The following information was submitted by CARE offices in the countries reviewed in the report to provide additional context and detail.
How Denmark Scored on Our Report Card
What Denmark Is Doing to Support Women and Girls in Crisis
The strategic framework for Gender equality, rights and diversity in the Danish Development Cooperation in 2014 indicated the government’s commitments to continue its support to women’s full and equal participation in prevention and resolution of conflicts. This support includes all stages of peace negotiations and peacekeeping. Furthermore, the framework supports active contribution to combatting sexual and gender-based violence against women. Specifically, the framework focuses on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in conflict situations and work to ensure that international operations and humanitarian efforts include a clear gender perspective.
These commitments will continue to be focus areas of Denmark’s strategy for development cooperation and humanitarian action, The World 2030, which was adopted by a broad political majority in the Danish Parliament in 2017. For the first time, the Danish development cooperation and humanitarian action are combined in one strategy.
The strategy emphasizes that everyone must have an equal right to contribute to and participate in the political life, in the economic development and in the social and cultural life of a society. Girls and women are prevented from participating on an equal footing with boys and men in far too many places in the world. Denmark will maintain its position as a strong global advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights. The right to decide over one’s own body and own sexuality is a fundamental human right. Girls must not be subjected to female genital mutilation or be forced to marry at an early age. Everyone is entitled to information, access to contraception, and other relevant services, including HIV/AIDS-related services.
Political negotiations of a new development and humanitarian strategy are currently underway, accompanied by advocacy to ensure that the Women, Peace and Security and Gender in Emergencies frameworks will inform and shape the new strategy.
Denmark finances as part of its development and humanitarian aid a vast number of initiatives that promote gender equality, including access to quality education with a particular focus on girls’ and women’s health and rights, such as their right to decide freely over their own body and to determine how many children they wish to have, when and with whom. Denmark works bilaterally with authorities and governments in priority countries and through country programs by providing core funding to selected organizations working on gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights.