Delegation From,
Kingdom of Belgium
Position Paper for UN Women
The Kingdom of Belgium has been taking the issue of gender equality women’s rights as a core
part of its governing policies since years. It is a major contributor to UN Women, having
contributed 4 Million Euros in 2014 and 2015 and granted additional funds for various other UN-
Women programs (like €1.5 million to implement SC resolution 1325, €3 million in Afghanistan,
€2 million in Congo etc.). It has scored increasingly in the Gender Equality Score annually,
achieving 70.5/100 in 2017, which is higher than the EU average (66.2). Belgium has adopted,
developed, and refined various laws and implementation policies for increased rights, respect and
protection of women in various fields including for both agendas for this conference.
1. Empowering Rural Women Through SDGs
Since the initiation of the SDGs on 1st January 2016, the progress is notably slow to achieve the
goals by 2030 and unfortunately the progress is notably neglecting women communities,
especially in rural areas. In rural areas, the already existing problems of sexual violence,
unequal/unpaid pay, discrimination, lack of education, health hazards, lack of government
participation are far more serious. In biomass/coal-dependent countries, 6/10 women die
prematurely due to air pollution from unclean fuels and inefficient usage. In regions of water
shortage, women are held responsible for collection of clean water in 80% of households.
Countries are alarmingly neglecting women’s needs. According to UN Women, about 124
countries are further weakening social measures, depleting essential rural services and reducing
their budgets for protection and promotion of women’s needs and safety. As important as it is to
work towards achieving the SDGs, nations must do so with inclusiveness of women especially in
rural areas- where the most suffering occurs.
In the international community, organizations such as the UN, its affiliates, EU, and others have
laid down umpteen number of laws, conventions and recommendations. Belgium has ratified and
incorporated a considerable amount within its national and foreign policy framework such as the
Second National Action Plan “Women, peace and security”, respecting SC resolution 1325, and
various laws such as Acts of 13/4/1995, 28/11/2000, 17/5/2006, 4/7/1989, 28/7/2011, 8/3/2012,
8/5/2014, 28/2/2014, 28/3/2014, 22/3/2014 , Anti-Discrimination Acts of 2007, Worker’s Well-
1
Being Act of 4/7/1996 all relevant to preventing sexual abuse, penal protection, establishing of
courts, banning of marital rape and its punishments, promoting women participation in politics,
employment, government service positions and rural activities, reducing wage gaps, preventing
sexism and so on. To promote and protect women’s needs and rights, Belgium had established
the Institute for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (IEFH) in 2002 which was even
applauded in the HRC National Report for Belgium in 2016 (A/HRC/WG.6/24/BEL/1).
It is to be noted that despite the presence of various international and regional recommendations
and conventions on promoting and protecting women’s needs, and rights in various spheres of
The date format of the Acts is: dd/mm/yyyy.
Delegation From,
Kingdom of Belgium
society including great emphasis on the rural sphere and connection with SDGs, many countries
have not incorporated those in their national frameworks and thus making implementation
difficult as no legal framework or baseline exists to begin with. As for nations that have
incorporated the recommendations and policies in their national framework, quite a lot of them
have allocated insufficient budgets and fail to effectively implement and practice those laws. In a
statement by Belgium to the UN Women, Belgium stated - “Our priority can now be summed up
in three words: implementation, implementation, implementation.”
Belgium has always remained active in the field of making sure its laws and policies are up to
date and participates in frequent refining of those laws, Belgium is also open to public agitation
of women and responds positively to demands as and when needed as seen in the expansion of
law in response to the documentary of Sofie Peeters in 2012. This is another vital factor in the
face of protecting women, their voice and demands must not be suppressed but rather be heard.
Belgium signed agreements with UN Women, UNDP and the ILO on 20th September 2016 to
increase funding, planning, delivering missions in the face of accomplishing the SDGs which is
noted by UN Women as to “empower women, fuel thriving economics, spur productivity and
growth, eliminate discrimination and achieve equality between women and men as partners and
beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian actions and peace and security.”
Belgium also maintains a good record in working towards achieving the SDGs as well as
empowering women in all spheres including rural. Apart from such developments internally,
Belgium also works for this cause internationally through the Belgian Development Agency.
