Global perspective Human stories

UN Gender Focus: Barbershop Conference, safety in South Sudan UN camps and access to sexual health care

UN Gender Focus: Barbershop Conference, safety in South Sudan UN camps and access to sexual health care

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Barbershop Conference: Changing the conversation around gender equality

Despite years of policies to promote gender equality in the workplace, no country has managed to make it a reality. That’s one of the findings of a report launched at the second Barbershop Conference, held at UN Headquarters in July. The Barbershop Conference aims to change the conversation around gender equality by encouraging men and boys worldwide to stand up for the rights of women and girls. The initiative was created in 2015 by Iceland and Suriname and supports UN Women’s “HeforShe” movement to achieve gender equality within our lifetime. Dianne Penn reports.

UNPOL officer in South Sudan, Cynthia Anderson records date of search on shelter in displaced persons camp in Juba. Photo: UNMISS/Daniel Dickinson

UN camp residents in South Sudan “trust more” when searches are conducted by women: UNPOL officer 

South Sudanese citizens who have been displaced to UN protection camps as a result of conflict say they feel safer when those camps are searched for weapons and other prohibited items. When the search is conducted by women, there’s a higher sense of trust, confidence and security. That’s according to Cynthia Anderson, an officer from Ghana who is serving in the UN Police force, UNPOL, in South Sudan. She leads the team who conducts surprise inspections to ensure the sites, known as POCs, remain civilian in nature. Daniel Dickinson spoke to Cynthia and started by asking her how was the search operation on the POC in the country’s capital, Juba.

Ruben Pagés of UNAIDS and Hayley Gleeson of the International Planned Parent Federation in the UN News studios. Photo: UN News/Elizabeth Scaffidi

Stigma-free access to sexual health care a must for youth, say advocates

Countries are pushing to achieve a more just and equitable world by 2030, and youth advocates say access to sexual and reproductive healthcare is important to meeting this objective. Ruben Pagés from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and Hayley Gleeson of the International Planned Parent Federation in the United Kingdom, participated in a recent UN forum on the Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs. They spoke to Liz Scaffidi about a youth alliance known as ACT!2030 which aims to dismantle barriers that put young people at risk of being infected with HIV.

Presenter: Dianne Penn

Production Assistant: Ana Carmo

Duration: 10’00″

Audio
10'
Photo Credit
UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz