Today is the final day of gathering in solidarity for the 69th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-69) where there were bold strategies and new reasons to be hopeful. A year after the U.N. launched the Gender Equality Accelerator Plan (GEAP) to address structural barriers to women’s equality – including the transformation of U.N. systems and data collection for NGOs to report on the status of women – the reports from NGOs highlight actions taken locally to address violence and manageable recommendations for safeguarding girls’ rights. The clarion call by the Secretariat General commits to placing women and girls at the center of multilateralism, and promises to deliver more effective results for women and girls – regardless of the perceived level of support from individual member states. This development is a call to action for US-based NGOs who have been dedicated to the pursuit of eradicating gender based violence and serves as a reminder that civil society will not back down to the challenge. (fb)

#16Days The U.S. hosts more child sexual abuse content online than any other country in the world, accounting for 30% of the global total of child sexual abuse material. Predatory behaviors have increased since Covid and bad actors operate with impunity within the U.S. due to the lack of legislation to hold tech companies accountable for hosting the content, allowing file sharing, or monitoring the removal of child sexual exploitation materials from their platforms. U.S. buyers of child sex trafficking content prefer live shows on video streaming apps of children 2 years - 12 years old, with special preference for 6 year old girls. This type of violence against children is both pervasive and preventable. #NoExcuse #OrangeTheWorld UN Women (fb)