VIDEOCONFERENCE ON DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

TARGU-MURES, ROMANIA

Group members and coordinator

Coordinator teacher: Dana Raduly

Group members:

Andra SălcudeanDaniela BudaLaurentiu Mure anșAlexandra LucaTudor DulăuOana VulturRucsandra PinteaDaria Badiu Alexandru Biro

General theme:Discrimination and Human Rights

Sub-theme chosen:Discrimination against women

Why?We chose this type of discrimination

because we feel it’s very common in our country and we believe that by our action we can make a difference.

What did we know about discrimination in the beginning?

We were aware that discrimination existed, however we realized that many people see discrimination as normal behavior.

Discrimination doesn’t allow women to fully express themselves, and live a normal life, equal to men’s.

We realized that, in the case of women, discrimination is mostly negative and it has severe consequences on many levels ( social, political, religious etc.).

What steps did we take in order to find out the situation of women in

our community?

Brainstorming within small groups: we discussed general facts regarding the situation of women in our community

We devised an online survey: 83 people completed the survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KC255Y6

We disseminated the information we found out among our colleagues and we collected their opinions on discrimination

We conducted a kindergarden survey – we asked the children who does what in their household.

We talked to priests regarding the alleged discrimination of women in religion

What did we find out after brainstorming and

researching within the group

domestic violence – several women are abused either physically or mentally

discrimination at work - in some cases women have difficulties in obtaining a promotion

there are specific situations when women are not given enough credit and are judged solely based on their gender

the maternal leave - women are somehow

not given enough financial support to stay at home and take care of their children (there’s a fixed amount of money they get for childcare)

- also, if they choose to stay an extra year on maternal leave they may lose their jobs.

inappropriate jokes (sexist jokes on the topic of women doing male specific things)

Why are women being discriminated?

Because : they are perceived as being the weaker sex

they are seen as more fragile

these ideas are planted in children’s heads from their earliest days

 

there are certain social habits which separate men’s roles from women’s roles.

e.g. young children are usually dressed in pink if they are girls or in blue if they are boys.

e.g. young girls are usually told to play with dolls or toys kitchen tools and boys are taught to play with cars and action figures.

General situation of women

Worldwide

Women do two-thirds of the world’s work, receive 10 percent of the world’s income and own 1 percent of the means of production.” Richard H. Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, (Allyn and Bacon, 1999), p. 354

According to Inter Press Service, “On a global scale, women cultivate more than half of all the food that is grown.

“The failure of women to have reached positions of leadership has been due in large part to social and professional discrimination.”(Rosalyn S. Yalow)

Gender equality is essential for the achievement of human rights for all. Yet discriminatory laws against women persist in every corner of the globe and new discriminatory laws are enacted.(www.ohchr.org)

“From the viewpoint of absolute truth, what we feel and experience in our ordinary daily life is all delusion. Of all the various delusions, the sense of discrimination between oneself and others is the worst form, as it creates nothing but unpleasantness”(Dalai Lama)

In advertisements, women are presented as the ones that clean the house and need cleaning products

Even in movies and music videos, women are fragile and need the protection of men.

In Europe

In many European countries there is a big difference between unemployment rates

e.g. In Greece, the unemployment rate in the case of women was 9,6% higher than in the case of men.

In Spain, the difference was 6,8%.

In other countries, such as Finland, Sweden, Germany Netherlands, Slovenia, Hungary, the difference was inexistent or very small.

Almost 17% of the European women are ranked as living in poverty

In Romania

The unemployment rate for women is also lower that in the case of men

The salary gap between genders is 17,4%

Women are considered inferior because of the innate misconceptions of people

There were cases of domestic violence when women were also fined for disturbing the breach of peace

What conclusions did we draw after analyzing the results of the

online survey?

Conclusions The results from the first question shows us that

most of the people think that women are able to have a good position in a company and take good decisions .

A very high percentage of the people who took our survey think that the women are discriminated in our country .

Many people think that the women shouldn’t be the only ones who do the house work , yet most people agree that women do the harder tasks in a family .

People think that reintegration programs would be useful . (such as programs to prevent discrimination)

Women are most discriminated in politics and least discriminated in education .

What effects does discrimination have on women?

Low self-esteem; Low expectations; Depression; Stress; Anxiety.