Beijing+30 Youth Blog: Working to increase data and funding for social equality in the Asia-Pacific
Date:
Author: Lauralyn Silva
Despite progress for vulnerable groups since adopting the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, significant gaps in data and funding persist. Vulnerable groups often lack adequate representation in national and regional statistics, and a 2021 report by The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) said the funding ecosystem for intersectional feminist organizing is far from where it needs to be, especially in the Global South.
Without high-quality, disaggregated data (broken down by gender, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and other parts of our identity), governments, international organizations, women’s rights organizations, civil society organizations, donor agencies, and financial institutions will continue to overlook their specific needs.
The AWID report said that only 1 per cent of development aid and foundation grants directly reach women’s rights organizations, especially those supporting intersecting forms of marginalization, such as individuals with diverse sexual orientations, indigenous communities, young feminists and sex workers. A survey published in 2016 by FRIDA/Young Feminist Fund and AWID found that over 91 per cent of young feminists ranked the lack of financial resources as their top challenge.
Donors often have strict criteria that small or grass-roots organizations cannot meet. For example, we must often be registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO). Some countries have laws restricting NGO formation and operation, often requiring complex registration processes, extensive documentation, and periodic renewals. Furthermore, NGO registration in some countries poses security challenges where, at best, we face social stigma, ostracism, surveillance or office raids, and at worst, unfair imprisonment.
Some countries impose restrictions on foreign funding. Or limit funding to organizations that have been established for years, with extensive documentation proving they meet the funding criteria.
When we get lucky and obtain funding, it’s often provided on a short-term, project-specific basis, making it difficult to plan, implement and sustain long-term objectives, and scale impact. Some governments may impose taxes on funds. We are forced to operate on shoestring budgets and must make difficult decisions on which initiatives to drop and which members to let go. A survey by Oxfam published in 2021 found that a third of over 200 women’s rights organizations across 38 countries had to lay off between 1-10 staff members, and 18 eventually closed.
Data privacy and security concerns add to these challenges. For example, a study on the health needs of youths of diverse sexual orientations might lead to underreporting and unreliable data if participants don’t feel safe disclosing their identities.
If you’re attending Beijing+30, I hope you:
- Advocate for more high-quality, disaggregated data collection
- Discuss measures to build better data privacy protections
- Encourage simplifying funding applications and explore innovative funding solutions
- Share best practices and resources for navigating regulatory environments
Biography:
Lauralyn Silva is a Filipina living in Malaysia. As a survivor of cyber sexual harassment and member of the UN Women 30 for 2030 Network, she advocates for mainstreaming violence prevention and intersectionality. With over 17 years of experience, mainly in tech start-ups and brand agencies, she's worked with various United Nations-led organizations since 2019. Silva is working on comprehensive Do No Harm training and guidelines for media outlets and content creators.
@justlauralyn | 
@justlauralyn | 
@justlauralyn | 
Lauralyn (Laura)