CSW57 Update: Reflections and Agreed Conclusions

(Written Friday 15th March 2013)

As I sit here in the dark (we've just had a power cut) reflecting over the last few weeks and the previous four months of preparation, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of pride at what we have achieved.

Personally, I wasn't sure how I was going to cope with spending a whole 10 days talking about violence against women and girls. I was nervous and worried that I wouldn't know anything, that my confidence would leave me and I would spend the whole time panicking that no-one would listen to me. In reality, I don't think I have ever felt more confident and empowered to speak out, not just for myself but for the rights of millions of girls and young women all over the world.

As a delegation, I feel we showed that it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from – if you pull together and work as a team then anything can happen. I have made some amazing friends in countries I'd barely even heard of, and I know that they will all take their experiences of CSW back to those countries where they will grow to become more incredible than they already are.

This evening marks the final day of CSW57. I have spent the day glued to Twitter and my emails, nervously waiting the outcome of the conference. After hours and hours of hitting refresh, I finally heard that the CSW Agreed Conclusions have been adopted!

Being able to share that moment straight away with my new friends in so many different time zones around the world was the most amazing feeling. After weeks of hard work, we can all say that we played a part in changing the lives of girls and young women all over the world.

You're probably wondering what this actually means – I'm getting excited over some global politics that probably won't actually make a difference on the ground, right?

Wrong. Over 130 UN member states have agreed to adopt the conclusions, which means that they should adhere to what the final document says. For example, if the document says legislation should be in place to tackle x, y and z, then member states should develop that legislation. If it says education should be provided, each country should work to deliver that education. And we, as members of civil society, should be holding our country to account and making sure that governments and officials are doing what they have agreed to do at the highest level.

And even if our governments don't do what they've said they will do, that doesn't mean we should let that stop us from doing what we all know is right. We can still encourage people to stop seeing VAWG as a taboo issue and to start talking about it – as soon as we realise that it's ok to talk about violence we will have started to make a difference.

I hope that, if you have learnt nothing from my blogs, you will at least take this away with you. We all have the right to have our voice heard. If we do not speak up, we do not exercise that right and so we do not have the right to complain. If we can speak up for others who cannot speak up for themselves, then we should do so. This doesn't need to be on a global scale. I'm not saying everyone should descend on the UN every year – for a start, I don't think Manhattan needs any more people.

I'm just saying that, in my opinion, if everyone speaks to one person about violence against women and girls, then one day people will begin to realise that it does happen in our own countries; it does happen to us; and ultimately, it's ok to talk about it. If more people start to talk about it, more people will start to realise that violence against women and girls shouldn't be normal, and it isn't ok. Maybe this is the first step to fully eradicating it. I hope so anyway.

I am reminded of that story we heard at the Teen Orientation day, all those weeks ago (has it really only been 12 days?):

"A dove and a coal mouse are sitting on the branch of a tree, watching the snow fall. The dove asks, “How much does a snowflake weigh?” The coal mouse answers, “Nothing more than nothing.” The two birds watch the snowflakes fall for some time more, until the moment a particular one settles on their branch, breaking their perch. As the dove flies away, it thinks to itself, “Maybe all that’s needed in the world for peace is one more voice.”"

CSW57 Update: Statistics

CSW57 Roundup

(Or: how my brain just about nearly exploded)

Over the last six months, I've done a lot of reading and research into Violence Against Women and Girls in the UK and overseas.  Before I got involved in the Stop the Violence campaign, I knew that Violence Against Women and Girls existed, but I would never have known where to even start thinking about the scale of the issue.  This is where I'm hoping I can help you.

Throughout my blog updates, I've tried not to overload you with numbers, statistics and case studies - my whole experience at the UN was completely overwhelming even before we start looking at all the information we were bombarded with on a daily basis.

However, one huge thing I have learnt from this experience is that people don't, and often won't, talk about Violence Against Women and Girls.  This is something I want to change.  I know it's completely overwhelming when you start to think about it, but if we support each other, I know we can do this.

It's really easy to get stats-blindness, for a number to become just that - just a number.  But it's for that reason that I think the statistics are a great place to start.

(Hopefully you've kept reading this far and my numbers-chat hasn't completely turned you off.  If you're still here, thank you for reading.  Please read a little bit further.)

Over the last few weeks, there are some examples that have really stuck with me, which I would like to share with you. 

• Globally, 1 in 3 women and girls will experience some form of violence during their lifetime.
• More than 603 million women and girls live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime (that's nearly 1 in 5).
• In the USA every year, more than 80% 12 - 16 year old girls are sexually harassed or raped in or on their way to school, while in South Africa, 1 in 3 rapes of girls are perpetuated by a teacher.
• In the EU, 80% cases of violence against women will not be reported.
• The annual cost of dealing with violence against women in the EU is over 34 billion euros.
• Every day in the UK, 5 girls and young women are forced into marriage.
• In Nepal, more than 63% girls are married before they are 18 years old.  7% girls will be married before they are 10 years old.  If her husband dies, the girl belongs to her husband's family.  She is forced to wear white and is prohibited from attending festivals or family gatherings.  She will be given to her husband's brother, who can do whatever he wants with her.  
• More than 40% widows are married before they are 18 years old.  Most of these marriages are not registered because the girl is underage.  When she becomes a widow, she will not be eligible to receive any benefits or support because her marriage is not registered.
• 40-50% women in the EU experience some form of abuse in the workplace.
• Many refuges in the UK can't take women and girls associated with gangs because of the risk to the refuge - they do not have bullet-proof glass and women are often "planted" in refuges by gangs to try and find victims.

