This call came through on email from the North East Women’s Network.

“IF YOU CAN PROVIDE ANY EVIDENCE,  PLEASE REGISTER AN INITIAL RESPONSE BY NOON ON WEDNESDAY 10TH APRIL HERE.

In October 2012 NEWomen’s Network published “Findings and Recommendations from Interim Case Study: The impact of austerity measures upon women in the North East of England”. NEWN is now in the process of updating the case study to inform  the  shadow report being submitted by Women’s Resource Centre to the to the   Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) examination in Geneva in July 2013.

If you have any stories data, information, case studies, research or any other forms of evidence (including stories  and testimonies of women themselves) about the impact of the welfare reforms and austerity measures upon:

• The lives of women in the North East and their children, families and the community
• Cuts to women’s community and voluntary organisation
• Cuts to women’s only services

If you have any evidence at all please register your details  (it will only take a minute or so)  and one of the researchers will contact you to arrange to follow up it up.

NEWomen’s Network intends to deal with the issues that are at the heart of the current economic crisis and tackle the underlining causes of women’s inequality and CEDAW provides us with a framework with which to do this. CEDAW was established in 1979 and is often referred to as the Women’s International Billof Rights.   Unlike domestic UK and European legislation on gender discrimination and equal treatment, the Convention is solely concerned with the position of women rather than discrimination faced by both sexes (which would include discrimination against men). CEDAW places obligations on the countries that have agreed to the Convention, to eliminate discrimination against women in all its forms.

Policy Officer Charlotte Gage talks about the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and why this is important in the UK.

In 2008, the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’s (CEDAW) concluded that women’s rights are far from being fully realised in the UK.  We are concerned that welfare reforms and austerity measures are worsening already unacceptable levels of inequality for women in the North East.  A delegation of women from NEWomen’s Network are going to Geneva in July 2013 to lobby the CEDAW committee in the run up to their examination of the current UK Government’s efforts to end discriminationThe case study is part of a wider project to build the capacity of women’s organisations to use CEDAW along with human rights legislation to address women’s (in)equality.  The CEDAW working group for the North East is working in partnership with the National CEDAW Working Group to monitor and hold the Government to account, locally and nationally on its obligations to women’s rights under CEDAW. By raising awareness of CEDAW at all level, it will encourage women and their organisations to use legislative remedies to challenge Government.