Anti-corruption and gender dialogue: an analysis of the gender dimension in the fight against corruption in Latin America
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Given that corruption is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that affects the essential principles of democracy and the rule of law, it hampers development and affects the fulfilment of human rights, particularly those of the most vulnerable groups; that women and girls are among the most affected, not least because they account for the largest proportion of people living in poverty and because corruption exacerbates existing inequalities as a result of asymmetric power relationships, it is necessary to establish a dialogue between the actors dedicated to fighting against corruption and for gender equality and equity to allow a greater understanding of the links between gender dimensions and corruption, public policy priorities to be brought closer together on both issues, and specific coordinated and articulated actions to address the overlapping issues.
Considering that an understanding of the relationship between gender and corruption has been understood, the idea that women, for essentialist reasons, are less corrupt than men, according to this approach, this gives a causal relationship between lower perceptions of corruption and a greater presence of women in power and decision-making spaces. This has been translated into some anti-corruption policies in the Latin American region, where the feminization of certain areas is considered to be an anti-corruption measure. Despite this being positive in the first instance, the limitation of this focus is the lack of control over other. Therefore, a better approach to the problem that includes its causes and effects will allow more effective solutions to be defined.
Reiterating that the effects of corruption are not neutral and that they have a serious and differentiated impact on population groups that, due to different circumstances, may find themselves in a more vulnerable situation, particularly women and girls, it should be noted that these acts of corruption occur in critical situations or areas such as the following: political participation by women, differentiated budgets and social programmes, people trafficking, access to services such as justice, health or education, access to the economy and entrepreneurial activities.
The following document presented by representatives of international organizations, public institutions of the justice sector and mechanisms for the advancement of women, civil society and the Academy of Latin America and Europe have debated for two days: the problem, the prevention, sanction and visibility from international and multilateral spaces on the gender dimension in the fight against corruption in Latin America.