| Agenda Setting, the UN, and NGOs: Gender Violence and Reproductive Rights Contributor(s): Joachim, Jutta M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1589011759 ISBN-13: 9781589011755 Publisher: Georgetown University Press OUR PRICE: $59.35 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 2007 Annotation: Prior to the UN General Assembly's 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women and the 1994 decision by the UN's Conference on Population and Development to vault women's reproductive rights and health to the forefront of its global population growth management program, there was little consensus among governments as to what constituted violence against women and how much control a woman should have over reproduction. Jutta Joachim tells the story of how, in the years leading up to these decisions, women's organizations got savvy--framing the issues strategically, seizing political opportunities in the international environment, and taking advantage of mobilizing structures--and overcame the cultural opposition of many UN-member states to broadly define the two issues and ultimately cement women's rights as an international cause. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | International Relations - General - Political Science | Ngos (non-governmental Organizations) - Political Science | Human Rights |
| Dewey: 342.087 |
| LCCN: 2007007012 |
| Series: Advancing Human Rights (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.68" H x 5.72" W x 8.6" (0.73 lbs) 258 pages |
| Themes: - Sex & Gender - Feminine |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In 1993 the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women, condemning gender violence in both the private and public sphere as a violation of human rights. One year later the UN Conference on Population and Development approved a program that placed women's reproductive rights and health, rather than demographic targets, at the center of global population growth management. Each of these watershed events represented the culmination of a political process begun two decades earlier that was initiated and driven by the activities of international women's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). While these developments may seem like political no-brainers, the evolution of this international consensus represents a remarkable shift in perceptions regarding women and their rights. Joachim tells the story of how this happened. She demonstrates how, prior to the 1990s, there was little consensus among states as to what constituted violence against women, and whether or how much control a woman should have over reproduction--what for some countries represented a violation of rights was for other countries a tradition or custom. Just how did the a consensus emerge? Joachim shows that women's organizations got savvy: they framed their issues in a strategic manner, seizing political opportunities in the international environment and taking advantage of mobilizing structures which they had at their disposal. Her framework builds a bridge between a rationalist approach, focusing on power and strategy and calculating actors, and a constructivist approach, emphasizing norms, ideas, and the interaction between agents and structures. Fittingly, Joachim's account is both academic and personal, blending theory and passions and personalities. |
