The 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women was officially opened in the General Assembly of the United Nations today. Webcasts of this session and many of the CSW events at the UN are available by webcast on http://www.unwomen.org/news-events/in-focus/CSW57/webcasts/.
Important ideas and trends about violence against women were discussed in parallel sessions throughout the day, including:
- Social media (67% Facebook, 16% Twitter, 15% Pinterest, 6% Tumblr, 13% Other) is being used as a successful communication tool in many countries to change attitudes about violence against women and girls. The Half the Sky Movement is a good example of its power.
- Violence against women in conflict and post-conflict areas is staggering, with no end in sight. The global annual military spend is now US$1,738 billion dollars.
- The Global Fund for Women is auditing budgets and analyzing them to put pressure on governments to invest more in gender equity and ending violence.
- Governments are realizing the benefits of having women involved in all sectors to solve the issues of violence; more women in police forces, at the negotiating table in conflict zones, in the legal system, and in the legislature.
The issues of violence against women and girls are also being addressed through art and film:
- Within Every Woman (a film about Japanese soldiers’ “Comfort Women”(sex slaves) finally coming forward about their abuse)
- It’s a Girl (a film about the millions of girl babies that are killed, abandoned or aborted in India and China)
- Whistles (a short documentary about giving women living in camps in Haiti after the earthquake whistles to protect them from being sexually attacked)
Some great websites to check out:
www.endvawnow.org (evidence, lessons and best practices from around the world)
http://xchange.futureswithoutviolence.org/ (118 organizations in 46 countries have contributed to this library of resources on Violence against Women and Girls)
By Erica Higbie, FAWCO Representative to the United Nations