When governments garner controversy for their spending programs, their supporters tend to defend them as gentle and generous guardians of the marginalized populations under their jurisdiction. In the eyes of these supporters, certain government programs are lifelines for people who cannot find help anywhere else. Such thinking conflates a government in theory with its policies […]

On May 22, 2017, The Holy See hosted an event titled “Ensuring the Right of all to remain in dignity, peace and security in their countries of origin.” This highlighted a very important topic: migration. The Holy See, with other presenters, kept repeating, “Migration is not a choice, but a necessity.” Today, we live in […]

On April 21, 2017, Columbia University hosted an event about the implementation of a guidance called “Fulfill: Young People’s Sexual Rights!” The organizers of this event were the Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC) together with International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) who developed the guidance. Panelist included representatives […]

Overall, my experience attending the Commission on the Status of Women 61 was a positive one, despite the UN’s liberal agenda. If not for C-Fam, the issue of life would not be represented at all. I noticed that for any of the sections whenever the issue of life was brought up by question askers, the […]

One of my favorite panels when I attended the Commission on the Status of Women was the panel titled: Does Full Decriminalization of the Sex Trade Lead to Women’s Empowerment? This panel was hosted by women@thewell. Women@thewell strives to provide support and care for women who have been victims of prostitution. The services provided included: […]

Yesterday, I watched a Vanity Fair YouTube video with Emma Watson giving advice to people at Grand Central Station in New York. To get direct advice from Watson, via FaceTime, one would have to pay $2. Emma Watson, an acclaimed actress known for her work in the Harry Potter films and the live action film […]

During the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), Denmark hosted an event on March 20th, 2017 on “Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Emergency Response.” The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) co-hosted the event. Panelists informed the audience of the great need for sexual and reproductive health centers in countries that are in war […]

Co-written by Sarah Kepins and Grace Hoffman On March 13th 2017, we attended a parallel event for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) titled Lesbian, Bi and Trans: Stop Leaving Us Behind. Parallel events are events that are hosted outside of the official United Nations but are still linked to CSW. This panel […]

Co-written by Sarah Kepins and Ruth Rosa   This year we had the privilege of attending the annual Commission on the Status of Women [CSW61] at the United Nations, as C-Fam interns. CSW tries to promote gender equality and empowerment for women. It is important to attend these conferences, as well as the side events, […]