SDG 5 – Gender Equality

While the world has made progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals, women and girls in all parts of the world continue to suffer discrimination and violence.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Unfortunately, one in five women and girls aged 15-49 currently report experiencing physical or sexual violence by their own partner in a 12-month period. There are currently no laws protecting women from domestic violence in 49 countries. Progress has been recorded in harmful practices such as child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which has decreased by 30 per cent in the last decade. However, much remains to be done to completely eliminate these practices.

Equal access for women and girls to education, healthcare, decent work and representation in political and economic decision-making will promote the transformation towards sustainable economic growth and benefit societies and humanity as a whole. The implementation of new legal frameworks for women’s equality in the workplace and the elimination of harmful practices for women is critical to ending the gender discrimination prevalent in many countries around the world.

Did you know?
18% of women and girls between the age of 15 and 49 years have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their partner within the last 12 months.