5 Scandals in 3 Months at UN Women. Female Leaders Need to Speak Out.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

Five Scandals in 3 Months at UN Women. Female Leaders Need to Speak Out.

January 8, 2024 – UN Women, leader of the global feminist movement, has been beset by a series of scandals in the past three months. These scandals reflect poorly on the credibility of UN Women, and by extension on female leaders around the world.

Concerns began to be voiced last July when former University of Ottawa professor Janice Fiamengo issued an eye-opening warning. Fiamengo revealed (1):

“Whatever the issue, whether it’s AIDS, climate change, or COVID-19, UN Women always starts from the assumption that women are hardest hit and must receive special assistance …Nowhere in the UN Women documents is there any emphasis on strengthening cooperation or mutual reliance between men and women… Quite the opposite: the emphasis is on separating women from men, making women aware of themselves as a subjugated group, and making women less reliant on men (and more reliant on government and global aid programs).”

Following are the five UN Women scandals:

Rape Silence: During the October 7 invasion by Hamas, hundreds of Israeli women were raped in brutal manner. But the October 13 UN Women statement on the Situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory completely whitewashed the rapes (2). In response, hundreds of Jewish women gathered to hold a protest at the UN headquarters in New York (3).

Violence Against Women: In December, UN Women issued thousands of tweets during its annual #16 Days campaign making the false claim that violence against women and girls “remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation worldwide” (4). In truth, twice as many males as females are killed by injuries and violence, according to the World Health Organization (6), and women commit domestic violence as often as men (5).

Sarah Douglas: UN Women Deputy Chief Sarah Douglas endorsed 153 tweets accusing Israel of “genocide” and other crimes. Douglas addressed a UN meeting via webcam with a large “Palestine” poster in the background. These actions represent a breach of UN staffers’ obligation to be neutral and impartial (7).

Climate Change: UN Women released a video that made the startling claim that women are “14 times higher at risk of dying due to climate change” (8). But analyses of deaths from lightning, cold- or heat-related events (9) and famines (10) reach the exact opposite conclusion – that men face a higher mortality risk. The assertion that women are 14 times more likely to die in a climate catastrophe has been dismissed as a “Zombie statistic.” (11)

Munroe Bergdorf: In December, Munroe Bergdorf was selected as the first “champion” for UN Women UK. Bergdorf is a biological male who underwent major breast augmentation surgery (12). In response, 17 women’s rights groups wrote a letter charging the credibility of UN Women “is in tatters” (13). The selection of Bergdorf was widely ridiculed in the media (14).

These scandals reflect poorly on women around the world, especially those who hold positions of responsibility and trust. DAVIA encourages female lawmakers to contact UN Women to express their disappointment and dismay: janine.kandel@unwomen.org

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 120 member organizations from 34 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and sex-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

Links: