HRC38 Side Event: #DalitWomenFight against Caste-Based Violence
19 June 2018 11:06 am

 

#DalitWomenFight against Caste- – Based Violence
UN HRC 38 SIDE-EVENT
21 st June 2018, 12-13.30
Room XXVII, Palais de Nations, Geneva

 

This side event will explore and discuss aggravated caste-based violence faced by women and girls in India, often with little
recourse to justice. Dalit women activists will present witness accounts of the state of affairs in India and a panel of experts
will respond to the testimonies. The event aims to:

  • Provide participants with insight into the state of caste-based violence against Dalit women in India
  • Find recommendations for policy and implementation within the UN and beyond
  • Forge new alliances and partnerships and agree on international level strategies to help fight caste-based violence and impunity in India

Programme

  • Screening of a video on caste-based violence in India and release of a report on the status of Dalit women in India.
  • Presentation by:
    • Ms. Asha Kowtal, General Secretary of the All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM)
    • Dalit women activists from India share their testimonies of aggravated caste-based violence and impunity in India
  • A panel of experts respond to the testimonies and offer recommendations on ways to take the fight for justice forward in the UN system and beyond. The expert panel includes:
    • Ms. Rita Isazk- – Ndiaye, Member of the UN CERD Committee
    • Ms. Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
    • Ms. Jane Gordon, Legal Director, Sisters for Change
    • Ms. Vrinda Grover – Senior Advocate Supreme Court of India (via Skype)
    • Moderator: Mr. John Fisher, Geneva Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch

Sponsored by

  • Human Rights Watch (HRW)
  • International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR)
  • Minority Rights Group (MRG)
  • Anti-Slavery International
  • FORUM-ASIA
  • Franciscans International (FI)

Supported by

  • The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN)