Prepared by Sheila Katzman, NYC4CEDAW Chair, and Sevonna Brown, NYC4CEDAW Co-Chair
Delivered March 2019

NYC4CEDAW Steering Committee Report
Sheila Katzman, Co-Chair nyc4cedaw@gmail.com
Sevonna Brown, Co-Chair sevonna@blueprintny.org
New York City, New York
www.nyc4cedaw.org

Background and Context

The United States is the only developed country that has not ratified the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which is why cities all over the country are working for legislation to assure a rights-based approach to equality in our cities.

Within New York, we believe the core articles of CEDAW provide a repliable, yet consistent, template of indicators through which city agencies can activate the proposed action plans, and analyze and report on racial and gender equity with ease, using a human rights framework. CEDAW recognizes that gender barriers are further affected by other overlapping forms of discrimination including on the basis of race, socioeconomic status, level of ability, etc. Nationally, the Cities for CEDAW campaign has called on this extraordinary legacy of labor in cities to achieve an unprecedented goal: the local passage of bills in every city across the country which adheres to and uphold the legal obligations outlined in, the United Nations CEDAW.

NYC for CEDAW was formed in 2014 at the yearly Commission on the Status of Women conference in the United Nations. The 100 Cities for CEDAW campaign was launched at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March 2014. The NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY (CSW/NY) appointed the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women and the Women’s Intercultural Network on peer leaders for the U.S. Presently, NYC for CEDAW is governed by a Steering Committee, which oversees the NYC for CEDAW Coalition, constituted by members and supporters of nearly 70 international Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), local community organizations, city council members, city-wide offices, attorneys, students, and volunteers. NYC for CEDAW is chaired by Sheila Katzman and Sevonna Brown.

Members of the New York City for CEDAW Act Coalition have made extensive contributions through their testimonies before the Commission in four of the five boroughs of the City outlining that the Convention provides a comprehensive framework for New York City government to examine their policies and practices in relation to women and girls and to rectify discrimination based on gender.

Summary of Major Successes:

1. The Borough of Brooklyn conferred honorary Citation on the NYC4CEDAW Act and Soon-Young Young in 2017 at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn. Deputy Borough President of Brooklyn, Diana Reyna, presented Citation the CItations. Sheila Katzman, President of IAWRT-USA and Chair of NYC4CEDAW accepted on behalf of NYC4CEDAW Act Coalition and Houry Geudelekian of IFBPW/NGO CSW and co-Chair NYC4CEDAW Act accepted on behalf of Soon-Young.
2. We hosted the first of many NYC4CEDAW Act rallies and marches to get a gender equity bill passed at City Council. We had a great turn out, heard from Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna, Councilmember Laurie Cumbo and Public Advocate Tish James as well as community voices in support of CEDAW.
3. Nancy Cohen of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television, USA has Huffington post the upcoming rally asking NYC Council and Mayor de Blasio to adopt the CEDAW framework in a NYC4CEDAW Act. It will ensure the rights of women and girls in New York City. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination defines inequality and enable City governments to fix gender discrimination making rights real instead of going to court and fighting for those rights.
4. Our target for action during 2018 as a Coalition was both the Mayor and the New York City Council’s Charter Revision Commission, the Commission on Gender Equity and the City Council. We’ve charged them with applying a human rights framework and a gender lens in all areas under review.
5. Black Women’s Blueprint reported that their work as co-chair of the NYC4CEDAW Act Coalition has led to survivors and women most impacted to lead direct actions, draft bills, and survivors testifying at public hearings to ensure survivor voices are heard to end violence and discrimination against women.
6. The New York State Nurses Association (Union) reported that the experience with the coalition has led to personal growth for some and has sown the seeds to resolution to have CEDAW in East Orange, New Jersey.
7. The IAWRT-USA has trained journalists from 54 countries on the impact of Cities for CEDAW.

Local Strategies NYC4CEDAW Implements
Strategy 1: Compose and Deliver testimony to the City Charter Revision Commission resulting in changing the NYC City Charter to thoroughly be informed by CEDAW. Women and Gender was included in the report although did not make the final referendum.

Strategy 2: Get CEDAW Implemented in NYC as it has been in 9 cities in the U.S.

• Develop a single unifying framework for NYC based on the principles of CEDAW beginning with the Resolution
• Train ambassadors and testifiers in the language of CEDAW and its application on the local level
• Recruit and enroll justice-minded community organizations across the five boroughs of New York City to join the Grassroots Organizing SubCommittee of the NYC for CEDAW Campaign Coalition.
• Recruit campaign partners from a diverse array of identities and backgrounds that are able and committed to mobilizing their constituencies in order to pass a Women’s Bill of Rights so we can have CEDAW in NYC.

Strategy 3: Political Education and Community Around CEDAW

• Survivor led teach-ins about gender rights and specific CEDAW protections against sexual harassment, sexual assault and all the components of #MeToo.
• Survivor-led campaign strategy, planning and execution; base building and volunteer recruitment/cultivation; how to make fundraising ‘asks’; power analysis and identifying targets;
• Engage in public and transparent dialogue about the reality of gender discrimination based on identity, sexual violence and gendered forms of civil and human rights violations that can be remedied through CEDAW.