I'd say this is a problem. 

So what?  What can we do with this information?  There are lots of big, complicated things you could try - writing to your local MP; volunteering with a women's support group; going to the UN is pretty huge...  

Or there are smaller, simpler things; things we often forget can still make a difference.

What am I going to do?  I want to make it ok to talk about violence against women and girls, so I'm going to talk about it and I'm going to encourage other people to talk about it. 

So, if you've read this far, thank you.  Now here's your challenge.  Go and tell someone your thoughts about Violence Against Women and Girls.  Share the numbers.  Find some new numbers.  Blog about it, tweet about it, tell someone over a cup of coffee or lunch.    Let's start a conversation.

And check out WAGGGS' Stop the Violence Campaign. 

CSW57 Update: International Womens' Day

Friday 8th March 2013

(Or: How I unexpectedly appeared live on US TV.  And still haven't found my hairbrush)

Last night, we had a proper snow storm, and by the time we woke up there was a blizzard! There was so much snow, it was covering the pavements faster than it was being swept up!  Half of our delegation had never seen snow before, so it was really exciting to see their reactions!

Snow in the Big Apple

Sameem Ali

In the morning I headed to my last UK NGO briefing, which was followed by an event called “Lessons Learned”. This was the event I had been most excited about attending as one of the speakers was Sameem Ali, a survivor of Forced Marriage. Before I went to CSW, I had read Sameem's book, Belonging, and we had spoken over the phone, so I was really looking forward to hearing her speak about her experiences. She has really inspired me, and while I was listening to her speak I began to form an idea of what I want to do following CSW.

After the event, I went to the UN for the last time, this time to visit the shop.  The UN has its own post office and UN stamps, so of course I had to send some postcards!

In the afternoon, four of us had won tickets to a preview of 10x10's Girl Rising, a series of 9 documentaries about 9 girls in developing countries who have overcome horrendous situations to get an education. This was held in the Nasdaq building at Times Square, which meant we had to leave the UN-bubble for the first time all week - that was a bit of a culture shock!  

When we arrived at the Nasdaq building, we were taken up to the screening room where the Producer introduced the film.  Before the opening credits had even finished, I was in floods of tears.  We watched the first three documentaries, and I could've stayed all afternoon if a lady with a radio-mic came to rush us "to the bells".  

We were all slightly perplexed about what she meant - bells!?  We followed her downstairs and were taken into what looked like a TV studio.  Yep, that's right - what we hadn't been told before the event was that, to celebrate International Womens' Day, we would be broadcast live across the USA on the Closing Bell Ceremony.  

A frantic attempt to fix my hair (I still haven't found my hairbrush!), and to make myself look slightly less like I'd fallen out of a washing basket, didn't make much difference, but it was too late.  Just before 4pm, we were invited on stage where we had to stand and wave at the cameras for what felt like an eternity.  I was vaguely aware of the music getting louder and louder as the countdown to 4pm started, but all I could think of was how flappy my upper arms are, and that the whole of the US was about to see them, live on Fox, ABC and CNN news.  Great!

Ringing in the Nasdaq Closing Bell

After the bells had rung and we were recovering from our shock (WHAT just happened?!), we went out to Times Square.  Not only had we been broadcast live on national TV, we were almost projected live across Times Square!!  You can see the photos and videos on the Nasdaq website. 

The final few hours of the afternoon were spent together in a delegation evaluation session, where we looked at our group objectives (we'd achieved about two thirds of them), what we would change/ keep the same in future years, how the week had gone, and our personal achievements.

I found it really difficult to pick one specific personal highlight. When I left for CSW I was worried I wouldn't know enough, would get really nervous and would let the team down. However, once I started speaking to people, I realised that I do know things, and I can speak about the issues and I don't sound like a complete idiot. I felt so confident during CSW (more than I think I've ever felt in my life) that I could stand up in-front of a room of people and that it didn't matter who they were; it didn't matter if they were listening or not – I had the confidence to say what was important to me and why, and to stand up for all of the girls and women who don't have that opportunity.

Dinner in a real American diner!

The end of the evaluation really marked the end of our time together as a delegation.  In the evening, we were taken on a minibus tour of New York, and then went for dinner in a proper American diner. We got back to the hotel really late at night (the minibus broke down halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge...) and had to start saying goodbye as people prepared to leave early the following morning.  

  

CSW57 Update: Voices Against Violence

Thursday 7th March 2013

(Or: How I spoke in a conference room full of people and then realised my flies were undone)

Today was a really special day for us as delegates, for WAGGGS and for the Stop the Violence campaign – today was the day we officially launched the Voices against Violence curriculum.

