Elimination of Gender-based Violence through Legal and Policy Advocacy

January 14-16 @ Elimination of Gender-based Violence through Legal and Policy Advocacy

Elimination of Gender-based Violence through Legal and Policy Advocacy is organized by Common Language, UNDP, UNESCO and UNWomen.

The invited attendees included lawmakers (人大代表), Fulian, police representatives, psychologists, lawyers, researchers, students, social workers, foreign allies (UNDP) and community organizations.

I was inspired to meet organizers who have been advocating for the Anti-Domestic Violence Law since 1983. So much progress has already been made in the last 30 years and there is so much work still to be done. I was very happy to see that using the term “Gender-based Violence” created a much more inclusive dialogue, looking at other marginalized groups such as trans, disabled, children, wives of fake marriages, etc. There is a lot that can be brought to light in Shanghai.

ShanghaiPRIDE was at the conference to learn from experts, listen to a diverse perspective of stories related to gender-based violence and explore what more we can do long-term through collaborating with existing grassroots organizations.

As a first tier city, Shanghai has an exceptionally weak support system against violence, thus, we need to keep learning from our peers (out of city) and localize our efforts in: increasing awareness, informing, and empowering. People cannot use a tool without knowing it exists.

Common Language has agreed to collaborate more with ShanghaiPRIDE on Anti-Domestic Violence events, Women Up! Series. We will continue to explore impactful ways to mutually support each other.