After an amazing two weeks CSW has drawn to a close.

We have been exposed to amazing women.  Some of them have been famous, some of them working at the grassroots, some of them working in national organisations, some of them working in developing countries, in rural communities, in cities, with young women, and with older women.

We have learnt so many things, about the feminisation of HIV Aids, the progress around women in public life, the role of men and boys in anti-violence activities, women and peace making, specific issues facing girls and successes around anti violence activities.

We have reviewed our progress since Beijing and noted that while we have made some progress, there is still much to do.

We have renewed our commitment to the Beijing Platform, and specifically focused on priority activities - around maternal mortality, economic empowerment for women and HIV Aids. We have celebrated as the UN has made a commitment to establishing and resourcing a new gender entity.

We have met eachother and shared our stories. We have laughed together, cried together, and stood in solidarity.

As we said goodbye to eachother, we swapped details and promised to stay connected.  After sharing this experience together we are stronger, nurtured, inspired and invigorated.  We have made a commitment to work together to support eachother in our collective aim to empower women and girls and create an equal community.

We hope through sharing our experiences on this blog others have been able to get a sense of how CSW works, and what this means for us in our local communities.

We thank you for sharing our excitement, for the comments back to us and for being interested about our work at an international level.  We are very excited to be home soon to share the experience more, to work through what it means for us and how we can make the most of the opportunity that the YWCA has extended to us.  We look forward to working with you on our joint endeavour.



Delegates at CSW 2010

The highlight for the last day of CSW was the speech gave by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.  It was 15 years ago at the Beijing Conference where Hillary had electrified the conference with her famous call 'womens rights are human rights, and human rights are women's right'.

15 years later, she came to the UN to reflect on where the world had come from and what still needed to be done.  She recognized the work occurring all over the world and noted how women will always seize opportunities to improve their own lives and those of their families.  She recognized that today there are more girls at schools, more women in jobs and more women in public office.

She noted however, this progress means that we are not at the end of the story, and if we are lucky we are at the end of the beginning.  She called on the world to write the next chapter to change the current status of women where the majority of the world poor are women, the majority of the world's hungry are women and children, where childbirth is a leading cause of death and injury, where war impacts on women disproportionally, where women are sold and sexual assault against women is used as both a prize of war and a tactic.

She noted that women are now leading the way in promoting human rights for all women, and sent a message to these women that they are not alone, and that we stand with them.

Senator Clinton stated that the evidence is clear that when women are free to achieve their potential, everyone benefits.  She noted that where there are equal rights nations are more stable, safe and prosperous.  She suggested that the subjection of women is a threat to the security of a country and is a global issue.  she noted that history has taught us that any peace negotiated without women is not a sustainable peace and reflected that UN resolution 1325 reflects the principle that women can be powerful peace builders.

In the speech she made a commitment that the Obama administration would work towards the ratification of Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  She noted that there was determination to do this, it was past time.  She also noted the importance of creating the new UN Gender Entity, seeing that this will galvanize the commitment that women deserve.

She noted that all over the world, talent is universal but opportunity is not.  One of her key messages was that women's progress is human progress.

It was an incredible experience to be in the room listening to this woman leader and role model.  It was a fitting end to the CSW and provided an opportunity to renew efforts to work towards a more equal world.  Those of us able to be part of this experience were incredibly invigorated and excited to be part of this CSW.


Hillary Clinton addresses the 54th Session of CSW

During CSW members of the YWCA delegation had the opportunity to meet with our sisters at the YWCA of Brooklyn.  This was a great opportunity to meet with sisters who are in the middle of an extraordinary reinvention of the YWCA within this diverse community.

The YWCA of Brooklyn was established in the late 1800s, with its main focus being providing housing for women.  As part of this, they moved into a building in the 1920s which continued to provide housing to single women.  Housing provided was single room accommodation.  The building is eleven stories and provided housing to hundreds of women.

Many YWCAs know that the provision of an asset such as this is both a gift and a challenge, with the key issue being upkeep.  A particular issue for this YWCA was the need to revitalize an ageing asset and look at the type of accommodation being provided.  A strategic review process was undertaken, which involved looking at a number of options, including selling the buidling.  The YWCA of Brooklyn however decided to keep the building and embarked on a hugh building project which is now in its final stages.  It has involved finding funding sources, and the gutting and renovation of the first five floors of the building to turn them into studio apartments.  There are also a number of floors that are dedicated to providing community space, office space (including co-locating with like minded not for profit organisations) and even an art gallery!  This is all part of the strategy to create better connections with the community, and create community within the center.  Once the building project is complete (which is only a few weeks off), the organisation will focus on expanding programs which currently include the housing program, health and wellbeing projects and a free mobile mammogram service that visits local community.

We were so impressed by the tenancity, optimism and hard work demonstrated by the board and staff at the YWCA of Brooklyn.  They have achieved an extraordinary thing in being able to revitalize an ageing asset, and being able to evolve the organisation into a vibrant and exciting place to be.  The women we met were the essence of a YWCA woman who work tirelessly, creatively and constructively to build a future for the YWCA in their local community.  We were humbled by their generosity and grace and can not wait to hear of the many successes that are in their future.