Emna speaking at our "Life Course" event

I headed to the UK NGO briefing while the rest of the group stayed at the hotel to do one final run-through of our dance for this afternoon's flash mob! When I got back, we split into two groups. One group stayed to make sure everything was ready for the curriculum launch while the other group went to an event where Emna (from Tunisia) was speaking about violence against girls in her country.

Emna's speech was wonderful – she talked about the different forms of violence that girls in her country face, and about the attitudes that girls have towards violence.  At the end of the speech, she got a standing ovation!  Andrea and I looked at each other and we both had tears pouring down our cheeks!  (You can read Emna's speech here!)  

WAGGGS Voices Against Violence Launch

 After the event, we all ran to the UN Headquarters for the Voices against Violence launch. We had special guest speakers – Mary Mc Phail, WAGGGS' Chief Executive, Kathleen Lynch, Irish Minister of State for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People and Ahmed Alhindawi, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. Hasiniaina, one of WAGGGS' Youth Delegates, also spoke about violence against girls and women in Madagascar and how her MO had piloted the curriculum.  The event was so popular we turned away over 100 people!  The room was so full that, again, there were people standing and sitting on the floor.  It was so full that I was very squashed in a corner of the room.  (I do wonder how much of this was strategically planned after my spectacular rage a couple of days previously!)

WAGGGS delegates demonstrating non-formal education

At the launch we also had a special performance by four WAGGGS delegates, showing what non-formal education on gender-based violence looks like.  At the end of the event, Michelle Bachelet came to speak about the curriculum and why non-formal education is so important to empower girls and young women. She also said that the Girl Guides are a force to be reckoned with (AND she was still wearing our wristband)!

Before she spoke, we were asked if anyone would like to talk about our experiences with the VAV syllabus.  Again, I stood up to speak about my wonderful Brownies and how fantastic they are.  As I stepped forward to the microphone, I realised Michelle was sitting at the front of the room.  I'd already committed, so had to follow through, but I started to realise something was wrong. I had COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY!  As I looked around the room, I was aware of hundreds of eyes staring at me.  And Michelle Bachelet.  All waiting for me to say something.  In true Rosy-style, I opened my mouth and hoped that whatever came out of it would resemble something vaguely sensible.  I could hear myself speaking, but I honestly couldn't tell you what I was saying.  Do you know what was going through my head?  "Ohmygod-I'm-talking-in-a-room-at-the-UN-and-Michelle-Bachelet-is-looking-at-me!!"  aaaaaaaand breathe...  As I stepped back from the microphone, I realised something else.  My flies had come undone.  And the whole room could see my pants.  At least they were pretty, I suppose...!

WAGGGS Voices Against Violence Launch

On a complete high from the amazing launch event, we all headed across the road to a hotel where we met a lot of potential funders. My lovely friend Claire from New Zealand spoke about her experiences with introducing the curriculum to her Pippins (five - seven year olds).  On the first day of our training, Claire had told us how she was terrified of public speaking, so it was brilliant to see her speak in front of all of those WAGGGS supporters - I was so so proud of her!

WAGGGS Voices Against Violence Launch Reception

Halfway through the event, as we were all busy eating the lovely cheese and salad the hotel had laid on for us (well, I ate the salad.  Damn lactose intolerance), we heard a voice saying “I am one in ten million... I am one in ten million... I am one in ten million...”  This was our cue – if we were going to embarrass ourselves at all during this trip, this was our time. 

As we all walked towards the front of the room saying “I am one in ten million”, hundreds of eyes turned to watch us and silence descended.  Suddenly, our music started and the dance we had been practicing all week began.  I'd spent the whole week trying to learn the moves from a post-it note, and despite being the shortest (I think), strategically hid myself at the back.  As it turned out, we were (mostly) in time with each other, I didn't fall over or punch myself (or anyone else) in the face, and our guests seemed to really enjoy it, so all-in-all, a success!  [There is a video, but I don't have a copy.  I'll try and find one for you!

After all of our guests had left, we headed across a couple of blocks the second young women's caucus.  There were about 30 young women at this second event, and we looked at the first draft of the Agreed Conclusions and recommended changes that we would like to see. This was a great opportunity to find out what other young women had been doing at CSW, and to speak about different forms of violence in our own countries. 

This was yet another opportunity to find out about "real life" situations that girls and young women face every single day.  I forget sometimes just how lucky I am to be a young woman in the UK, to be able to take contraception, to talk openly about sex (and to have it if I want), to choose who I will marry (or not - whatever we decide), to be able to work, to travel, to wear what I choose to wear...  This evening it really starting to sink in that millions of girls and young women are relying on us to make that difference happen, and what that difference could actually look like.  

I left the caucus that evening, excited and ready for whatever the final day at CSW would bring us.  And definitely not scared any more.  I can do anything.

CSW57 Update: Girl Child

Wednesday 6th March 2013

(Or: how I made the UK say the Girl Guides are fantastic!)

