Equality Now

Find out #WhatsOn and where our team will be this week ⬇ 📍5-8 November 2024, First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children - Bogotá, Colombia ➡️The first-ever Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, co-hosted by the Governments of Colombia and Sweden in partnership with WHO, UNICEF, and the UN Special Representative on ending violence against children, aims to advance policies, mobilize resources, and demonstrate the possibility of violence prevention. Government officials, children, youth, survivors, and civil society representatives will collaborate to push for an end to all forms of violence against children. While many events are exclusive to registered participants, public parallel events will provide broader engagement opportunities, with Equality Now and its partners organizing pre-conference activities for discussion and engagement. In attendance will be Equality Now’s Global Executive Director, S. Mona Sinha, Global Lead on Ending Harmful Practices, Divya Srinivasan, Legal and Advocacy Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Sandra Ramirez, and Regional Communications Officer, Tamara Rusansky. 🔗Find out more https://buff.ly/3BWACah 📍6-7 November 2024, The Cost of FGM and Child Marriage Regional Meeting - League of Arab States Headquarters, Cairo, Egypt ➡️UNFPA Arab States Regional Office, in collaboration with UNICEF MENARO and the League of Arab States’ Population Policies Department, is organizing a two-day meeting with the member states of the League of Arab States on the cost of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. Equality Now’s Gender Adviser for the MENA region, Naglaa Sarhan, will present a session on the current accountability mechanisms for #FGM and #ChildMarriage. #GenderEquality #GenderEqualityEvents

In Kenya, femicide has become an alarming issue, with at least 150 women killed in 2023, and 10 women murdered in January 2024 according to open source data (highly likely under-estimated) The majority of these killings are said to have been perpetrated by intimate partners or family members, highlighting systemic gender-based violence fueled by social norms. Despite existing laws aimed at protecting women, enforcement has been a challenge. 🎧 Listen to Equality Now’s Africa Regional Coordinator, Judy Gitau, comparing the situation in Kenya with Puerto Rico in a recent episode of BBC’s The Conversation, Femicide: 'The shadow pandemic' ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ehNd_PSV #Femicide #WomensRights

📣 Catch up on the latest Equality Now news and insights from across the world this week 🌍: ➡️Strategic Alliance with ParlAmericas: Advancing Legislative Reform in Latin America and the Caribbean Read: https://lnkd.in/e6TMAjMQ ➡️Men, Your Moment to End Gender-Based Violence Is Now - Op-Ed with our Global Executive Director, S. Mona Sinha Read: https://lnkd.in/e4nZ8Bpb ➡️Femicide: 'The shadow pandemic' - Episode of the BBC’s The Conversation featuring Equality Now’s Africa Regional Coordinator, Judy Gitau Read: https://lnkd.in/ehNd_PSV ➡️Gov’t advances anti-GBV bill with multi-sectoral support Read: https://lnkd.in/esJ7wv3C ➡️Why child and forced marriages persist in Central Asia Read: https://lnkd.in/e3sDW9tn

In September, at #UNGA79, Sally Ncube, Equality Now’s Regional Representative, Southern Africa, raised the need to strengthen accountability mechanisms at the event, “A Near Future Without Child Marriage,” which Equality Now co-hosted with Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage. Ending child marriage will take strong laws that set the minimum age of marriage at 18, with no exceptions, and these laws need to be effectively implemented. That’s why in 2023, together with UNFPA East and Southern Africa, Spotlight Initiative, and the SADC Parliamentary Forum, we released a series of policy briefs on child marriage covering the implementation and challenges of domesticating the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Model Law in Eastern and Southern Africa in eradicating child marriage in the region. These briefs are intended to support the effective implementation of child marriage laws across the region, containing insights from Zambia, Malawi, and Uganda. Explore our policy briefs: https://lnkd.in/dy3D949c The SADC countries have taken commendable action to strengthen legal protections, and there has been notable progress; however, to realize the SDGs, they need to prioritize the effective implementation of laws to protect girls from child marriage to comply with international and regional human rights obligations. We look forward to continued collaboration with SADC and national-level governments to end child marriage in the region and across the world. #ChildMarriage #EndChildMarriage #UNGA79 #SADC #WomensRights #HumanRights #LegalReform #Africa #MondayMotivation #SDGs

In early 2024, South Sudan witnessed a troubling surge in gender-based violence (GBV), impacting over 1,000 civilians. Every month, approximately 500 women and girls experience gender-based violence. While this is concerning, it’s been 6 years since the Anti-GBV Bill addressing GBV was tabled in parliament with little progress. On October 26, we made a significant advocacy milestone as the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare appointed a task force to accelerate the long-awaited Anti-Gender-Based Violence (Anti-GBV) Bill. At the high-level forum hosted in partnership with the Ministry and the Christian Agency for Peace and Development, the Minister of Gender Hon. Aya Benjamin Libo Warille said that this move underscores the government’s renewed commitment to addressing these challenges. The Anti-GBV Bill addresses: 📌 Harmful practices deeply embedded in customary law, such as child marriage and forced marriages which have been major drivers of inequality and violence against women. 📌Domestic violence, sexual violence, child protection. 📌It also aims to create structures such as the Anti-GBV committee, the Anti-GBV fund, specialized courts, and Family Protection Centers for victims. We celebrate this partnership-driven step towards a safer, more equitable society and look forward to seeing this legislation enacted. #EndGBV #GenderJustice #YW4A

