ATHENA recently participated in the Commission on the Status of Women, which took place in New York City from 12-25 March, 2016. The conference was a watershed moment for young women’s leadership at both the inaugural Youth Forum and at side-events and panel discussions throughout the week on gender equality, criminalization of women in all of our diversity, women’s empowerment, and the intersection of HIV, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender-based violence agendas. The renewed attention to youth participation brought on by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the political significance of the upcoming High Level Meeting on AIDS laid the foundation for young women to have the opportunity to shine bright as leaders at CSW, naming their own priorities and setting their own agendas.

With support from the Link Up consortium, ATHENA hosted a Young Women’s Leadership Initiative to bring three outstanding young women champions to CSW. Read more in our report of the week’s activities and successes. ATHENA member Alyssa Basmajian also authored an analysis of the Criminalization, Women, and HIV panel co-hosted by ATHENA, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, AIDS Legal Network, Access Chapter 2, ICW Global, and Link Up youth advocates during CSW. Thank you to all the women (and men!) we worked with to amplify messages on funding for women-led civil society, young women’s participation and leadership, sexual and reproductive health and rights, comprehensive sexual education, the decriminalization of women in all of their diversity, and other key messages. Thanks especially to the young women who carried these messages forward: Resty, L’Orangelis, Alyssa and Cierra!

Below is a list of documents co-written and edited by the ATHENA team at CSW60:

CSW60 Young Feminist Statement (English)

CSW60 Young Feminist Statement (Spanish)

See Also: