Campaign Brief
Every Woman Treaty is a global coalition of more than 3,900 women’s rights activists and organizations in 147 countries advancing a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW1 to end violence against women and girls. An optional protocol is a binding treaty. We catalyze leadership, from grassroots activists to heads of state, for the development of a global, binding law that will make the world safer for women and girls.
Our signature Fellowship Program builds the capacity of advocates in nations around the world to call for the treaty and other policy changes on women’s safety. Our Emerging Leaders Council engages youth in global systems change.
Background and rationale
A NEW binding optional protocol is needed to curb this violence
- Treaties are effective. They codify norms and standards into a binding roadmap.
- They prioritize an issue. Treaties generate the momentum necessary to develop and implement stronger frameworks for domestic plans of action on an issue.
- A metrics-based reporting approach. Tracking States’ efforts against a set of standard benchmarks can lead to strong outcomes.
A new Optional Protocol to CEDAW is the most expedient path
As the “international bill of rights for women” and one of the most ratified conventions in the world (189 nations), nations’ familiarity with CEDAW will serve as a catalyst for dialogue, cooperation, and ratification. Moreover, CEDAW General Recommendation 35 provides an expert-driven foundation for a new Optional Protocol, including interventions proven to lower rates of violence against women and girls:
- legal reform;
- training for police, judges, nurses, and doctors;
- violence-prevention education; and
- comprehensive survivor services like shelters and hotlines.
Four Nations, Four Special Rapporteurs Call for a New Optional Protocol to CEDAW
In December 2023, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Sierra Leone, and Antigua and Barbuda issued a joint statement calling for the creation of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW. These nations lead the State initiative to bring more nations on board—the next step before moving to drafting and negotiations. In June 2024, an additional 10 nations showing regional diversity expressed interest in exploring the possibility of a new binding mechanism in a joint statement read by the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UNOG at the Human Rights Council.
The current Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls and three former Special Rapporteurs have also called for a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW. The current Special Rapporteur reiterated the call at the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (2024) and at the 56th Session of the Human Rights Council (2024).an
Results
A new Optional Protocol to CEDAW to end violence against women and girls will achieve prevention and protection for women and girls, and a paradigm shift away from violence toward thriving for women and girls, nations, and communities, everywhere.
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
- World Health Organization, “Devastatingly pervasive: 1 in 3 women globally experience violence” (News Release, March 9, 2021) https://www.who.int/news/item/09-03-2021-devastatingly-pervasive-1-in-3-women-globally-experience-violence.
- Jane Aeberhard-Hodges, Najla Ayoubi, Francisco J. Rivera Juaristi, Safer Now (Every Woman Treaty, February 2023), p7, https://everywoman.org/safer-now-report/.
- “Five essential facts to know about femicide,” UN Women, November 22, 2023, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2022/11/five-essential-facts-to-know-about-femicide.
- Ginette Azcona, Antra Bhatt, et al, Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2023, UN Women, (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, September 2023), p 12, 26, https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2023-en.pdf.
- Jane Aeberhard-Hodges, Najla Ayoubi, Francisco J. Rivera Juaristi, Safer Now (Every Woman Treaty, February 2023), p18, https://everywoman.org/safer-now-report/.
JOIN THE CALL
I stand for a life free from all forms of violence for every woman and girl, everywhere.
I hereby join the call for a global treaty in the form of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW to eradicate violence against women and girls.
*By signing you will be added to our mailing list. You can choose to opt out from the signature confirmation email.
JOIN THE CALL
I stand for a life free from all forms of violence for every woman and girl, everywhere.
I hereby join the call for a global treaty in the form of a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW to eradicate violence against women and girls.
*By signing you will be added to our mailing list. You can choose to opt out from the signature confirmation email.