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The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) sits within the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Every year the CSW facilitates a meeting which brings together the 196 member states (countries/jurisdictions) of the United Nations to discuss gender equity and women’s rights.

 

This blog post attempts to provide violence against women practitioners some insight into the policy implications from this meeting. International policy development is transfersble to domestic, family and sexual violence prevention policy, advocacy and education in Australia.  Initially we provide some background to the meeting itself, then an overview of policy outcomes and possible application in the local context.

 

Australian Government and Civil Society Delegations

 

The Australian Government Office for Women supports a number of women to attend CSW meetings, some as Government representatives and others as Civil Society (Non-Government Organisation/NGO) representatives. These women work together to participate in relevant meetings and events that align with their specific area of expertise, and participate in broader processes of reporting, facilitation and various levels of diplomacy.

 

The Office for Women National Women’s Alliances are central to Australian Civil Society representation. This year AWAVA sent four representatives: Julie Oberin, Margaret Augerinos, Maria Delaney and Bonney Corbin who worked within a small cohort of Australian women. Each AWAVA representative ‘wore a number of hats’ and represents various alliances, collectives and groups. Work and participation in various events and meetings are aligned with the AWAVA work plan.

 

Meeting Format and Logistics

 

The CSW itself is a hive of activity. Five thousand people (predominantly women) travel to Manhattan for various levels of involvement in the ten day meeting. It is the largest meeting held at the United Nations Headquarters. The capacity of every surrounding office space, hotel, grocery store, restaurant, chemist, bank and laundry is stretched for two weeks. During CSW permanent UN office staff tend to bring packed lunches or work from home to avoid the crowds.

 

The first week of CSW is devoted to politicians, policy makers, practitioners and activists who come together to share information and network. A key discussion occurs between member states, where draft documents are tabled relating to either or both the key theme and review theme.

 

Alongside general discussion, there are endless events, meetings and activities hosted by each of the 196 member states. There are numerous side and parallel events, some formalised within the UN, some hosted by UN NGO CSW and others hosted by organisations, collectives and individual feminist activists. This year youth engagement was boosted by a two day CSW Youth Forum that produced an outcomes document and a series of social media campaigns.

 

The second week of CSW is when the draft documents begin to take shape, and representatives of member states debate key issues. Areas of controversy can lead to hours of tense discussions, sometimes over the location of one word or paragraph. There are fewer events, and more time is spent meeting in groups to discuss and negotiate the detail of international policy and practise partnerships.  

 

Negotiations Processes

In an ideal situation, the CSW facilitates a series of discussions that lead to consensus between member states on a document referred to as the ‘Agreed Conclusions’. A number of other policy documents related to specific themes are also negotiated and agreed upon.

 

At the meeting Governments make a series of macro-scale commitments related to ‘the status of women’. Subsequently organisations, services and individuals can use the Agreed Conclusions to hold Governments to account. For AWAVA the Agreed Conclusions are useful to advocate for enhanced policy, services, and practise at local, state/territory and national levels.

This year negotiations were tense in areas of defining violence and harmful practises, sexual and reproductive health, comprehensive sexuality education, and linking women’s rights with human rights. These may be commonly controversial areas of international debate; however, now it is as challenging as ever. This increasing friction could be a reflection of a broader political shift away from a feminist intersectional analysis of gender equity.

 

Meeting Themes and Agenda 2030

 

Each year CSW reviews the theme, and each nation’s progress on this theme, from three years ago. This year CSW reviewed each nation’s progress on the 2013 theme: the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. The 2016 CSW meeting was crucial for member states to cement theoretical links between concepts of economic empowerment, sustainable development and gender equity. Doing so ensured CSW remains relevant to Agenda 2030, 15 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) that UN nations have agreed to work towards. This topic formed the principal theme of the meeting.

 

This CSW was the first since the UN implementation of Agenda 2030 and we used this opportunity to ensure consistent language and positioning of violence against women within the CSW. We realised that unless Agenda 2030 is central to the CSW discussion, Agenda 2030 may not be gender relevant.

 

Gender intersects and overlaps with all 15 SDGs in Agenda 2030, and is highlighted within SDG5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls. Together the SDGs present a much stronger framework for gender equality than the now superseded Millennium Development Goals.

 

Most importantly for violence against women policy, Agenda 2030 acknowledged violence against women and girls as an impediment to achieving gender equality and overall sustainable development. SDG5 first three points explicitly mention violence against women and girls:

 

• End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

• Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation

 

 

International Policy Outcomes

Discussion at CSW60 rehashed conflicts on women’s rights policy that had been resolved by senior bureaucrats and diplomats only 6 months ago during the development of Agenda 2030. Our strongest international policy document continues to be the Beijing Declaration, and even something as simple as re-asserting that declaration can be controversial. International diplomacy on women’s rights is currently less about progressing policy forwards, but rather holding the line of existing policy and avoiding stepping backwards.

