Transparency data

Women and girls: objectives 2017 to 2018

Published 16 February 2018

1. Overview

The UK government is committed to a foreign policy which consciously and consistently delivers for women and girls. During 2017, the FCO established a new Gender Equality Unit focussing on Female Education, Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), Women Peace and Security (WPS) and including LGBT rights. This programme supports these policy objectives and ensures the UK remains at the forefront of this agenda, building on the UK’s already strong reputation overseas and our global influence, as well as supporting all of the UK’s objectives under its Aid Strategy.

2. FCO objectives on Women and Girls

Promoting global gender equality and in particular female education is an FCO priority. This work helps to tackle some of the key drivers of poverty, conflict and instability and advance our national interest. This programme supports work to deliver the following FCO’s Strategic Objectives:

• equality: the elimination of barriers that hold women and girls back, including accessing education
• empowerment: girls and women empowered economically, politically and socially, with voice and choice
• safety: women and girls are safe and secure from all forms of violence, including sexual violence in conflict, and are in control of their bodies and health

3. Official Development Assistance and Woman and Girls

The UK Aid Strategy prioritises the rights of women and girls under its fourth strategic goal of tacking extreme poverty and helping the world’s most vulnerable. And the Gender Equality Act makes clear that all ODA programmes need to be gender sensitive. The UK also promotes Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) 5 (gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls) that underpins progress on the other SDGs.

4. Women and Girls project objectives

Workstreams will primarily focus on the FCO Objectives above but also work closely with other funding streams across government. The key themes receiving ODA funds during financial year 2017 to 2018 include:

4.1 Equality

• Upholding right to education on an equal basis to boys; getting girls into classrooms and keeping them there
• Maintaining and strengthening the international system and universality of human rights
• Challenging and tackling social norms, traditions and gender stereotypes that are harmful
• Upholding the rule of law and tackling impunity, including access to justice for women and girls
• Securing implementation of commitments/obligations

4.2 Empowerment

• Promoting women’s inclusion in decision-making (economic, political and social)
• Including women in peace processes as negotiators, mediators, parties to conflict
• Enabling women’s economic empowerment – equipping women to generate sustainable livelihoods, have small and medium enterprises, and reach their full potential
• Promoting full participation in labour market/economy (e.g. closing gender pay gap; land rights; skills/training)
• Increase greater capacity of women’s rights organisations to deliver change
• Promoting sexual reproductive health rights to ensure women can complete their education and fulfil their potential

4.3 Safety

• Tackling violence against women (e.g. PSVI, intimate partner violence, controlling behaviour and language)
• Confronting harmful practices (e.g. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Child and Early Forced Marriage (CEFM))
• Protecting against modern forms of slavery
• Tackling stigma of violence including survivors of sexual violence and children born of rape
• Tackling radicalisation and countering violent extremism, including promoting the role women can play in preventing and countering violent extremism
• Standing up for Human Rights Defenders and ensuring their safety

Projects under this programme work closely with those under the FCO’s Rules Based International System (RBIS) programme.