Anglican Communion delegates, 80 or more in number, will be at the UN
Commission on the Status of Women March 4 to 15. Of these, 17 are from
Canada. Under discussion will be the “Elimination and Prevention of all
forms of Violence against Women and Girls”. It is at the meeting of the
Commission that the pain of being violated and excluded intersects with the
UN process of setting a standard for human behaviour that is respectful of
all people.
The Charter of Human Rights (1945) set out a standard for human behaviour.
In 1995, during the Fourth UN Conference on Women in Beijing, it was clearly
stated that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human
rights. To this day, women continue the process of explaining to the world
what changes need to be made in human behaviour to make this claim a
reality.
The delegates will describe the lives of women and girls, and devise, in UN
language, changes that are required in UN policies, cultural norms,
attitudes in the hearts and minds of men and boys, and the laws of nations
worldwide.
As has been the case in past years, so this year’s delegates will have a
life changing experience. They will learn that they are not alone in the
struggle to have a voice, and, once they have spoken they will gain strength
from the solidarity of thousands of women who have spoken in the past. They
will discover that they need to speak again and again and again, because
change is slow. However they know that they are participating in building
God’s reign on earth. They will never despair, but continue to follow
Jesus, and rely on the ever-present guidance of the Spirit.
The Rev. Canon Alice Medcof
