The 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place from 4 to 15 March 2013 in New York. The priority theme this year was ‘Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls’.
More information on this session
Agreed Conclusions
The principal output of the Commission, the agreed conclusions on the priority theme, addressed the situation and vulnerability of women and girls with disabilities. The outcome document calls for the development and implementation of gender-sensitive policies, strategies, programmes and measures in relation of care giving and encourages the equal sharing of responsibilities and chores between men and women including for persons with disabilities. It also condemns and calls for taking action to prevent violence against women and girls in health care settings. Final text of the Agreed Conclusions
Side Event
UN Women and the International Disability Alliance (IDA), with the co-sponsorship of Australia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Jordan, Peru and New Zealand and help from other supporting organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Plan, UNICEF, and Women Enabled held a high level side event on violence against women and girls with disabilities during the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of the Women. Ms Bachelet, then Executive Director of UN Women and one of the main panellists, expressed UN Women’s strong commitment to addressing vulnerable groups. Among these, she highlighted the multiple discrimination and violence faced especially by women and girls with disabilities. In discussing solutions to these problems, she noted a few of the steps that UN Women is currently taking. She further proposed a joint session between the CEDAW and the CRPD Committees to formally reinforce their approaches to better confront the intersection of disability and gender and combat multiple discrimination on those grounds.
IDA Press Release: International Women´s Day and UN Women and IDA side event CSW57, 8 March 2013
