Media Advisory: UN Women Forum to focus on strategies to end the pandemic of violence Survivors’ voices to be at the centre of the dialogue
Date:
UN WOMEN MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
11 December 2012
Media Contacts:
Sharon Grobeisen, sharon.grobeisen[at]unwomen.org +1 (646)781-4753
WHAT: In the lead up to the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women, from 13-14th December, UN Women will host a high-level Stakeholders Forum to build consensus and identify common strategies on ending the pandemic of violence against women and girls. Up to seven in ten women continue to be targeted for physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime and 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is still not a crime. The discussions will contribute to the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) which will focus on the “Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.
Bringing together governments, activists, civil society and the UN system, the Forum will consist of five interactive panel discussions which will enhance dialogue, build alliances and raise awareness of the existing global commitments and standards for ending violence against women. A key session of the Forum is a panel with survivors of violence who have used their experience to usher broad reforms in their communities. UN Women Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director Michelle Bachelet will chair the closing speech on 14th December.
WHERE: UN Headquarters, North Lawn Building, Conference Room 2
WHEN: 13-14 December 2012 (Programme)
WEBCAST: The Survivors' Forum and the opening and closing panels will be webcast live at www.unwomen.org
The Forum is open to accredited media but seats are extremely limited. Please rsvp to media contacts to attend or to schedule interviews.
Participants of the Survivors' Forum who are also available for media interviews include: Ms. Mayerlis Angarita (Colombia); Ms. Sacide Akkaya (Turkey); Ms. Cathy Eatock (Australia); Ms. Autumn Burris (USA), and Ms. Maria da Penha (Brazil, via video). Ms. Antonyia Parvanova (Bulgaria), Member of the Gender Equality Committee of the European Parliament, will moderate the Forum.
Follow the event on Twitter through @UN_CSW and the hashtag #CSW57.