By Rhonda Staudt (AWC Berlin)
October 29-30, 2019, UN Geneva
The Beijing+25 UNECE Regional Review Meeting provided an exceptional forum to review the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) in particular SDG 5 Gender Equality, and their intersectional ties. There was also input from the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe, and reports from UNECE member states and interventions from Civil Society.
Speakers and organizations that stood out to me:
France’s State Secretary for Gender Equity Marlène Schiappa who clearly pointed out many of the challenges women face in trying to be treated equally, achieve economic and gender empowerment while having to be afraid of being attacked along the way while performing daily tasks acts as simple of riding the bus to work/home, the fear of being raped along the way and then having to deal with all the challenges that comes with reporting sexual assault and still maintaining some sense of “empowerment and achievement”.
Mohinder Watson, Founder, Action on Child, Early and Forced Marriage was one of the few women who spoke about her personal experience as a proposed child bride and the stigma she and her sister experienced. Her stories with film were honest, shocking and informative. The acronym for Honor Based Violence (HBV) was new to me
Jennifer Kamau of International Space was the ONLY feminist to speak out about the racial injustice, Islamophobia, and other forms of violence migrant workers and refugees face. In particular, she pointed out the challenges people of color and migrants face. She further spotlighted that the conference did not address the issues adequately if at all.
Jeanette Gurung, Founder and Director of Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management spoke eloquently about Climate Change.
Areas of concern:
There were no people of color on any session or panel that I attended. This is an enormous cause for concern in the lack of diverse representation because without diverse representation there will be no diverse solutions. Talking about people without talking to them is not an inclusive process: “Nothing about us without us.”
Lack of attention to Violence Against GIRLS: The attention and acknowledgement of GIRLS, in my opinion GIRLS were only mentioned as a side item. I did not experience any sessions truly dedicated to GIRLS or the GIRL child. Nor were there any statistics presented on violence against the girl child. This is a serious concern. Acknowledging that GIRLS are identified in SDG 5 as “women and girls between the ages of 15-49”. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Article I identifies children as “every human being below the age of 18 years”.
The lack of attention to minorities, specifically in the United States, soft words like “discrimination” and “vulnerable groups” do not address the human rights struggles women and girls of color face in the United States.
Venue access to persons with disability and older persons
As a registration volunteer, I noticed that there were no allowances made for older women, some as old as 80, or for women using wheelchairs. I asked the woman in charge of registration about this, and she would not make any allowances.
Recurring Themes: The lack of funding, lack of representation, lack of political participation, lack of leadership, protection, prevention, equality and sex education were all repeated themes.