Interact Worldwide Gender
What is Gender?
Gender refers to a set of qualities and behaviour expected of individuals by society- it is not biological. Although often viewed as innate, gender roles differ by location and are determined by one’s society.
Gender expectations are very often oppressive to women and sexual minority groups in particular. Women globally face great challenges to their right to self-determination such as:
- Being forced to marry young
- Coerced into marrying someone against their will
- Not given the choice of whether or when to bear children
- Being subjected to violence, such as female genital mutilation.
In most countries, women struggle for equal access to education, economic empowerment and inheritance. Working towards the greater empowerment of women is one of the most effective drivers of human development. Sexual minority groups such as transgendered people, and men who have sex with men also face discrimination, stigma and even criminalisation for not conforming to the gender roles expected by their societies.
A Rights Based Approach
Interact Worldwide works with local partners in developing countries to enable individuals to realise their rights to equality in the eyes of the law and equity in terms of access to resources such as health services.
Our rights based approach supports people in identifying and solving their own gender related problems. The issues tied to sexual and reproductive health and HIV and AIDS cannot be tackled without a gender sensitive approach.
