Addressing violence against women with different approaches and different levels

PANEL DISCUSSION

at 60^th CSW UN in New York on 22^nd March 2016

From the Istanbul Convention to Implementation

The event was organized by INLW, Rutgers, UN watch and Liberal International.

Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk, President of INLW, was the chair during the discussion.

Juliana Nikolova from Liberal Party of Macedonia stressed the importance of the protection of all women, moreover gender equality should be accepted on an international level. “There is no excuse for my country not to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention. The Liberal Party will go on campaigning to this end, because violence against women and girls and domestic violence should fall under an international legally binding instrument."

Patricia Olamendi is consultant for the US Women and Human Rights. She is from Mexico. She gave us an insight in the amount of violence against women in her country. Seven women die every day in Mexico due to violence! The Inter-American Convention (1994) on violence against women is a beginning for legislation, “but an International instrument such as a globalized Istanbul Convention is necessary in the Latin American countries to get solid implementation. That will be the only way to make a real difference in the future”.

Fouzia El Bayed is Member of Parliament for Constitutional Union Party in Morocco.After the Constitution change of 2011 all laws are gradually being adapted to conform to the Istanbul Conventions. Even the programs at school are rewritten. Fouzia is as member of the Arab Women Parliamentarians Network of Equality. “I have started a commission to prepare a similar document to the Istanbul Convention for the Arab world. This is done with 17 other Arab countries”.

Jeroen Lorist, technical advisor at Rutgers WPF Netherlands and the Prevention+ project, started with the importance of institutions and NGO’s working together for gender equality, whereby involvement of men in the battle of violence against women is crucial. This should be done on all levels, individual, family, group, institutions and legislation level. Culture, values and customs in masculinity must be recognized and changed. A short film showed the impact of a new attitude of respect of women’s rights on men and women.

After their introductions one of the questions Margaret asked was: Is more legislation needed? Is an all encompassing comprehensive international legal framework on ending violence against women the answer? All participants agreed that International legislation is necessary, but at the same time education and a change of attitude of local authorities is crucial!

Written by: Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk,

President of INLW

Comments

ARTivism for Change: Creativity as Resistance at CSW69

Artwork "Who can I trust with my story?" from ArtVism in Uganda During the 69th CSW, the Our Voices Our Futures (OVOF) consortium organised a creative ARTivism for Change space where bold protest sign-making, intimate film screenings, and thought-provoking feminist dialogues blended together. Over two days, March 12 and 13, 2025, artists, activists, and allies transformed the space into dynamic real-life canvases of empowerment, solidarity, and cultural and political resistance. In the main space of the Blue Gallery participants engaged with various stations, including Button Making , Journaling with Art , Drawing , and Protest Sign Making . Participants moved between activities, creating powerful messages of resistance and hope. The creativity extended beyond the activities themselves. Access Denied The ACCESS DENIED campaign , initiated by WO=MEN, was set up to be a photo installation. It highlights the deep gap between the inclusive vision set forth at the 1995 Beijing ...

Women in Politics: Choosing between Ambition and Safety?

At the CSW69 NGO Forum's session Accelerating Progress By Addressing Barriers To Leadership And Democratic Participation examples of barriers for participation and programs and policies that promote inclusion where shared by speakers from Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Evidence shows that barriers such as limited access to mentors and networks, lack of flexible work arrangements, and harassment and discrimination all limit women's participation and advancement in leadership roles. “In a democratic society, it is necessary to display a fair distribution of men and women at all levels of decision-making,” Jenny Gulamani-Abdulla, Co-Founder of the Canadian Federation For Citizenship (CFC), shared. CFC works to ensure that all residents of Canada are embraced, included and respected as all Canadians to participate in Canada’s progress. According to her “participation is what leads to opportunities to lead” . Furthermore, she shared success stories about mentorsh...

Access Denied Campaign

Following many concerns and calls for support received from activists who were not able to come to New York, WO=MEN – jointly with members and partners - took the initiative to launch a campaign to call attention to the exclusion of defenders from meaningfully participating in the CSW: ACCESS DENIED! “Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” - Beijing Platform for Action The ACCESS DENIED campaign seeks to address the stark contrast between Beijing’s call for participation of women back in 1995 already and the reality of exclusion faced by many activists who had wished to be here at this 30 year anniversary of Beijing. Particularly activists from the global South , black and brown women, women with disabilities, youth, trans and gender non-binary people, sex workers and undocumented migrants face exclusion. Denied access due to visa obstacle...

WO=MEN in New York

Search This Blog