Today didn't exactly turn out as planned. I was hoping to go along to quite a few parallel events to work on lobbying on my subject group's topic (relationship and psychological violence).

However, I started the day by going to the UK NGO briefing, where we heard about how the formal discussions were going. We were told that there were a number of contentious issues which were at risk of being removed from the agreed conclusions completely. Included in this was all mention of girls, education and empowering boys and men, all of which are key elements of WAGGGS' nine calls to action, so this was a potential disaster!  At the end of the briefing, I ran back to the hotel where Andrea and I started to formulate a plan.

Since I had already missed my first event of the day, I decided I needed some down time.  Slouching infront of the TV in our hotel room, I ended up watching CNN's coverage of the Jodi Arias murder trial.  Having not really recovered from yesterday's anger at the EU, and subsequently not really slept, I started to really miss home and the non-biased-ness of BBC news.  The intensity of the previous three days had really started to hit me, so I was glad to have some space to myself for an hour or so.  (I may have also cracked open my secret stash of Cadbury's chocolate - sssshhh, don't tell anyone!)  It was lovely to be able to step out of the UN-bubble for a while, but I was glad to climb back into it before too long!

At lunch time, I went to a side event run by the National Association of Women's Organisations (NAWO),  where four members of NAWO's Youth Delegation (who I met at the UK NGO Reception - they were awesome!) spoke.  Of all the parallel events I attended this week, this was absolutely my favourite.  The speakers were so confident, and it was fantastic to hear such inspiring speeches from young women and men (that makes me sound really old.  I'm not old.  I just wouldn't have had the confidence I had when I was their age.  These guys were 17, and they were incredible!)

During the afternoon, I had planned to attend a joint UK and Netherlands side event about changing young people's attitudes towards violence, so I ran to the UN Headquarters to make sure I picked up a ticket on time.  When I got there, 45 minutes before the event, to find out all the tickets had already gone, I had no idea what to do.  I needed to get in to that event to find out how the UK and Netherlands were going to make sure the girl child was discussed and included in the Agreed Conclusions.  

Just before the stress properly kicked in, my saviour came along in the form of Annette Lawson, chair of NAWO, who had two spare tickets.  I just about managed to restrain from giving her a giant bear-hug before sprinting to the conference room.  For someone with a lifelong fear of exercise, I have done a lot of running this week...  Anyway, the event was so popular, I nearly got squashed on my way into the room, but I was going to get a seat at the table if I had to fight may way to it!

We heard about a number of different initiatives used in the UK and the Netherlands to engage young people and make them aware of what violence is, and it was really interesting to look at the different approaches used in the two countries. Lynne Featherstone, a UK Minister in DfID, spoke about the UK's “this is abuse” campaign.  She played the videos (also this one) and I tried very hard to hide my frustrations.  I mean, I get what they're trying to do, and yes, the videos are really hard to watch.  I get that.  There's just something that really bothers me.  Can anyone tell me what it is, 'cause I really can't work it out! 

When the time for questions came, I had my hand up first (surprised?) and asked what the UK and the Netherlands positions on the inclusion of the girl child in the agreed conclusions was.  The response from both ministers was really positive - they both absolutely supported it, which was a huge confidence boost. We also asked how governments would support NGOs in delivering non-formal education programmes (or something along those lines) and, completely un-prompted, Lynne Featherstone said that she thinks the Girl Guides are a fantastic organisation and that we do great things! WIN!

After this event, I rushed back to the hotel to debrief Andrea on the day and what I had heard about the discussions so that she could pass this on to Mary McPhail (WAGGGS' Chief Executive) and the rest of the WAGGGS' team.  Today was the first day I properly realised the importance of what we're doing here.  It's all very well attending lots of parallel events, talking to lots of people, even asking lots of questions.  But if the people who are actually in the discussions and negotiations aren't there, they're never going to know what you want.  Today really showed me that, although Governments might not always be talking about the things you need them to be talking about, they'll never know that's what you need unless you tell them and then hold them to account for it.  

After yesterday's anger, today I really felt like I could do anything.  Today my life changed.  Again.   
 

Ps.  Sorry for the lack of photos - it was one of those days.  Tomorrow there will be something special.  It has something to do with this. 

Keep reading! Rx 

CSW57 Update: STOP The Tide

Tuesday 5th March 2013

(Or: how I got very angry at the EU)

This morning started bright and early as I got up, put on my green (for girls) tights, a skirt and my "Stop the Violence" kit, and headed to Starbucks for a last-minute run-through of the speech I was to be giving this morning.  

After a super-large cup of tea and the biggest slice of cinnamon bread I have EVER seen I headed across to the UN Church Center.  The butterflies were flapping away on overtime (blame the cake!) and I think I went to the toilet at least three times within the space of half an hour (sorry - toilet chat), but eventually it was 10.30am.  The room was full of people - not just in seats, but standing at the back and sitting on the floor as well!