Members of the YWCA of Brooklyn host YWCA delegates from CSW

In the last 24 hours of CSW a key focus for Government delegations has been finalising resolutions that capture the main issues and commits governments to action following the session.  As the outcomes document was largely pre-negotiated this year, there has been an enhanced focus on the resolutions this year, as a tangible outcome of the meeting of the world on the status of women.

The YWCA has been active in aiming to influence the language of the resolutions.  In particular, we have highlighted the importance of recognising the specific issues facing young women, and advocating for young women to be involved in decision making, program development and evaluation processes.  We have spent particular time on resolutions that address the issues of HIV Aids and Maternal Mortality.

Now however, it is the job of Governments to finalise language of the resolutions.  Working groups have been working hard and long to find consensus.  A key strategy to assist this process has been identifying text within other UN outcomes document which has previously been agreed.  This assists participants to build consensus around actions to commit to as a collective.  While most of the negotiating sessions have been closed, we have had the chance to observe some of these conversations and it is very insightful to gain a picture of the particular perspectives that are brought to the table.  A key challenge that needs to be addressed is how different cultural norms are brought together through this process.

In our last update, there was still some work to do, and we will not know until today in the main session how successful participants have been in negotiating outcomes.  We hope however for women across the world that the participants will be able to overcome the challenges, and deliver on commiting to real action that improves the lives of women and girls everywhere.

Over the last two weeks there has been quite a few sessions examining the issue of how to engage men and boys in anti violence.  This has been particularly useful as this is an issue that has been explored within the YWCA in Australia.

A key contribution has been the development of the evidence base.  A particularly important piece of evidence will be the International Men and Gender Equality Survey, a standardised questionnaire (one applied women and one with men) to measure and monitor men’s behaviours around gender equality. Very early results were presented that were very interesting and somewhat confronting around the prevalence  of attitudes of acceptability of violence against women.  However, providing this evidence base provides opportunities to understand the issues and understand the challenges ahead.  It will be useful to monitor the results of this survey and analyse what this means for us in Australia.

At the interactive session on violence against women held on Thursday 11 February, this issue was explored in some depth by Dean Peacock, the Co-Director, Sonke Gender Justice Network and Co-Chair, Global MenEngage Alliance.  A copy of his supporting statement is provided on line at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing15/interactive_panel_V/Dean%20Peacock.pdf

  

This presentation was very practical and useful and included the presentation of a set of principles that should underpin the work that occurs with men and boys around eliminating violence against women.  Mr Peacock stated that these principles are required to ensure that the goal of achieving gender equality and advancing women’s rights is at the goal of these activities.  These draw on a WHO policy brief and include:

• Recognise that men have an investment in change: Policies and programmes shouldrecognise that men also have a stake in changing rigid gender roles and they should support men’s efforts to change..
• Promote women’s rights: Policy approaches to involving men in achieving gender equality should aim to advance women’s and men’s full access to and enjoyment of their human rights and should intend to bring about gender equality. As such, work with men and boys should encourage men to develop respectful, trusting, and egalitarian relations with women, and with other men.
• Consult women’s rights organisations: Policies and programmes aimed at engaging men and boys in achieving gender equality should be developed and implemented in consultation with groups working to promote and protect women’s rights.
• Recognise that men are diverse: Approaches to engaging men in gender equality work should recognise that men are not homogenous and that their life experiences and access to resources, services and rights is shaped by factors such as class, caste, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and age (from paper referenced above).

 

Peacock noted that the fifteen years since Beijing have laid the foundation for the work ahead with men and boys, particularly in creating laws and policies, good programme models and an evidence base showing that work with men and boys can improve women’s access to health, rights and dignity whilst simultaneously improving the quality of men’s lives. He noted that the task over the coming years is to build on these accomplishments so that we can accomplish the goal set by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon when he said “Violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance, by any political leader or by any government.”  (again, this is referenced from the paper provided to support presented)



Interactive Panel on Eliminating Violence Against Women at 2010 CSW

All different environments have different languages and ways of speaking.  While most of the terms are self evident, it is particularly interesting to see the particular terms that are favoured when describing action at the UN.  Some interesting terms that are part of the language of the UN include:

Civil Society:  the term used to describe the non government organisation participation in events such as CSW.  The fact that NGOs have access and the ability to influence Government's negotiation is referred to as 'civil society participation'

Language: When describing particular text that people are working on to go into outcomes documents and official documentation such resolutions, the term 'language' is used, where people ask 'are you working on particular language"

Intervention: Term used to describe a question or comment that comes from the floor.  In most cases these are highly scripted, with significant work going into the 'language' developed for these, even when they might only be for a minute or two (one of the ones we contributed to was limited to 150 words)

Bilaterals: Term to describe meetings between two parties.  Here at the UN, it is used more broadly than is usual description of  meetings between two governments and used to describe most official meetings between two organisations

