Gibson Dunn present on status of women
On Friday 10 July 2015, five attorneys from the law firm Gibson Dunn presented at The Dickson Poon School of Law.
Katie Marquart, Director of Pro Bono at Gibson Dunne writes:
‘The presentation was entitled: Using the Law to Empower Women Worldwide; Case Studies on: Access to Education, Domestic Violence, Economic Rights, and Human Trafficking. The presentation was similar to one given earlier in the year at the United Nations Convention on the Status of Women. Following that presentation, the United Nations Women UK National Committee invited Gibson Dunn to give the presentation to a group of stakeholders in London.
The theme of the 2015 United Nations Convention on the Status of Women, which is a two week conference that takes place annually in New York, was the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Beijing Platform is a powerful and ground-breaking program setting forth a global framework for empowering women and girls around the world. It was launched 20 years ago at an international women’s rights conference in Beijing and this year’s Convention attempted to examine the changes that have occurred in the wake of its implementation.
Gibson Dunn selected four specific areas identified in the Platform – violence against women (and more specifically, domestic violence and human trafficking), women’s economic rights, and women’s access to education. We focused on these for several reasons. First, we believe that these are among the most pressing issues facing women and girls today. Secondly, these represent areas where the law has made great strides since the Beijing Platform for Action was launched. And yet, as we look at them today, there is still much work left to be done.
Our presentation addressed the laws that have been enacted in the wake of the Beijing Platform that have transformed and improved the lives of women with respect to the four aforementioned topics. The presentation also acknowledged the large role that tradition, culture, religion, and socio-economic status plays on the lives of women around the world, recognizing the fact that the law can, at times, be relatively powerless when these factors mandate behaviour contrary to the law. However, we used the presentation to highlight examples from around the world of countries that have used the law in creative ways to address some of these cultural barriers and make a real impact on the lives of women. Finally, we concluded with an effort to examine the broader context of the importance of using the law to effectively empower women around the world.’