GPN Co-Chair Magda Anchondo Reflects on the Commission on the Status of Women
GPN steering committee members had a wonderful visit to New York and the 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Monday, March 17. The CSW is an annual gathering of UN Member States who come together to evaluate progress, identify challenges, and set global standards for the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- GPN members attended 4 events: Addressing violations of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV in health care settings (UNDP, UNAIDS)
- Gender statistics and data revolution in the context of Post 2015 Agenda (UN Women Mexico, INMUJERES)
- More than Mothers: Reflections on Sexual and Reproductive Rights in the MDG's and the Post-2015 Agenda (OHCHR, Amnesty, Center for Reproductive Rights)
- Care and Sustainable Economy in the Post 2015 Development Agenda (Germany, Uruguay)
Interesting snapshots of the day included Professor of Public Health, Alicia Yamin from Harvard University attesting that the international community is still afraid of women having pleasure during sex. She was also quite frank stating that people are interested in having sex, not planning their families, when deciding whether to use contraceptives. Members of the international community shared a renewed interest in reducing discrimination by healthcare workers to HIV/AIDS patients at government health centers and hospitals and emphasized that more comprehensive discrimination laws need to be introduced. Furthermore, in the post-2015 MDG agenda, the international community should move simply beyond reducing maternal mortality rate and provide better services for expectant and new mothers. The last session of the day focused on including informal “care work” that women perform into national health policies and employment benefits.