Spending time with YWCAs across the world, we have also noticed some strong use of particular terms which has been great to witness.  These are terms that we need to think about how we incorporate them into our everyday work.  Most of these terms are familiar to us, and are ones we used, but are emerging as strong themes of how we are presenting the YWCA to the world.  They include:

Sisters:  This is already a way we describe the people working in YWCAs other than our own.  It has been a great way for us to refer to eachother, to create a sense of familiarity, connection and mutual support.  The CSW has strengthened the sisterhood significantly and we are much stronger because of it

Intergenerational perspectives:  This has been a really strong element of the YWCA's work at this year's CSW.  This demonstrates the power and strength of the YWCA, that creates a place for all women to share perspectives in a way that is respectful.  Many of the YWCA's sessions have created a conversation that addresses difficult issues, recognizes that there are different perspectives and where a safe space has been created to explore these issues and working out how to move forward on challenges. This concept heps to builds an organisation that is owned by all women, those under 31, those over 90 and all those in between.  It creates an organisation that clearly articulates the role of women across the life cycle in a young women's organisation.

Shared leadership: This was a strong theme of the opening statements of our World YWCA leadership.  It is something that has been translated into action throughout CSW with all members of the delegation being asked to take on specific activities, both leadership and support roles depending on what needs to be done.  It is a term that encapsulates the model which supports women leading this organisation, at the local, national and world level.  This again creates a sense of joint ownership and inclusion, where all of our contributions are valued and appreciated.

Speaking the same language provides us with the opportunity to better tell the story of the YWCA locally, nationally and globally.  It provides us with a discourse that helps us understand and articulate who we are.  Through this we can understand our own role, our contribution and how this fits as part of a much bigger story that is the YWCA.



The intergenerational face of the YWCA Sisterhood at CSW sharing leadership at a parallel session!

As week two heads into the difficult negotiation stage, CSW delivered something different today with a session involving Dr Ruth Westhhimer, the iconic  psychosexual therapist, who pioneered speaking frankly about sexual matters.

At a lunch time panel discussion, hosted by the Mission of Panama, delegates were treated to the wisdom of Dr Ruth, as she shared her experience, the evidence and her perspectives around working with individuals and couples on issues around sexual relationships.

Some of the words of wisdom shared with the room included:

• the importance of all people to understand what is right for them sexually (and otherwise) in the context of their values, beliefs and where they are at.  She stressed the importance of people understanding this for themselves, rather than being pressured to confirmed to a particular view or behaviour

• the importance of cultural understanding in terms of norms, and particularly education.  She noted that when working in the area of sexual and reproductive health, it is vital that people delivering this education are within the culture and understand the cultural norms operating within the communities they are working in.  She noted that when working in communities, educators must understand the diversity of beliefs, understandings and myths operating in cultures in order to be effective

• the importance of consent, and for both parties to be comfortable with activity.  However, once there is consent, people should feel free to express themselves in the privacy of their own homes

• the importance of focusing on relationship when responding to sexual and other health matters.  Issues should be worked through together, and both partners should be involved in decisions around sexual health

This was a great session, where significant information around working on issues of great cultural sensitivity was delivered with great humour, humility and authority.  It was a session I would not have expected to be part of CSW but one that was greatly enjoyed.



Dr Ruth at CSW

Today, we were delighted to share time with our YWCA sisters from the Niagara YWCA and spent the day traveling to the different programs provided by this YWCA.  A medium sized YWCA, this organisation services a diverse community, with a number of towns and rural communities.

Today members of the YWCA of Canberra travelled from CSW to meet with YWCAs in Up State New York.

We have already mentioned the decision made by the World YWCA delegation to wear scarfs as a way of identifying ourselves as YWCA delegates throughout the conference.

As part of our debrief and reflections at last night's briefing, a discussion was held about how useful this has been as a strategy.

Everyone shared how wonderful it has been to be able to identify each other through wearing the scarfs.  It has also been incredibly successful as a tool to increase our visibility and give volume to the YWCA's presence at the conference. It has been a great tool to create a sense of belonging amongst our delegation

In fact, what we are now finding is that the scarfs have generated interest and excitement around other delegates at the conference.  People are asking 'what is the scarf all about'.  It has provided us with an opportunity to discuss with others the work of the YWCA , who we are and what we stand for.  People are now identifying it with some of the key issues that the YWCA is advocating for including wondering if it is a symbol around awareness raising around HIV AIDS and Violence Against Women.  Finally, women want to be part of the fuschia scarf delegation.  Women are asking if they can buy scarfs, and we are discovering other YWCA women in other delegations who wish to be part of this.  This has meant that a few of us, including our General Secretary have given our scarfs away.

Ping Lee, from the YWCA of Taiwan (one of the delegates unable to obtain official accreditation) was the generous YWCA woman who made this possible.  She sourced 100 scarfs during Chinese New Year!  Her amazing effort has meant that we have created a brand which has started comment and interest for all participating in CSW.



YWCA Delegates from the Asia Pacific Region including Ping Lee, who provided our beautiful scarfs.