Our Week+ of CSW70 Events: Access to Justice for All Women and Girls
The Vance Center’s Human Rights & Access to Justice Program collaborated with partners and advocates from the around the world on a series of events focused on access to justice alongside the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
From March 9-19, the United Nations held its 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), convening international representatives to evaluate progress towards gender equality.
The theme of CSW70, “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls,” provided an ideal platform for the Vance Center’s Human Rights & Access to Justice Program to spotlight its ongoing work to uphold access to justice for women around the world.
We collaborated with clients, partner organizations, and members of the Women in Prison Network to co-host eight events alongside CSW – almost certainly a new Vance Center record for events in one week!
The first week opened with good news that the CSW Resolution, voted on and adopted by UN Member States, included language that mentioned criminalization and incarceration of women among the issues impacting gender equality and access to justice. This is the first time that a CSW resolution has contained language that explicitly includes incarcerated women.
Members of the Women in Prison Network have spent months advocating for this inclusion. As part of this campaign, the Vance Center and Penal Reform International submitted a statement on behalf of Women in Prison Network members highlighting the need to include incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in broader conversations on gender equality and specifically in UN spaces, including the CSW.
The discussions, panels, receptions, and informal networking opportunities brought together a wide range of women with lived experience, advocates, other experts, supporters, and legal professionals representing dozens of countries and organizations. These events covered everything from reproductive rights in the digital space to ensuring greater representation for formerly incarcerated women in the global movement for gender equality.
The Vance Center also co-sponsored an official side event at the UN on March 18 on “Addressing the Laws and Practices that Criminalize Women Due to Poverty and Status Worldwide.”
Check out an overview of highlights from the first week of CSW below, and see photos from the events here.
You can read more about all of these events in our full CSW recap.
Transforming Prison and Correctional Systems for a Caring Society
March 9
This panel discussion covered some of the challenges faced by women deprived of their liberty and highlighted innovative approaches to transforming prison and penitentiary systems from a feminist perspective of care.
In partnership with: Corporación Humanas and the International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women (INFIW). Special thanks to Greenberg Traurig for hosting the discussion at the firm’s offices.
Access to Justice: South-South Strategies for Dismantling Discriminatory Laws and Practices Against Women
March 11
This special high-level exchange featured insights from regional experts on the realities and impacts of discriminatory laws and policies for women and girls around the world, particularly in Africa. Through a panel discussion and fireside chat, speakers from inter-governmental organizations, governments, civil society, and academia shared their perspectives and cross-regional strategies for reforming discriminatory laws and policies to ensure full access to justice for all.
In partnership with: UN Women, the Permanent Missions of Colombia and Grenada to the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Women Aid Collective (WACOL), and the University of Dayton Human Rights Center.
Decarceration as Access to Justice: Gender-Responsive Pathways for Women
March 12
This international panel examined the gender-specific discrimination and institutional barriers experienced by women across the justice system, including the feminization of poverty, criminalization of poverty and status, and ways in which criminal justice systems further entrench gender inequality. Speakers shared examples from Colombia, Mexico, and beyond of practices and approaches that offer more equitable alternatives.
In partnership with: Women Beyond Walls, EQUIS Justicia para las Mujeres, ILANUD (UN Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders), Penal Reform International, Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, Corporación Humanas, and the INFIW.
Reproductive Justice in the Digital Age
March 12
As the fight for reproductive justice moves increasingly online, digital spaces have become both vital resources and contested battlegrounds. This panel discussed critical challenges and legal strategies to protect defenders and advance accountability in digital spaces. Speakers covered the censorship tactics that seek to suppress information about abortion and reproductive health, strategies to protect data and get reliable information to those who need it, and how these issues manifest at all levels, from local to global.
In partnership with: Women’s Link Worldwide, Women on Web, AbortionData, and Plan C.
Criminalization of Women Justice Operators in Guatemala: Structural Challenges and Institutional Responses
March 12
We were honored to host this essential conversation on criminal proceedings targeting anti-corruption prosecutors, human rights lawyers, and other women justice operators in Guatemala. We will hear directly from three of those lawyers, two of whom were forced into exile from Guatemala, and from experts in international law, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. Through the personal experiences and perspectives of these courageous women, attendees gained a greater understanding of the realities of judicial persecution, how to view these practices through a gender framework, and the responses necessary to address them.
In partnership with: New York University School of Law, the Rule of Law Lab at NYU School of Law, and Protection International Mesoamérica.
Beyond Prison Walls: Weaving Networks for Women’s Access to Justice in the Americas
March 13
This dialogue, coordinated by CEA Justicia Social, opened space for a reflection on structural barriers and challenges preventing women who have been incarcerated from accessing justice, drawing on practical, personal perspectives and encourage horizontal exchange between participants. The conversation centered the voices and lived experiences of justice-impacted women, including women who were formerly incarcerated in the U.S. and Mexico, women with family members who are currently incarcerated, and a letter from a woman who is currently incarcerated in New York state.
In partnership with: Bernstein Institute for Human Rights at NYU School of Law, CEA Justicia Social, and the Jailhouse Lawyer Initiative.
Read more about our work with the Women in Prison Network