How to address GBV at grassoots level: Women leaders delivered powerful messages at the CSW on March 22!

This year the theme of the 62nd Conference on the Status of Women (CSW) was "Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls". We co-organized a side event titled "Advocacy on the margins: Women with disabilities addressing violence at the grassroots level" during the Conference on the Status of Women (CSW), in March 2018.

HI/Making It Work, the Disability Rights Fund, and International Disability Alliance brought together women leaders with disabilities from grassroots communities in Africa to share their work, countering gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities. These leaders talked about the kinds of rights violations women and girls with disabilities face in rural communities and shared inclusive effective strategies to combat gender-based violence. They also explored how inclusion can be part of mainstream GBV programs. A representative from the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) addressed the importance of including women with disabilities in women’s rights work.