On Friday, 15th
March 2013, at the CSW 57, UN Member States adopted Agreed
Conclusions, with reservations, on the priority theme of ‘The Elimination and
Prevention of all forms of Violence against Women and Girls’.
Last year no outcome document was agreed upon. This
strengthened the resolve of the NGO community and UN officials to really push
this year in order to obtain one. Gasps of relief and exasperation by both UN officials
and activists on the final day were testament to the hard work and mental
energy put into pushing for an outcome. The achieved outcome document now
stands as an important tool that we hope Member states will take seriously and
implement within their respective countries.
Strong lobbying for language changes and text reorganisation
took place over the two weeks. The attempted insertion of the word ‘recalls’ in place of
‘reaffirms’ by the Holy See in the first line of the proposed document, got the
discussions off to a disheartening start. To replace this word would have weakened
the document, a triumph for the Holy See perhaps, but not for women and girls. The aim of the conference was to
move language forward, to really evolve, not to go backwards. The
strength and resolve by other Member States
and the NGO community not to weaken the language was apparent, and we succeeded
in overthrowing this demand. Of course governments will always interpret
text differently, but the need to limit casual interpretation is vital.
Other countries that attempted to roll back decades of work
with vigour were Iran,
Russia and Syria,
so the fact that a decent document was produced at the end at all, was a great relief. The
document includes strong agreements to promote gender equality, women’s
empowerment and to ensure women’s reproductive rights, including access to sexual
and reproductive health services, such as emergency contraception, and safe
abortion for victims of violence. This was an area of contention and one
particular area that Soroptimist International were really pushing. Soroptimist
International have highlighted this area a lot over the last 2 years with the
Presidents appeal ‘Birthing in the Pacific’ which aims to reduce maternal
mortality and provide a safe environment for pregnant women regardless of the
situation or the decisions that they make. This area was one of the hardest fought and was a key point of
contention for conservative powers, including anti-choice activists. Soroptimist
International has shown a real commitment to the realisation of sexual and
reproductive rights rights so we were especially pleased that these areas were
included. A new language recommending that emergency contraception for women
and girls who have been raped was also introduced.
The outcome document emphasises the need to end harmful
traditional practices, including child marriage, and it highlights the role of
small arms in the perpetuation of violence against women and girls. For the
first time there is also acknowledgement of the risks faced by women human
rights defenders and states’ obligations to support and protect them. Many
female human rights defenders are at great risk because of their work and
because of their gender, so acknowledging this was indeed another victory.
SI’s proposals to end femicide have been adopted and
included in the official text; Anusha Santhirasthipam delivered a statement on
femicide of which you can see here. Our strong
call has also fed into the fight for specific clause wording to end female infanticide.
Another success in the document was the call for the
development of comprehensive sex education. Again, this was a heated debate as
some member states interpret this as teaching children to have sex, not
safeguarding them against the negative aspects of it. NGO’s presented the facts that to be
informed and educated about sex is about ensuring young people are safe so that they can
make the right choices in protecting their health and well-being. Soroptimist International believes that everyone has the right to an education, particularly if it equips women and girls to make informed decisions.
The use of the word ‘girl’ was also up for debate and something that Soroptimist
International really fought to keep in the text. Soroptimist Internattional recognises that while all children are vulnerable, it is the girl child
who experiences heightened vulnerabilities due to deeply rooted gender
inequalities which then places them in subordinated and therefore dangerous positions. For the word ‘girl’
to be removed would take away their protection and become an even more
dangerous place for girls to live in.
Heated debate also took place right up to the last day on the inclusion of the word sovereignty. On the final day,
when it was seen that no negotiation could be realised, the paragraph was deleted in a ‘take it or leave it’ option by the CSW chair Marjon V Kamara. This paragraph was a real danger and sent out the
message that implementation of women’s rights is optional. It was a huge relief
to see this removed.
It wasn’t all good news however, losses included the debates on gender identity and sexual
orientation. Agreements in this area could not be reached so all references were
dropped from the text. Also all references to protection for sex workers were
dropped. LGBT people and sex workers continue to be subject to attack under the current document – something which we hope will
continue to be lobbied for.
There was a push towards strengthening the ‘family’ when a
family consists of a man, a woman, and children. Other types of family structure, including single mothers and
their children were not recognized. The reality of the family structure has changed and this needs
to be addressed and all family structures protected and supported.
The overall achievement of the outcome document reflects the hard work put in by all the
NGO’s including that of Soroptimist International. With briefings each morning
by the UN, the NGOCSW, various country missions, and SI core delegation, the
plan of action was communicated day to day so
that everyone was in the loop and could plan their attack accordingly! However it means nothing unless implemented. Every Member State country is now expected
to bring its national policies into line with the Agreed Conclusions. It
doesn’t happen automatically and depends on in-country pressure to really make
a difference. The benefit of the Agreed Conclusions is that it gives
countries guidelines for accepted practice and a leverage point to pressure one
another. So
the work must not stop, and the lobbying must continue in each of our countries.
We must keep the pressure up on member states to honour the commitments they have made. They must be monitored, questioned, and held
accountable for inaction.
Soroptimist International will continue to:
Raise Awareness about violence against women in
all its forms and its destructive nature on women, families, communities and
countries;
Advocate for
full, meaningful, and sustainable government accountability and responsibility
for protecting women and girls from acts of violence and for ensuring adequate
and accessible support services, including legal services, safe housing, and
mental health care: and
Act to implement
international, national, and local level projects aimed at ending violence
against women and supporting women who have experienced violence.