This March at the UN’s 57th Commission on the Status of Women, the Feminist Task Force will be partnering with the Working Group on Girls to host the first Girls’ Tribunal on Violence. This tribunal coincides with the priority theme of this year’s commission which highlights violence against women and girls. At this Tribunal, FTF & its partners seek to provide a forum whereby girls can tell their stories about their own advocacy against violence in their communities, schools and in the media. The Tribunal also provides the opportunity for a distinguished panel of jurists, made up of significant players in the movement to end violence against girls, to listen and respond to the girls’ testimony.

The Tribunal will take place on Tuesday March 5th  at 2:00 PM  located at the Salvation Army Auditorium, 221 E. 52nd Street. 

This theme of violence faced by girls is particularly relevant given that the Summary Report of the E-discussion on Gender Equality, part of the UN Global Thematic Consultations on Addressing Inequalities and which took place from October 3 – to November 2, 2012 on the online platform, www.worldwewant2015.org, found that Gender-Based Violence was a top priority for respondents of the online e-discussion. The report states that GBV “was one of the most widely voiced issues, with nearly four in 10 comments received in the first week reference to gender-based violence or violence against women and girls specifically.”