Violence Against Women
- Consultation on UK Government policy and practice -
Charity Centre, 24 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2DP (venue to be confirmed)
Friday 1 May 2003 from12:30 – 4:30
  • What is the CEDAW convention and how is it relevant for violence against women work? - Purna Sen
  • Why have we produced a Thematic Report on Violence against Women? - Cathy Humphreys and Liz Kelly (tbc)
  • Advocacy and Consultation: WNC and Other Avenues - Nicola Harwin, Women's Aid Federation England (tbc)
  • How could we use the CEDAW Convention in our advocacy on violence against women? - Liz McKean, Amnesty International UK and Genevieve Painter, WOMANKIND Worldwide
The consultation will be based on the draft document, Violence Against Women: A Thematic Shadow Report, written by Cathy Humphreys, Liz Kelly, Purna Sen, and WOMANKIND Worldwide.

Working groups will be asked to discuss sections of the draft Thematic Shadow Report and make recommendations for improvement.

The workshop is an opportunity for activists working against violence towards women to discuss their views of current UK government policy and practice on Violence Against Women (VAW).  The discussion will be based on the draft document, Violence Against Women: A Thematic Shadow Report, written in the context of the Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), by Cathy Humphreys, Liz Kelly, Purna Sen, and WOMANKIND Worldwide.

Excerpts of Thematic Shadow Report have been fed into the Women's National Commission's Shadow Report to the UK Government submission to the UN committee monitoring CEDAW.  Every four years, the UK government is required to report on its implementation of the Convention and the progress it is making on women's human rights.  The Shadow Reporting process gives us the chance to present the UN committee with our view of the UK government's progress. 

It is intended that, when revised and completed, the Thematic Shadow Report will:
  • inform lobbying efforts directed at the CEDAW Committee
  • serve as a benchmark against which to assess progress for the next UK report to the CEDAW committee
  • provide information to VAW activists about the CEDAW Convention
Aims of the Workshop
  • provide information to participants about the CEDAW convention and CEDAW monitoring processes
  • gain feedback from participants about the Thematic Shadow Report
  • discuss ideas for continuing monitoring of the CEDAW Convention over the next four years
  • discuss joint recommendations and priorities for the anti-violence sector (possibly to feed into development of a national strategy?)
Please come to the meeting prepared to identify omissions, highlight errors of fact, and identify areas of undue emphasis in the document.  We will also work on revisions or additional questions for the CEDAW Committee and recommendations for government and civil society.

Your views and experience count – please join us at this workshop to make them heard and ensure that they are included in the document.  However, if you are unable to attend, we would appreciate it if you could note down your feedback on the document and send them Genevieve at WOMANKIND Worldwide.

Please register by 23 April 2003 by emailing the attached registration form to: genevieve@womankind.org.uk