The Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence to present on critical funding gaps for GBV at the 68th Session of the Commission on Status of Women in New York

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.

The Irish delegation to #CSW68 (UN Commission on the Status of women) L-r, Roisin Gallagher, ICGBV Tom Crowley Irish Aid, Margaret Martin, Chair National Women’s Council of Ireland and Jane Ann Duffy, Head of Equality and Gender Equality Unit in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

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.

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The Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence (ICGBV), an Irish-based alliance of international human rights, humanitarian, and development organisations comprising INGOs (including GOAL, Trócaire, Oxfam, World Vision and others), Irish Aid and the Irish Defence Forces, works to increase knowledge and understanding of violence against women and girls. Consortium members aim to achieve this by leveraging the Consortium’s Strategic Plan (2021 – 2026), which focuses on amplifying women’s voices and Survivor Centered Accountability.

In August 2023, the Consortium announced that Siobhán Walsh, CEO of GOAL, would be appointed as the new Chair of the ICGBV for the next two years. GOAL will also host the Consortium in our Dublin-based HQ for the next two years.