Violence against women and girls is a fundamental human rights violation
being committed on a pandemic scale. This year the Commission on the
Status of Women (CSW60) will focus on two themes, with one being ‘the
elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and
girls’. 

Soroptimist International, joined by a range of organisations from across the world that focus on eradicating gender-based violence and empowering women and girls, have released an oral statement in response to this theme. The number of organisations that have signed-on in support of the statement demonstrates the concerted effort that NGOs, civil society, experts and others are making to eliminating violence against women and girls in all its forms.

Based on the expertise and grassroots knowledge of the signatory organisations, the statement released by Soroptimist International highlights a number of actions that should be taken to ensure that no woman or girl experiences gender-based violence:

• That laws need to developed and reviewed so that they are effective in effective in protecting women and prosecuting those who commit violence; social or marital status, age, ethnicity, religion and other factors must not limit access to the justice women need and deserve.

• For women and girls to be educated about gender-based violence and about how they can access justice. Men and boys must also be educated about violence against women and girls.

• That dedicated resources be specifically allocated to eliminating violence against women and girls, including training the police, lawyers, and other legal professionals in gender-sensitive approaches.

• For more robust data to b collected on violence against women and girls – only by fully knowing the extent of this human rights violation and how it is committed can effective policies be developed that will contribute to the elimination of violence against women and girls.

All of the organisations supporting this statement contribute to the global effort to eradicate gender-based violence. They work in communities, with women, girls, men and boys, with those in vulnerable situations and advocate on the promotion of laws and policies that empower women and girls. To read the statement in full, please click on the image below.

View the Oral Statement in PDF by clicking on the image below