14^th March 2024 – The Irish Consortium on Gender-Based Violence (ICGBV) will take to the stage at the 68^th annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York today. The consortium will raise critical issues facing the inadequate resourcing of gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, mitigation and response, led by ICGBV Coordinator Róisín Gallagher and joined by Consortium Co-Chair and Deputy CEO and Director of External Affairs at GOAL, Mary Van Lieshout.

CSW, the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment will convene from the 11th to the 22^nd of March. Under the theme, “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective,” governments, civil society organisations, experts and activists from across the world will come together to agree on actions and investments that can end women’s poverty and advance gender equality.

The ICGBV will participate in a key side event titled “Partnering for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls: The contribution of development finance.” This event, co-sponsored by Ireland, Sierra Leone, Austria, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Alliance for Feminist Movements, and the OECD, will explore funding mechanisms for gender equality initiatives, including efforts to combat GBV.

Róisín Gallagher, representing the ICGBV and one of the panel speakers, will share findings and recommendations of a policy paper, Tracking the money towards ending GBV, to be published today.

Speaking ahead of the event, ICGBV Co-chair Mary Van Lieshout emphasised the urgent need for governments to increase unrestricted, flexible, and multi-year funding for GBV initiatives. She highlighted that “funding towards ending violence against women and girls remains unacceptably low at less than 1% of overseas development aid and less than 1% of total humanitarian funding.”

In February, the ICGBV convened CEOs and leaders from its international human rights, humanitarian, and development member organisations at the Department of Foreign Affairs. During this meeting, leaders reaffirmed their commitment to eradicating GBV through strategic interventions focusing on prevention, mitigation, and response.

The ICGBV’s participation at the CSW underscores its dedication to advancing gender equality and women’s rights globally. Through collaborative efforts and informed strategies, the Consortium continues to lead transformative initiatives towards a world free from gender-based violence.

Read the paper in the FlipBook below, or download the paper here.

Tracking the money towards ending Gender Based Violence Report