual, to tackle LGBTQIA+ rights and the importance of the SOGIESC Equality Bill. This was aired for the first time on a Catholic-run radio station, Veritas 846, which was one of the critics of the proposed bill in Congress.
IRAQ, YEMEN & OPT
Towards gender protection in conflict
The Middle East and Northern Africa face higher than global averages of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), with rates of intimate partner violence at 35% compared to the global average of 26%.
Internally displaced and refugee women and girls face even greater risks of sexual abuse and rape, forced marriage, and sexual exploitation as their displacement becomes more protracted.
Naseej (from the Arabic word for woven fabric or texture) was a four-year EU-funded project ending in 2023, involving an Oxfam-led consortium, to tackle SGBV in conflict settings in Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Yemen.
We took a holistic approach, supporting 23 women’s rights organizations (WROs) to be more effective and independent in their work of providing response to SGBV in conflict settings. We also increased awareness of men, boys, women and girls of their roles in preventing SGBV and supporting survivors; and we strengthened the global knowledge on GBV in conflict.
Key outcomes from the project were:
- 73% of women and girls reported improved safety from SGBV
- 23 partner WROs became more effective and independent in their work around SGBV
- People reported a 19% increase in satisfaction with accessibility of SGBV services
- The number of people who felt that SGBV could not be justified increased by 29%. This applied to men and boys as well as women and girls
- The project achieved an increase in knowledge of SGBV in WROs at both national and regional levels.
Update: The recent conflict has undoubtedly affected project outcomes in OPT.
KENYA
WE-CARE
Under the Women’s Economic and Care Project, known as WE-Care in Kenya, Oxfam aims to increase the recognition of unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW) as valued work. It seeks to redistribute the responsibility for UCDW more equally between men and women and between households and the state, ensuring that women’s working time is measured, valued and shared.
The work has been made possible through the partnership of Oxfam, Youth Alive Kenya, and the Association of Women in Agriculture Kenya (AWAK). Working with community health volunteers, the project used public participation advocacy to secure government approval for the construction of Ngomongo level 2 hospital.
The hospital has increased access to healthcare for those living in the informal settlement areas of Ruaraka and Korogocho, who now do not have to travel long distances to receive treatment. This is of particular benefit to women in accessing maternity services in close reach of their villages and therefore in a timely and safe way.
The project also engages men and boys, and chiefs, religious leaders and community elders, for example with events and meetings, to shift the narrative on unpaid work. AWAK and Oxfam established a working group in July 2022 that brought together religious and community leaders and self-help groups to create greater awareness of UCDW; the group has now registered as a community-based organization (CBO).
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