The 2015 observance of the International Day of Families aimed to raise awareness and mobilize support for action to ensure gender equality and rights of children within families and prevent family violence through fair family law frameworks and a variety of programme interventions.
The observance featured an expert panel discussion focusing on the following topics:
– Changing families and the need for policy response.
– Access to justice in family laws.
– Gender equality & women and girls empowerment in family laws.
– Children’s rights in family laws.
– Regional perspectives on gender equality and children’s rights in contemporary families.
– Family laws and family policy development.
– Prevention of violence in families & communities.
Expert presentations were followed by discussion with audience participation. The event was open to the public and targeted civil society, Permanent Missions, academics and practitioners as well as private sector representatives.
http://webtv.un.org/watch/player/4242713728001 – Full video of the event.
More information
Message of the Secretary General …
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Website …
UN Department of Public Information (DPI) Website …
Official press note of the event …
Programme
Moderator
Patrick Parkinson
Professor of Law, University of Sydney, Australia
Presentations
Frank Furstenberg
Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania,
Changing families around the world: The American family in a global context
Marwa Sharafaldin
Women’s rights activist & Board Member
Musawah (The Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family) International Advisory Group
Gender and equality in Muslim family law
Fareda Banda
Professor of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),University of London
Gender equality and children’s rights in family laws: An African perspective
Srimati Basu
Associate Professor, Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Kentucky
Family violence prevention in South Asia with a focus on India
Discussion
ForPeople campaign in May
The four messages included are:
– As basic and essential building blocks of societies, families are agents of development and play a major role in the achievement of developmental goals.
– Gender equality starts in families with equal treatment of boys and girls.
– Studies have shown that the very success of poverty alleviation programmes depends on the extent to which they have been focusing on families and incorporate internal family dynamics.
– Formal education and informal sources of influence, including media, play a critical role in constructing and maintaining social norms and attitudes, including regarding the roles of fathers in the lives of the children.
