Annual Student Conference 2014
2014: Mind the Gender Gap: The Rights of Women
Saturday 22 March 2014
The recent Nobel Peace Prize nomination of Malala Yousafzai for her work in promoting girls' right to education, has served to highlight the rights of women and their continued importance in human rights discourse. Despite legislation to ensure gender equality and to guarantee women effective protection against discrimination, there is still widespread violation of women's rights. Moreover, the rights of women are often marginalised with diminished visibility.
This conference considered the imbalance in gender relations to provide a spotlight on the rights of women. What do governments and civil society need to do to combat violence against women? Should we tolerate the rise of sexism in the media? How can we resolve the conflict in the relationship between the rights of women and religion? Does the representation and participation of women in business and in politics give women a voice? Should women have a more prominent role in conflict resolution and peace-building?
Keynote Speakers
The keynote speakers were:
- The Role of the CEDAW Committee in Protecting and Promoting Women's Rights
Ms Dubravka Šimonović, Member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Listen to her full address
- Violence Against Women and Girls and the Human Rights Implications
Ms Janet Veitch , Vice Chair, End Violence Against Women Campaign and Women’s Rights Activist and Consultant, Rape Crisis England and Wales
Listen to her full address
- Decent Work, Domestic Workers and the Everyday: Continuums of Exploitation
Professor Siobhan Mullally, Professor of Law, School of Law, University College Cork
Listen to her full address
- Forced Marriage and Human Rights - A Balance
Ms Cris McCurley, Hoare Bell Solicitors and member of CEDAW shadow report writing group
Listen to her full address
For further information, please download the conference programme
The Roles and Experiences of Women in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations
Fighting Patriarchy: The Portrayal of Women in Society, Culture and the Media
Realising Political, Social and Economic Gender Balance
Regional Perspectives of Women
Mind the Gender Gap fringe events
To mark International Women's Day 2014 and in advance of this year's 15th Annual Student Human Rights Conference Mind the Gender Gap: The Rights of Women, HRLC presented three fringe events in collaboration with key local organisations who work to promote women's rights in Nottingham and beyond.
Grandmother What Big Dreams You Have
Story-telling and spoken word event in celebration of International Women's Day 2014 with contributions from the School of Story and Art and Nottingham Women's Centre Writers Group.
Sunday 9 March 2014, The Malt Cross, Nottingham.
Hosted by Nottingham Women's Centre as part of Women's Liberation and After in Nottingham (WoLAN).
Live illustration event and Live DJ Stiff Kittens
Interactive art/film-tastic fun/breaks and beats, promoting equal media representation of women.
Tuesday 11 March 2014, Broadway Cinema Cafebar, Nottingham.
Hosted by Equation: working across Nottinghamshire to reduce and prevent domestic abuse.
Human rights are not for sale: Debating women's rights and sex work
Short films and panel discussion with Daniela Scotece (Chief Executive Officer, POW Nottingham), Professor Julia O'Connell-Davidson (Professor of Sociology, University of Nottingham) and Lucy Binch (PhD candidate, University of Sheffield).
Wednesday 19 March 2014, Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham.
Hosted by POW Nottingham and HRLC Human Rights Film Series.
Student Conference Committee 2014
Aishah Areej, Charlotte Bardet, Ruth Brittle, Jean-Gabriel Renaldy and Jonas Sumares.
With special thanks to Prudence Djajadi, Erny Wilya Alidin, Andry Chowanda, Talitha Tumboimbela and Zhi Xiang Chang for assistance in the design of this year's conference promotion materials.