Last week we went to Washington D.C. to give testimony in support of Bill No 25-0955, the Child Marriage Prohibition Amendment Act of 2024 and we were not alone. Our Program Officer for North America, Anastasia Law sat alongside survivors and partners like Unchained At Last urging legislators to end child marriage in the District of Colombia by increasing the legal age for marriage to 18 years, with no exceptions. Watch the testimonies of these brave survivors and take action. The safety of our girls depends on it ➡ https://lnkd.in/e6aTTSfM Washington D.C. residents: Contact your legislators about ending child marriage today ➡ https://lnkd.in/eyrTP78v No matter where you live: Get informed, read about child marriage in the US ➡ https://lnkd.in/eAQYVvVS

Find out #WhatsOn and where our team will be this week ⬇ 📍28th - 29th October 2024: The Global Collaboration to End FGM/C - Washington, DC, United States ➡ Equality Now’s Global Lead on Ending Harmful Practices, Divya Srinivasan, Legal and Advocacy Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Sandra Ramirez, and Communications Officer for North America, Mel Bailey, will be attending The Global Collaboration to End FGM/C networking event and conference this week. The conference will focus on developing collaborative strategies to end FGM/C globally. The event will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to share knowledge, discuss challenges, and identify opportunities for cross-sectoral cooperation. 📍29th October 2024: Policy Forum on Advancing the Anti-Gender Based Violence Bill - Juba, South Sudan ➡ We are hosting a consultative policy forum in partnership with The Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare in South Sudan on advancing the Anti-Gender Based Violence Bill and related legislation on Advancing the Maputo Protocol. In attendance will be Equality Now’s Programme Officer, Nina Masore, Programme Officer, Deborah Nyokabi, Programme Officer, Gicuku Karugu, and Advocacy Communications Manager, Sylvia Obaga. 📍31st October - 2nd November 2024: Civil Society Coalition Meeting - Juba, South Sudan ➡ Equality Now is hosting a civil society coalition meeting on the status of domestication of the Maputo Protocol in South Sudan. In attendance will be Equality Now’s Programme Officer, Nina Masore, Programme Officer, Deborah Nyokabi, Programme Officer, Gicuku Karugu, and Advocacy Communications Manager, Sylvia Obaga. 🔗 Learn more about the Maputo Protocol in our recent video celebrating #MaputoAt20: https://lnkd.in/e9jcCRqm #GenderEquality #GenderEqualityEvents

Join Equality Now at the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogotá, Colombia, on November 7-8, 2024. Government officials, children, youth, survivors, and civil society representatives will join forces to push for an end to all forms of violence against children. Learn more about the events and register now: https://buff.ly/3BWACah Equality Now and its partners will host activities in the days leading up to the conference, creating opportunities for engagement and discussion. Join our Global Executive Director, S. Mona Sinha, along with Global Lead on Ending Harmful Practices, Divya Srinivasan, Legal and Advocacy Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Sandra Ramirez, and Regional Communications Officer, Tamara Rusansky at the following events: ➡ Regional and Global Efforts to End Child Marriage and Early Unions 📆 November 5, 2024, 5:30 - 8:30 pm (Bogotá time) 📍 Hotel Wyndham, Bogotá ➡ Satellite Event: Ending Female Genital Mutilation Globally 📆 November 6, 2024, 9:00-10:30 am (Bogotá time) 📍 Hotel Tequendama, Bogotá ➡ Satellite Event of Movimiento de Valientes Latin America & the Caribbean: Survivors and Allies’ Demands for the Bogotá Call to Action to Eradicate Sexual Violence Against Children 📆 November 6, 2024, 2 pm (Bogotá time) 📍 Hotel Hilton Corferias, Bogotá Learn more about the events and register now: https://buff.ly/3BWACah #EndViolenceAgainstChildren #ChildrensRights #HumanRights #ColombiaEvents

In just a few short hours Equality Now’s newest Program Officer for North America, Anastasia Law, will deliver testimony during the public hearing on Bill 25-955, the “Child Marriage Prohibition Amendment Act of 2024.” The Bill will remove the parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage in the District of Colombia, thus protecting girls and adolescents from the devastating consequences of child marriage which  include abuse, limitations to education, lack of financial independence, early pregnancy, and loss of bodily autonomy. While we’ll be there live, we’re counting on you to take action by telling your legislators to end Child Marriage today. Click on the link below: https://lnkd.in/eyrTP78v