 

Below is a brief analysis of some of the key policy outcomes from this meeting.

 

Policy Area	Key Points
Indigen-ous Women	Preventing violence against Indigenous Women was platformed a standalone paragraph about strengthening leadership and participation. Early discussions for the next CSW indicate that the rights of Indigenous Women will be increasingly central.
Disability	The inclusion and rights of girls and women with a disability was put in the spotlight with a dedicated paragraph.
Violence Against Women	Language about violence against women that considers ‘multiple’ and ‘intersecting’ forms of discrimination. Concepts of intersectionality and continuums of violence remain absent, despite other resolutions and agreements acknowledging both terms. Language surrounding ‘harmful practises’ was revisited and maintained.
Violence Preven-tion and Resourc-ing	Language in regards to addressing violence refers to ‘tackling attitudes, behaviours and beliefs.’ The lack of international response to violence against women was partially attributed to lack of resourcing to implement national laws.   ‘Multisectoral’ services, programs and responses were encouraged to be collaborative and well resourced. The impact and efficacy of awareness raising campaigns was questioned when operating in isolation (rather than within a holistic model). The importance of ethical and accurate media and capacity building of media professionals was highlighted.
Women’s Rights as Human Rights	Language maintained Women’s Rights as Human Rights. Believe it or not, this can be controversial due to some members having varying ways of defining equality.
Climate change &    women’s leadership	The gendered impacts of climate change were documented, together with the risk of conflict and violence that comes with displacement. The document celebrates women as leaders in the process of conflict transformation during times of climate change pressure and relocation.
Sexual & Reprod-uctive Health Rights	Language was maintained (although arguably watered down). Many member states continually raised objections to contraception, abortion and comprehensive sexuality education. Australia, together with a number of other states, voiced disappointment in lack of international political will to prioritise women’s sexual and reproductive health rights. A controversial document on HIV/AIDS was passed.
Families	Inclusion of the concept of ‘The Family,’ reflecting nuclear and patriarchal family structures. There is a global shift towards recognising this language on ‘The Family’ should be written as ‘families’. This language highlights the diversity of families, for example in cultures where caregiving is communal and multigenerational. Agenda 2030 did not include any language on The Family, so inclusion at CSW60 was regressive.
Civil Society	Acknowledgement of civil society (NGOs and community groups) having a key role in ending violence against women. Recognition of the importance of involving ‘survivors’ organisations’ in the development of law, policy and programs. This highlights the central role and holistic work of survivor centred organisations. Capacity building of service providers was encouraged to be informed by experiences of victims/survivors.
Engaging with Men   and Boys	Recognition that this engagement must occur alongside careful power analysis and understanding of structural inequalities.

 

 

Application for Organisations and Groups in Australia

 

AWAVA will continue to work with the Australian Government Office for Women, the other National Women’s Alliances, the Australian Human Rights Commission and groups such as UN Women and Our Watch to participate in global and national policy development. We welcome contributions to global and national policy by means of online or offline advocacy, research evidence or practitioner advice and perspectives.

 

We encourage individuals, collectives, organisations and services to engage with international policy when advocating at local and state/territory level for violence against women. Refer to these outcomes documents in your discussions and submissions. Key documents have been listed below for your reference, all of which involve commitments from the Australian Government to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Should you need support finding a policy reference you are welcome to contact us.

 

Central to feminist policy-making is the continual improvement of language and indicators that challenge the status quo of gender relations.  Whilst this year’s CSW recognised Indigenous Women and women’s leadership in climate change, the Agreed Conclusions only take small steps to challenge the status quo.

 

In comparison to most other member states Australia is a leader of national violence against women policy, particularly with the ‘National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children’. Despite having a leading role in policy, Australian women’s experiences and perspectives of domestic, family and sexual are comparable globally. Much work is yet to be done to develop Australian policy and practice to prevent violence against women. We look forward to the development and implementation of the upcoming third action plan of the National Plan.

 

May the policy outcomes from the 60th CSW support your work in our local context to prevent and respond to violence against women. When developing policy, education and advocacy tools, we recommend you consider reading relevant documents listed below.

 

Further Reading

 

Commission on the Status of Women Website

 

CSW57 (Violence Prevention) Outcomes Document

 

CSW60 (Violence Prevention) Review Document

 

Australia’s Report Country Statement at CSW60

 

CSW60 (Economic Empowerment and Sustainable Development) Agreed Conclusions Document

 

CSW60 Youth Forum Outcomes Document

 

Policy and Advocacy Briefing Guide (updated 2016) by NGO CSW, which includes a map of UN committees and working groups

 

The Beijing Declaration for Action

 

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of Violence Against Women
UNiTE to End Violence Against Women Campaign

 

Download a pdf version of the report here.

