At this webinar, distinguished panellists will debate the case for a new global norm on violence against women. They will review existing legal frameworks, treaties and instruments; consider lessons learned from successful interventions; and discuss priorities for policy change to end this human rights crisis.
The webinar is hosted by the International Gender Champions and UNRISD as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, and the roll-out of the
IGC Gender-based Violence Pledge.
One in three—or 1.3 billion—women and girls experience sexual assault or intimate partner violence in their lifetime. This is a public health and human rights crisis affecting the fabric of every society. For many survivors there is no easy path to justice. Laws and social norms often favour perpetrators, while survivors of violence are often blamed, doubted or ignored.
The international community has sought to address the problem through various instruments, but the result is a patchwork with wide normative, geographical and enforcement gaps. There is still no comprehensive, binding international framework specific to violence against women and girls.
The time has come to end this scourge.
The webinar will bring together experts from the Every Woman Treaty, Diplomats, Academia and Civil Society, and the interested public, to:
- review the strengths and weaknesses of the various instruments;
- consider lessons learned with successful interventions; and
- discuss priorities for advancing the global struggle to eliminate violence against women and girls.
Programme
Welcome & Introductions
Paul Ladd, Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
IGC Gender Champion
Roundtable conversation with:
Jane Aeberhard-Hodges, Policy Director, Every Woman Treaty
Flavia Agnes, Women's rights lawyer and pioneer of the women's movement in India
Francisco Rivera, Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Santa Clara University School of Law
Patricia Schulz, Senior Research Associate, UNRISD, and member of CEDAW (2011-2018)
Moderator: Manisha Desai, Visiting Fellow, UNRISD
Closing Remarks
Ambassador Aurora Díaz-Rato Revuelta, Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations in Geneva
IGC Gender Champion
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.