SoroptimistInternational, Author at Soroptimist International

"Historic" agreement on violence against women & girls at #CSW57

Soroptimist International welcomes the Agreed Conclusions on violence against women and girls that were agreed at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) late last night in New York. The agreement, hailed by Michelle Bachelet of UN Women as “historic”, was reached after several days of tough negotiation and

Walking the Talk to highlight violence against women in Malaysia

From 22 November to 9 December 2012, over a thousand people "Walked the Talk" in Malaysia, part of a Soroptimist International South West Pacific (SISWP) campaign to highlight violence against women. Three brave Soroptimists from SI Kota Kinabalu, Elizabeth Mayrice, Rose Moguloi and Clarice Mojigoh, aimed to walk the full 850km from

Femicide is on the rise: speaking out at #CSW57

Speaking at the ECOSOC session at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York today, Soroptimist International expressed alarm at the increasing incidence of femicide - the killing of women and girls because they are female - and called for urgent, concerted action. "Femicide is growing

Women's human rights are not negotiable – NGOs alarmed at #CSW57

Soroptimist International and other women's organisations have expressed anger and disappointment at attempts to backtrack on existing international agreements on violence against women and girls at the 57th session of the UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57), currently taking place in New York. "It is alarming that states are continuing to negotiate established

Marching for International Women's Day at #CSW57

SI Programme Director Hilary Ratcliffe reports on International Women's day at CSW57 and hands on the baton to the Soroptimist delegates for week 2, led by SI Assistant Programme Director Anusha. In the driving snow some 400 women marched from the main UN building to the Dag Hammarskold plaza saying

From the womb to the grave: violence against women in South Asia

Talat Pasha was one of the speakers at the SI side-event "From girl child to mature woman: A life course approach to gender empowerment and a violence free life", held on 7 March at CSW57. She was part of a panel of women from around the world who spoke about violence faced

Men & boys have a vital role in ending violence against women #CSW57

One of the key issues arising from CSW57 has been the role of men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls. Anna McCormick, Programme Manager at SIHQ, examines the issue. The socialisation and education of men is an important issue and something that needs to be addressed if we

An A to Z of UN-Speak – key terms from #CSW57

From Agreed Conclusions to Zero draft, via femicide, militarism, Post-2015 agenda and more: in this post from CSW57, former SI Programme Director and President of SI Newport Harbor Area (USA) Dawn Marie Lemonds explains some of the key terms used during the Commission, which focusses on violence against women and girls. I have

Understanding gender-violence from girl-hood to maturity, relationship education and your help needed!

SI Programme Director Hilary Ratcliffe reports on day 4 of CSW57 (7 March), including a second successful Soroptimist event, relationship education and continuing concerns about the outcomes document - your help is still needed! Our second side event: From girl child to mature woman: A life course approach to gender empowerment and a

India's 70 million missing women: Female Feticide

As Governments continue to consider the issue of violence against women and girls at CSW57 in New York, Sujatha Balakrishnan, President of SI Bangalore, examines the burning issue of female feticide in India. As early as the fifteenth century, Guru Nanak, a progressive champion of gender equality, said ‘from women,

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