We recently caught up with Jill Maxwell (left) and Joc McConnell (right) from Sexual Assault Support Service, Tasmania to hear more about the work they are doing this year.

 

SASS provides information and support to all people affected by sexual assault, and has been a long time member of the AWAVA Advisory Group. Keep reading to get to know Jill and Joc, and to learn more about the fantastic work they do!

 

 

 

How did you get involved with the sector?

Jill – “I’ve come full circle. I was a police officer for many years in a small country station. About 10 years ago, I left the police force to study psychology and social work, and then worked as family violence counsellor. I also became quite passionate about leadership around this time. So when the opportunity came up for the CEO role as SASS, I went for it! It matched my previous skills and my interest in leadership. Leaving the police force was a difficult decision for me. But I wanted to be intercepting people’s lives before a crisis. To do that, I needed to go to university and figure out where I wanted to be.”

 

Joc – “I have been working in the area of sexual assault for about eight years. Before that I was in child protection for about four years. I have always been quite passionate about working with children and adults – particularly those who have experienced gross injustice and trauma.”

 

 

What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job?

Jill – “I am responsible for the overall functioning of our organisation and the service we provide. In more detail, I focus on our future direction and sustainability. As I said earlier, I am very passionate about leadership. I think of leadership in terms of understanding who we are as people. So the most rewarding part of the role for me is fostering leadership qualities in all people – our clients, our staff, and our stakeholders.  Pointing out people’s achievement over time, helping them see that they are more capable than they imagine, is quite special. Interestingly, this is also the most challenging aspect of my job. It can be quite difficult to support people to believe that they can do things they didn’t believe were possible.  But helping people push that little bit extra every day and look back on the journey that they have come on and think ‘wow, I didn’t think I would get here’ makes it all worth the effort in the end.”

 

Joc – “I am a Senior Practitioner so I provide support for staff and clients. As horrific as the act of sexual assault is, often it is the aftermath that creates the stress for a client- particularly with child victims. It is like a great boulder that has been thrown into a pond, causing a tsunami effect. And this tsunami effect is felt not only by the victim themselves, but also by the family and community. This can be a very challenging part of our work here at SASS. Dealing with the legal system can also be quite frustrating at times.  It is not unusual for police to do an extensive investigation, and then find they do not have enough evidence to hand to DPP. Our clients can be quite varied. For example, one client called today very distressed saying that she thinks she might know a perpetrator and is finding it very difficult coming to terms with this and didn’t know what to do with this information. Sometimes it is hard to leave my work behind me at five o’clock and not take it home. But I do make sure I debrief with a colleague before heading out the door. SASS takes supervision and staff support very seriously – we have to in this line of work!

 

The most rewarding part of my job is that we do see the most amazing recovery journeys. And it is such a humbling experience. It is pretty amazing to see people move from that high end trauma response to processing their trauma and integrating their experience into some sort of ‘normality’. Sadly, the justice part of recovery from sexual assault doesn’t happen often enough Very few people actually get to court or see some sort of legal justice.

 

The other reward is that you do end up working with the most amazing team of like-minded people, who give so much of themselves to their jobs.”

 

 

Are you working on anything exciting at the moment?

Joc – “We are really excited about implementing our new ‘trauma-informed’ practice model.  One of the biggest things that we see is that choice has been taken away from sexual assault victims. Through the implementation of trauma-informed principles, what we want to do is empower victims and their families to look at the different choices that are available to them. From a trauma informed perspective, we adopt the principles of 1) safety, 2) choice, 3) empowerment, 4) collaboration and 5) trust right across our organisation. These five principles are integral to recovery from sexual assault. While we do this in our day to day practice and interactions with clients, what we are now trying to do is incorporate these principles in our policies and procedures, as well as in interactions with other colleagues. With all our procedures, we ask ourselves – ‘Is this creating a sense of safety? Trust? Choice? Is it empowering? Collaborative?’ – not just for our clients but for others in our workplace. As we implement this model, we are hoping to achieve more collaborative relationships with other organisations and community groups establishing a trauma-informed network of support for our clients. We are sure that this will improve outcomes for our clients.”

 

 

Who/what is your inspiration?

Jill – “My mum! She is an amazing lady. Bringing up four children, while coming from a low socio-economic background has meant that she has had to struggle a lot in her life. Looking at her and how she treats people is truly inspiring – she is the most gracious and loving person I have ever met. If I can be half the person she is, I will have lived a good life.”

 

Joc – “My belief that the human psyche is able to recover from traumatic events. As well – my passion for human rights and social justice.  I firmly believe in this and it is what keeps me inspired.”