Friday, March 13, 2015

New York Day 6: Dana

Today was yet another amazing day. We started off by going to a session that talked about connecting youth and current leaders, and the panelists included a great age range. The next event was all about gender violence and the mental health after-effects. My next event was about using international law to combat gender violence, which I found really fascinating. One thing that has been bothering me while at CSW is the amount of talk over a particular issue, and yet the lack of any actual progress. That's why I think it's so important to talk about international law - it really does have the potential to change policy.

My last event was equally wonderful - it was about using a legal framework to combat hate speech. Again, this did a great job of highlighting the ways to move forward and not just highlight the problem. I had a long conversation with one of the panelists after the event and talked longer about how we reconcile the importance of free speech and the prevention of hate speech, and why we give those who issue threats more freedom of speech than those who are affected and silenced.

Tonight we had the privilege of attending a film screening about forced marriages in Ethiopia. I don't even know how to describe this event; I am still processing a lot of the content of the documentary and can talk about it more tomorrow when I've had the time to really think about it - I have never seen anything so intense.

One more day of sessions! I need to make the most out of my last day!

2 comments:

  1. I would like to see the language used against women categorized as hate speech.

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  2. When does hate speech (or writing) become a legal issue of libel or slander? Will be interested to hear more on this topic. Same questions about freedom to carry concealed weapons, and then the "freedom" to have them available to use them. Some things just seem crazy! How far is too far to go with freedom for all?

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