Happy International Women's Day! - March 8th

 
Happy International Women's Day! Today (March 8th), is a day of celebration for the achievements that women make in our societies and a day of reflection on the inequalities that still exist and areas in which progress is still to be made.


Yesterday, one of the Bickley Bloggers attended the UN Women International Women's Day breakfast, held in Perth, Western Australia.  Here are her reflections:

UN International Women’s Day breakfast in Perth, Western Australia is one of a number of events being held to celebrate International Women’s Day. Around a thousand women (and some men) attended the event the proceeds of which will help women victims of domestic violence in Papua New Guinea. We were reminded that one in three women worldwide experiences violence in their lifetimes. If those figures are horrifying enough we were then told that for women in Papua New Guinea the situation is so very much worse. Over two-thirds of women there report having been beaten by their husbands and that figure rises to nearly 100% for women living in the highlands. Two-thirds of women aged between 15-24 are forced to provide sex in order to survive. 

The keynote address was given by Rosie Johnson who is a Senior Magistrate in the Papua New Guinea Magisterial Services. Much of her work has focused on ensuring women and other vulnerable members of the community receive appropriate legal advice and support.

She spoke passionately about the need to end violence against women in Papua New Guinea. She highlighted the lack of resources that are available to women who are victims of violence. There is very little if any legal protection and almost no social support such as qualified social workers or counsellors. Rosie spoke of the need for technical support to help draft legislation and to provide the counselling and welfare that is needed as well as the need for money to help break the cycle of violence. She then recounted some of her own life story and the challenges she had faced and continues to face with respect to her own safety – it was a sobering reminder on the eve on International Women’s Day, 2013 of how much work still needs to be done to make the world a safer place for women.

What did you do to mark International Women's Day? We would love to hear about your experiences, updates on events that you attended, or initiatives that your company is leading.  Get in touch via facebook, twitter or email!