This was a joint parallel event run by WAGGGS and Soroptimists International called “STOP The Tide: Tackling Adolescent Dating Violence”.  We started with a presentation by a lady from the US Government about her work tackling Trafficking, which was really interesting but I'm not sure I heard much of as I tried to ignore the butterflies, the number of people in the room, and the fact that I'd put my tights on backwards (don't ask!)

All too quickly, I heard my introduction - Fiona, one of WAGGGS' Youth Delegation Coordinators, was chairing the panel - and so I stood up and walked over to the microphone.  It wasn't until I got there that I realised I wasn't wearing my shoes.  Oh well, no turning back now.

Karaoke, UN-Style

As I started to speak, I realised the room had gone quiet.  As had the butterflies.  After a couple of seconds, the nerves had disappeared and I was starting to enjoy myself.  I knew what I was talking about and I recognised at least 10 of the people in the audience from the previous night's NGO reception.  I was aware of the reactions I was getting, particularly to a very un-childproof extract from 50 Shades of Grey, and they were exactly as I was expecting.  *phew*
 
I spoke about the issue of teen dating violence from a UK perspective, focussing on sexting and the impact of the media, particularly films, on creating stereotypes. I also spoke about why non-formal education is key to empowering girls and young women, giving examples of the work my Brownies did during our pilot of WAGGGS' Voices Against Violence syllabus. 

Signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships

After my speech, we ran an activity from the Voices syllabus, asking participants to look at a picture they had been given when they arrived and to decide whether it showed a sign of a healthy or unhealthy relationship.  We then heard about Soroptimist International's Live Your Dream campaign and the Take Back the Tech! campaign.  

The event was a massive success – I'm not sure how many people attended, but I was told afterwards that somewhere between 60 and 100 people were turned away because there was no space in the room.  I'm so glad I didn't know that beforehand! 

The biggest thing I was most nervous about on this trip was how I would respond if anyone asked me questions – I always worried that I would stutter and say something stupid. But that didn't happen, and I felt really confident speaking as part of the panel, so that was a huge confidence-boost!  I talked about my amazing Brownie unit so much, I'm sure everyone at the UN is sick of hearing about this small group of young girls in Edinburgh, but I don't care.  Those girls were absolutely the inspiration I needed to keep me going when things got tough.  They also gave me great examples of why non-formal education is ACE!

Some Gender/ Equality MEPs

After this event, I went to an EU NGO meeting with some MEPs and a discussion session with one of the EU Negotiators.  At the first meeting, my challenge was to sit directly opposite the Chair and stare at him until he looked at me, and then not break eye contact.  I'm not entirely sure why I decided this was a good strategy, but it definitely got me noticed, and when it came to question time, my hand was up and I got the first question in. 

The session with the negotiator was really interesting, although I started to get really frustrated because the EU only refers to "violence against women" and doesn't mention girls.  When I asked about this (obviously I got the first question in again!), I was told the EU wouldn't be discussing girls seperately to women because there were existing agreements in place that relate to girls.  And here began the anger!

Some more Equality MEPs

My final session of the day was an EU Side Event (these are events run by member states or the UN) in the UN Headquarters called “Comprehensive Strategies to tackle Domestic Violence”, where six EU ministers spoke. The session was really interesting, but I had noticed that the EU only talks about violence against women and doesn't mention girls at all. I also noticed that they didn't say anything about tackling the root causes of domestic violence, one of which is adolescent dating violence. So I stood up and asked them why. The response was that they only recognise male and female, and not woman/girl or man/boy. They ignored my question about teen dating violence, and we later found out that this was because the EU is doing nothing tackle this issue. I got very angry and spent the rest of the evening being really frustrated! 

Apparently, this is something I'm pretty passionate about!

CSW57 Update: Monday 4th March 2013

Monday 4th March 2013

(Or: how I'm sick of static electricity)

I should probably explain myself.  I'm not sure why, or what it is about me, but literally everything I touch in New York gives me a static shock.  It was funny for about the first 2 hours, but I've now been in New York over a week and have found myself doing some really weird things (like rubbing my feet on the carpet, and doing everything as fast as I can) before opening doors/ climbing into bed/ switching on a light...  I'm starting to think I'm going insane, and anyone watching me will definitely be considering calling the men in white coats.

Anyway, apart from my slightly bizarre behaviour, today has been an incredible mixture of completely amazing and completely overwhelming. 

My day started early, as a few of us headed out to collect our CSW handbooks.  In an attempt to convince myself it wasn't time to get up, I just put on my jeans and a hoody over my pj's.  Note to self - when going out anywhere near the UN, this is NOT a good idea.  You will feel like a complete idiot when you're standing in a lift with delegates and people you should be lobbying, trying to fix the mop of hair you haven't brushed for 3 days (I *really* should find my hairbrush).  After all that, our mission failed anyway - despite it only being 8.15am, the handbooks had already disappeared. 

Finally here and feeling like a delegate!

After a shower and a cup of tea, I headed over to the UN Headquarters to take notes at the first session of the Commission on the Status of Women.  It wasn't until I was standing in the queue for security that I realised this session would be the Opening Session, in the General Assembly!  Most of the sessions would be held in separate conference rooms, so to be able to attend the GA without having to pay for a tour absolutely made up for the fact I'd only had 5 hours sleep! 

I made it into the viewing balcony of the General Assembly with seconds to go before the speeches started.  The session was opened by the Chairwoman, and we heard from the Deputy Secretary General, Michelle Bachelet (she's still wearing our wristband!) and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.  Member states and regional blocks (groups of countries who had formed alliances) were then invited to give their statements and to outline their positions on gender based violence. 

Proof that I really was there!

About half an hour into this session, I had the sudden realisation that I was sitting in the General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters listening to world leaders and decision-makers speaking about an enormous global issue affecting billions of women and girls.  Thinking back, that seems like a pretty daft realisation, given all of the work I'd done in the run-up to this trip.  But at the time, it didn't feel like such a big thing.  There are no words to describe how immense being in that room felt.  This was the point at which I realised my life was about to change.  I knew at this point that my existing life and career plans were about to go in the bin, and a new plan was being formed.  Pretty overwhelming for 10.30am on a Monday morning!

I spent three hours sitting in the General Assembly, too scared to leave incase I missed something important, and too engrossed in the discussions to realise I was desperate for the toilet (sorry, more toilet chat!).  When I got back to my room, fortunately right next to the HQ, I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor, sobbing into my knees.  This was partly caused by the electric shock(s) I got from my laptop.  But mostly, I think, it was the result of being so tired and completely overwhelmed.

I don't want you to think that I spent my whole week in New York a miserable wreck.  It was quite the opposite infact.  I just want you to know that this trip was NOT a holiday.  It is impossible to describe the intense mixture of emotions we were all feeling during this week.  Even though it was only day 4, we had already put so much effort into getting to this moment, that finally reaching it was like a huge weight had lifted from our shoulders.

A WAGGGS delegate has already been here!

After a few minutes, I gave myself a shake, washed my face, uploaded a picture of the General Assembly onto Facebook, and headed out to my first Parallel Event (these are events run by NGOs in buildings outside the UN Headquarters).  We heard five university students from North Carolina talk about their specific research areas: Domestic Violence, Education and Empowerment; Rape Culture in Society and the Media; Human Trafficking Legislation and Policy; Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women; and Engaging Men and Boys.  At our training, we were told about a WAGGGS delegate from the previous year who made it her mission to ask a question at every session she attended.  I thought I'd never be able to do that!  But this morning, something had changed.  So at the end of the presentations, I found my hand sticking up in the air, and all of a sudden there was a microphone in my face.  I felt like I was watching someone else as I stood up, introduced myself and asked a question about non-formal education.  It was almost as if something in my brain had woken up and said "ok, this is it - mission: accepted". 

At the end of the event, I ran back to the hotel to get ready for the Young Women's Caucus (I did a lot of running today!)

The YW Caucus is jointly organised by WAGGGS and the World YWCA, and is a group of young women who meet to focus on policy discussion, advocacy action and networking with decision makers at CSW.  Any young women attending CSW are invited to come along, and at this first session there were about 30 of us!  Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for very long as I had to go to another event, but I believe the first meeting was a success.

Sir Mark Lyall Grant at the UK NGO Reception

My final event of the day was an NGO reception held by the UK's Permanent Mission to the UN.  This was really my big opportunity to lobby decision-makers and to tell the UK about WAGGGS' Calls to Action.  Before going to New York, I had sent a lot of emails to people from the UK who had attended last year's CSW.  I was so glad I had done this as I arrived at the Permanent Mission wearing my formal Girlguiding UK uniform and was instantly recognised as "the girl guide".  I met so many incredible women this evening, by the time I left the Mission, I was absolutely buzzing.  (This has nothing to do with the 2 glasses of wine I had).  I was so inspired and felt so supported by this group of women, and I realised that I could channel the emotion I had felt earlier in the day to help me through the week.

By the time I arrived back at the hotel, I was exhausted, but very excited to catch up with the rest of the team and find out if their day had been as intense as mine.  (They had!)

CSW57 Update: Teen Orientation Day

Sunday 3rd March 2013

(Or: how I shared the same toilet cubicle as Michelle Bachelet)

Teen Orientation day is organised by the Working Group on Girls (WGG), an NGO Committee which works at the UN.  WAGGGS were asked to provide some facilitators to help prepare all of the teen delegates for their CSW57 experience, so I volunteered to help.  The previous Monday I attended a webinar - an online training session - to find out more about the activities we would be running with the participants, so in theory I had had nearly a week to prepare and make sure I knew the plan.  (In reality, I did a Rosy and winged it - and it was GREAT!)

Half of the WAGGGS delegation had volunteered to facilitate, so we arrived at a New York high school early (7.30am!) on this Sunday morning to help set up and to work out where everything was.  I was to be facilitating with a lovely young woman from the Bronx, New York, called Gina.  We hit it off straight away, and it was great to have someone to work with who had such different experiences to my own.

