4 4.8 limitations on building places of worship and destruction of religious venues and artefacts. These abuses are particularly acute in the context of the armed conflict in Kachin and northern Shan States. 542 Women Myanmar acceded to the UN Convention against All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in July 1997. The 2008 Myanmar Constitution does not include an effective constitutional guarantee of substantive equality 543 nor in practice do women receive equal pay for work of equal value. 544 Although the law guarantees equality between men and women, enforcement is weak and women are under-represented in Government and in most traditionally male occupations. In order to address some of these issues, in October 2013 the Government launched a 10 year action plan for the advancement of women. 545 The ADB and the UN have supported the Government in carrying out a Gender Status Analysis that provides a detailed assessment of the status of women in the country; the results were announced during January 2015. 546 Women can be particularly at risk of negative impacts because they have fewer livelihood options than men, due to social status, family and cultural roles and expectations, and lower literacy levels, 547 and as a result, are disproportionally affected by poverty. 548 While the 2014 census reported an overall female literacy rate of 86.9%, 549 girls are often not able to attend school, particularly in remote mountainous border regions, which means that women are on the whole are less educated, leading to a lower literacy rate. Without access to education, women cannot access the job market, remain in low paid positions and are more prone to exploitation. Sexual violence against women in the context of internal armed conflict in Myanmar has been reported for many years. 550 However an October 2014 report by the Gender Equality Network discussed violence against women in non-conflict situations, such as intimate partner violence, including marital rape, and sexual assault and harassment outside the home. The report recommended that companies implement policies to address and effectively respond to sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. 551 Women’s organisations in Myanmar speak out on a range of issues, including on the impact of business operations. 552 Article 19 has published a report, ‘Censored Gender’, 542 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, “2013 Annual Report” (2013), pg 22-25. Article 350 guarantees that women have the enforceable right to the “same rights and salaries” as that received by men “in respect of similar work.” The use of the term “similar work” will not achieve the same equalities outcome as the principle of equal pay for work of equal value used in CEDAW. Myanmar Legal Framework Background Paper for IHRB, p 83, on file with IHRB. 544 UNFPA Myanmar, “The 100th International Women’s Day celebrated in Yangon, Myanmar” (8 Mar. 2011). 545 UNDP,“Women’s National Strategic Plan for Women Advancement Released” (4 October 2013). 546 UNFPA, “Myanmar’s Gender Status Analysis gets the Go-ahead” (18 January 2015). 547 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, “2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, Census Report Volume 2-A“ (May 2015). pg. 37 on literacy ratios: male 92.6%, female 86.9% 548 US Department of State, “Burma 2013 Human Rights report” . 549 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, “2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, Census Report Volume 2-A“ (May 2015). 550 UN General Assembly, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee” A/HRC/28/72 (9 March 2015), para 35. 551 Gender Equality Network “Behind the Silence: Violence against women and their resilience in Myanmar” (October 2014). 552 The Tavoyan (Dawei) Women’s Union reported in February 2015 that women who protested about damage to livelihoods and the environment caused the Dawei Special Economic Zone and related projects in 543 226 PAGE CHAPTER 4.8: GROUPS AT RISK