In conclusion, all nations must firstly incorporate international recommendations and laws in
their national policy frameworks and accommodate for a gender realm in the implementation of
all national programs. They must grant increasing attention to empowerment of women, their
leadership and participation in society with increased focus on rural areas with no compromise.
Awareness needs to be spread regarding why women deserve to be respected, heard, and
empowered. Ultimately, the notion that women are inferior must end and find no ground, ever.
2. Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in the Work Place
According to a study by the Cosmopolitan, 1 in 3 women have been sexually harassed at work,
81% of this harassment was in verbal form, 44% in unwanted touching/sexual advances, 25% in
illicit texts. 10% of males surveyed also reported harassment. In a study in Belgium, similar
results were obtained; 28% of respondents reported experience with domestic violence out of
which 72.9% indicated detrimental effects on their work performance. 58% of victims did not
take any further action post-harassment/exploitation and 33% of those who did report to a union
noted that the response was negative and unhelpful. Worldwide, the issue of sexual harassment at
work is on a rise and the international community must carefully assess its background, causes,
perpetrators, prevention, consolidation and punishment methods. Sexual harassment at work is
reported the most in the Services and Hospitality industry (67% of respondents of the hospitality
Delegation From,
Kingdom of Belgium
sector claimed to face sexual harassment at work in a survey by the Trade Union Congress), and
this is notably due to the expectation that female hospitality workers will be friendly, and
subservient leading to men invading their personal space more often than in any other industry.
This prolonged world crisis and denigration of women, the claims that they are inferior need to
be stopped else this abuse and exploitation will continue forever. Among the many reasons to
continued female exploitation at work, their dependence on income, pay-raises, fear of being
fired or harmed in case they report the assault, and lack of respect towards female-dominated
sectors and its association with feminine aspects play major roles. Many nations lack effective
laws to combat the issue, and out of those who do have laws, many lack effective
implementation of those laws and fail to protect workers. According to the human rights watch
only 10% of domestic workers receive equal protection under national labor laws.
Belgium has in place the Law of 28/7/2011 on Women’s Participation on Management Boards of
Companies, Law of 28/2/2014, 28/3/2014, Royal Decree of 10/4/2014 on the prevention of
psychosocial risks (defined as “the likelihood that one or more workers will suffer psychological
damage, which may or may not be combined with physical damage, as a result of exposure to
work situation which entails a risk” by Belgian authorities. Sexual abuse and harassment in the
workplace falls under this definition) and sexual harassment at the workplace, Anti-
discrimination Acts of 2007 and the Worker’s Well-Being Act of 4/7/1996. Belgium also
complies with various international and regional conventions such as the 2007 European
Autonomous Framework Agreement on Violence and Harassment at Work. Moreover, a national
union training program was hosted between Sept. 2016 and June 2017 on discrimination and
harassment to address violence against women at work. A Global HR and Employment Law
Firm Alliance ‘Ius Laboris’ while noting best practices from five countries, also noted quite a
few from Belgium setting it as an example for other nations to follow.
An exemplary strategy can be seen by Caritas Belgium who shifted towards hiring married and
already committed employees to prevent sexual advances within the team and purchasing sexual
services during missions abroad and in conflict regions. On 18th October 2018, Belgium along
with many other countries signed commitments to tackle sexual exploitation and harassment in
international aid missions.
Belgium carries out measures to deal with the issues on both national and international levels,
along with complying with international standards, Belgium also focuses on implementing them.
It is imperative that all other nations also act accordingly. Some nations completely neglect the
issue while some issue laws like confetti but only a few actually implement them and that is the
path the international community needs to follow. Nations need to increase data-collection in all
spheres and study it in an unbiased manner and collaborate with all stakeholders to discuss
solutions. The governments must grant increased protection to women, whistleblowers, and host
workshops for unions and companies. Women safety and their surveying may also be included in
auditing of companies. Legislations must be strengthened, execution made effective and nations
must eliminate patriarchal sentiments and all factors that lead to sexual exploitation at work.
Delegation From,
Kingdom of Belgium
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Delegation From,
Kingdom of Belgium
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