The day started with an introduction by the girl volunteers with WGG who had helped to plan and organise the day.  This was followed by a story about peace which I thought was really beautiful and helped me to put what we were about to do into perspective.  This isn't the exact version we heard, but hopefully you get the picture:

"A dove and a coal mouse are sitting on the branch of a tree, watching the snow fall. The dove asks, “How much does a snowflake weigh?” The coal mouse answers, “Nothing more than nothing.” The two birds watch the snowflakes fall for some time more, until the moment a particular one settles on their branch, breaking their perch. As the dove flies away, it thinks to itself, “Maybe all that’s needed in the world for peace is one more voice.”"

After the opening remarks, we went to our classrooms to meet our groups.  Gina and I were working with a group of about 25 girls aged between 13 and 18 years old.  They came from all over the USA, so it was really interesting to hear their opinions and their experiences.  They were all so willing to share and they were SO engaged in our activities, which really inspired me to try my hardest during the week to make sure their voices were represented and being listened to.

During the morning sessions, we talked about what violence is and started to develop our own definition of violence:

Our definition of Violence

Halfway through the morning, we told the girls they were going to hear an inspirational speaker.  As we headed back to the auditorium I went to the toilet (there is a point to this story - please keep reading!).  I got to the front of the queue and who came out of the next cubicle but Michelle Bachelet - Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women!  Needless to say, I was too excited that I was about to use the same toilet cubicle as her to actually put any of our training into practice.  I'm not sure lobbying someone in the queue for the toilet is a good idea anyway.  

Michelle Bachelet

Ms Bachelet (I've got so used to just calling her Michelle, but I feel this early in the week I should still be formal.  Especially after almost embarrassing myself in the toilet queue) gave a really inspiring speech - I can't remember what she talked about now, but I know she really pushed the fact that empowering girls and young women is essential to ending violence against women and girls (VAWG).  Three of our delegates stood up and asked questions, and Kumbukani from Malawi gave her one of our Stop the Violence campaign wristbands.  She also signed a WAGGGS pledge card to say that she will speak out for girls rights!

After lunch, we went back into our groups to talk about Advocacy.  The girls made some incredible posters of things they wanted to tell the UN - I'm going to let them speak for themselves:

 

Our final speaker was Michael Kaufman, founder of the White Ribbon Campaign - the world's largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls.  The only thing I could think throughout his speech was "WOW"!  This man in incredible!  He told us all about White Ribbon, how it started, what they do, and why men and boys need to be part of the solution.  It felt amazing to know that this battle isn't just being fought by women, and for all the talk of men being perpetrators, there is a huge group of men and boys out there who are on our side.  This really made me think of all the men and boys in my life and how grateful I am that they are so supportive and caring towards the women in their lives.  (I got a bit emotional at this point!)

At the end of the day, we walked back to our hotel.  After such an amazing day, everyone seemed pretty overwhelmed and we were all already exhausted even though it was only the start of the week. 

CSW57 Update: Training

On Thursday 28th February, I met up with the rest of the WAGGGS Youth Delegation.  There were 11 of us from all over the world (the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Zambia, The Netherlands and Tunisia!) and 3 delegation coordinators (from New Zealand, Malawi and Malta) and after 4 months of trainings and chatting online, it was great to finally meet everyone!

Thursday was really chilled out - a few of us went for lunch with Pippa, one of last year's WAGGGS delegates who was in NYC for a couple of days.  In the evening, we did a few icebreakers and started to get to know everyone for real!

Friday and Saturday were our training days, where we would find out more about what we will be doing at CSW.  We started by drawing our individual advocacy journey - the journey that got me to where I am today.  This really made me think about what I have achieved since I joined Girlguiding UK as a shy 5 year old who was scared of people, 21 years ago! Here is my advocacy journey:

My Advocacy Journey

WAGGGS delegates hard at work

I've forgotten what order we did everything in now, but other things we did on Friday included: role-playing how we would use every opportunity to lobby decision-makers (such as how to get your message across when you're standing in a lift with them, or at different types of function or event); what the different expectations of us, as individuals, from our member organisations, and from WAGGGS, are; a reminder of WAGGGS' 9 calls to action; and a discussion about the first draft of the agreed conclusions for CSW57 - this is basically the output document that is being negotiated here, and that all countries will (hopefully) agree to at the end of the conference.

There are no good pictures of my presentation - this is the best

We also heard individual presentations from half of the delegation about the issues relating to violence against girls in their countries.  We have each agreed to carry out a project following CSW, relating to an issue within our own country, so these presentations also discussed everyone's potential project ideas.  I was first to give my presentation (mainly because I got distracted by something else and forgot to add my name to the list) so it was nice to get it out of the way!  At this point, the plan was that my project would focus on the issue of sexting, and the use of social media to perpetrate violence against girls and women.  This has subsequently changed - more details will come as I gradually formulate clearer thoughts and start to discuss my ideas within the UK...  Watch this space!

GS USA Headquarters

Our first day of training was held at the Girl Scouts of the USA headquarters, and while we were there we met some Junior Girl Scouts.  It was really exciting to be able to tell them about Guiding and Scouting in our countries, and what our favourite thing about being part of WAGGGS is.  They were so interested, and it really started the amazing week to come on a high note!