Over the past year we have done the following:

1. International CEDAW Luncheon Briefing on the Cities for CEDAW campaign which was presented by CSW/NY along with civil society representatives at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.
2. Chair Sheila Katzman testified on March 27^th, 2018 at the NYC City Council, Committee on Health, Oversight Meeting at the DOHMH’s Center for Health Equity. The testimony highlighted topics such as health care, family planning, economic and social life, marriage and family life and overall gender discrimination in order to demonstrate how mental health is connected to women’s health. The co-chair also advocated for the implementation of CEDAW into policy as well as law and urged for the disaggregation of mental health data on the basis of gender and race in order to better serve marginalized communities. This gained the interest of Council Members Stephen Levine who suggested a meeting with Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Chair Committee on Women.
3. We charged the New York City Council and New York City Charter Revision Commission with applying a human rights framework, a gender lens in all areas under review including Campaign Finance, Municipal Elections in New York City, Civic Engagement, Community Boards and the Districting Process so that women, girls, trans-identified and gender fluid people’s civil rights at work, rights to bodily safety, non-harassment and non-victimization are respected. The bodies which can give us what we want are the City Charter Commission and the City Council by significantly changing the Charter scheduled for revision and implementing CEDAW in NYC.
4. Demanded the establishment of an Oversight body focused on overseeing and implementing the gender analysis and any gender equity initiatives. We will ensure that membership is representative of the many diverse communities that live within the city and the perspectives of our most vulnerable, including LGB/transgender, differently-abled, Black, Muslim, Latino, and/or formerly incarcerated, people.
5. Demanded that New York City local government and city agencies reiterates commitment to creating a city that is non-­discriminatory in its approach to gender by applying a human rights framework in its review of the five focus areas of the city Charter Revision the articles of CEDAW.
6. Recommended that New York City recognizes that issues of gender discrimination are compounded by other forms of discrimination. All agencies of New York City (along with all elements of New York City government and those working and contracting with the City) a gender lens to assess the laws, regulations, and policies on the residents of New York City.

While New York City is ahead of the curve in some respects when it comes to gender equity, the status quo allows for clear patterns of inequity to persist. The implications of this persistent gender inequity permeate to every facet of living in New York City living: health, economics, safety, transportation, education and pay equity.

We requested that the NYC Charter Revision Commission, in its final report, consider the following:

1. New York City reiterates its commitment to creating a city that is non-discriminatory in its approach to gender by applying a human rights framework in its review of the five focus areas of the city Charter Revision.
2. New York City will implement policies by using a human rights framework to correct gender discriminatory problems.
3. Gender is explicitly an inclusive term, especially referring to women, girls, transgender, gender non-conforming and Sis Gender individuals.
4. New York City recognizes that issues of gender discrimination are compounded by other forms of discrimination.
5. All agencies of New York City (along with all elements of New York City government and those working and contracting with the City) shall use a gender lens to assess the impact of laws, regulations, and policies on the residents of New York City.
6. New York City is obligated to address any gender discrimination discovered as a result of agency assessment.
7. A gender assessment is based on the articles of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), an international human rights treaty ratified by 189 countries and representing an international consensus on gender discrimination (see attached).
8. All activities include, but are not limited to, the impact of NYC programs, services, budgets, and employment.
9. Gender assessments shall be made available to the public for comments and additions.
10. The public shall be involved in the search for solutions for problems of gender.
11. There must be an oversight body with an appropriate budget to accomplish this task.

The New York City Charter Revision Commission responded in its final report with an entire section recommending CEDAW. “This Commission regards these recommendations [CEDAW] as valuable contributions to its work, but, due to time constraints, will defer this matter for consideration by future Commissions.”(final report, pg.129)

Additional Testimonies and Public Hearings where we presented NYC 4 CEDAW:

1. The New York City Charter Revision Commission public hearing series across all 5 boroughs.
2. We testified at the following hearings: Commission on Gender Equity and Mobilize Your Community to Take Action Against Gender-Based Violence. NYC 4 CEDAW joined the NYC Commission on Gender Equity to discuss how to mobilize communities to take action against gender-based violence during the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign which ran from Sunday, November 25th, 2018 through Monday, December 10th, 2018.
3. We shared remarks from survivors of gender-based violence and City officials on the importance of community efforts to prevent, reduce, and eliminate gender-based violence.
4. We participated in a breakout session to develop community events to reduce gender-based violence.
5. We learned how our organization can connect with the Commission on Gender Equity and host a community event during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign later this year.

NYC Organizations and Institutions NYC 4 CEDAW Act presented/facilitated workshops:

• Department of Social and Cultural Analysis;
• New York University;
• 100 Hispanic Women at CUNY Grad Center;
• Bronx Legal Services;
• the Episcopal Diocese of New York;
• Donor Choose;
• Roosevelt House at Hunter College;
• The Department of Women and Gender Studies and Africana & Puerto Rico/Latin Studies at Hunter College Women’s Studies Department; International Women’s Day with Vinnie Burrows for Harriet Tubman Day;
  and, outside New York:
• The League of Women Voters, Scarsdale, NY;
• Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, MA; and
• Simmons College, Boston, MA.

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