 

The MASSIVE CSW57 banner outside the UN HQ

Saturday was just a half day of training, and we spent the morning looking at how we were going to lobby and get the message out about what we're doing at CSW.  Halfway through the morning, we got our first chance to visit the UN Headquarters!  As we stood in the queue to go through security, we could all feel the excitement growing.  There were signs and banners everywhere, and there was even a security queue specifically for CSW participants.  All of a sudden, this began to feel very real!

The final hour of our training became even more exciting as we realised it was starting to snow.  Half of our delegation had never seen snow before, so there was a little bit of chaos as everyone ran to the windows to take pictures and stare at the tiny flakes of white (I'm not even sure we'd have seen them if we weren't on the 25th floor of our hotel!) 

By the end of the training days, we were all inspired and ready to go and change the world:

Me and my advocacy kit!

Home

As I landed in my bed yesterday morning, a mere 14 hours after leaving New York (on the second attempt, thanks to United Airlines' inability to count the number of seats on their planes), I was vaguely aware of a fleeting thought popping through my head before sleep took over.

Blogging.  I haven't written a post for nearly a week.

Dear readers, I am so sorry for my tardiness.  The last week has been an overwhelming, incredible, amazing and inspiring whirlwind, and I just don't know where to start telling you everything that has happened. 

Plus the internet in our hotel was terrible and kicked everyone off if more than about 3 people were using the wifi at the same time.

I fully intend to update you on everything we did, but please forgive me as I close my eyes now and try to pretend that a) I don't have A LOT of catching up on study to do (whoever said doing an MSc was a good idea is an evil person!) and b) I AM NOT JETLAGGED!

Thank you for your patience!

Much love,
Rx

Feminism

In the UK, Feminism is a dirty word.  It is a word that I think I actively avoid, and I would never have thought I would use it to define myself.

Yes, I wear DMs and have discovered I am incredibly passionate about lobbying and advocating for women's rights.  But I have never burned my bra (they're really expensive!) and I don't hate men. 

Being here at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women has really challenged my feelings about feminism.  I have spoken to so many women who are passionate about making a genuine difference to the lives of girls and women around the world.  They're not standing in the streets waving placards, burning their underwear and shouting about how women are better than men.  Instead, they are talking to people, having incredible conversations about the practical things that we CAN do to empower girls and women to change the way that society views them (us!)

These are women who work on a daily basis to enable girls and women to feel equal and to become equal.  Not just equal to men, but equal to one another. 

I am starting to realise that, by seeing feminism as a "dirty word", I am perpetuating that stereotype.  How are women ever going to be seen as equal when those of us who are fighting for that equality are stereotyping ourselves?! 

I don't know that I'm quite ready to label myself as a "feminist" - it is still a word that makes me uncomfortable.  But I am prepared to start thinking about my own definition of what this word means to me.  Even if I don't outwardly define myself as a feminist, maybe with time I will come to accept that there is a little bit of a one somewhere inside of me. 

I promise no underwear will be burned in the process.

Why am I in New York??

I guess before I go any further with this adventure, I should explain why I am here in New York.

I have been selected to be one of 11 youth delegates attending the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on behalf of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). This event will be held at the UN headquarters in New York at the start of March 2013. CSW is the body that focuses on gender equality at the United Nations, and every year, representatives of UN Member States gather to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

WAGGGS sends a delegation of young women to CSW to ensure the voices of girls and young women are heard at the UN. Each year the CSW focuses on particular gender equality issues. This year Member States will discuss the ‘elimination and prevention of forms of violence against women and girls.’

In the UK, my Brownie unit took part in the pilot of WAGGGS' Stop the Violence Campaign non-formal education syllabus, Voices Against Violence. Over five weeks, we looked at issues such as gender stereotyping, personal space and bullying. We did lots of discussion activities and games, and we had a visitor from Edinburgh Women's Aid who talked to us about the work that they do with female victims of violence.

My Brownies' thoughts about what can hurt girls

My Brownies' ideas about personal space

Violence against girls and women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights around the world. For example:

• UN Women estimates that up to six out of ten girls and women globally will be subject to violence or abuse in their lifetime
• Domestic violence is the single biggest cause of injury and death to girls and women aged between 15 and 44 worldwide
• 60 million girls are sexually assaulted at or on their way to school each year
• Women and girls constitute 80 per cent of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually, with the majority trafficked for sexual exploitation
• More than 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18
• In post-conflict and disaster situations girls and women are at high risk of violence and sexual assault

There are no global campaigns dedicated to ending violence in all its forms against girls and young women, and this is one of the reasons that WAGGGS, representing over 10 million girl guides and girl scouts in 145 member organisations around the world, has to take action.

If you have not already visited the campaign website, please go to www.stoptheviolencecampaign.com to add your voice to the global call to action. You can also find out more about the campaign and what WAGGGS are doing around this subject, and follow me here for more information about our lobbying efforts at CSW!

Rx