The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW, is an international mechanism that outlines women’s fundamental human rights.  Although President Jimmy Carter signed the treaty in 1980, the United States is one of the 7 countries along with Iran, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Palau, and Tonga which has not signed CEDAW.  While the federal government may not be willing to codify this convention into law, cities across the country are playing an important role in implementing CEDAW, directly impacting the everyday lives of countless American women.  This petition urges Mayors and County Commissioners across North Carolina to implement the principles of CEDAW in our towns, cities, and counties.

Since 1998, a handful of communities have adopted such an ordinance reflecting CEDAW principles such as Louisville, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Francisco. These cities and counties have used the CEDAW framework to guide policymaking, developing a number of innovative programs and tools to decrease violence against women and to advance gender equality.  Given the success of these communities’ ordinances, in 2014, the Cities for CEDAW campaign was launched to promote municipal and county-level adoption of CEDAW in 100 other cities and counties across the country by December 2015.  Mobilizing multiple stakeholders including elected officials, the media, business, youth, NGOs, faith communities and women leaders, the campaign will focus on engaging advocates and government officials in communities of all sizes and regions.

There were 64 domestic violence murders reported in North Carolina in 2014; there were 116,052 domestic violence calls in 2013-2014 in NC; and the cost of domestic violence in NC is estimated at $307 million annually.  After San Francisco passed their CEDAW ordinance, they went 44 months without a domestic violence homicide.  Women in North Carolina make 83 cents to the dollar men make for similar work; without innovative programs and policies for equal pay, North Carolinian women will not see equal pay until 2064. 

Today, I too commit to joining these campaign efforts in North Carolina and joining a process in my community to integrate gender equality into law.  I pledge to advocate for women’s rights: protection from gender-based violence, women’s health, equal pay, maternity leave, and equal access to educational, economic and political opportunities.

On behalf of local CEDAW implementation,  I will ask my local officials to pass a resolution in support of this treaty to end gender-based discrimination and will also inform my local governing body of the following (3) requirements for a successful CEDAW implementation:

(1) Gender Analysis: The ordinance must designate a specified number of gender analysis of city and county departments and commissions or boards to occur each year to ensure that a gender lens is incorporated in all aspects of government policy, with a focus on the unique needs of women and girls;

(2) Oversight Body: An oversight body is necessary to ensure that appropriate and timely actions are taken to perform gender analysis and advance the goals of CEDAW; and

(3) Funding: An allocation of $0.10-0.25 per woman in the jurisdiction is suggested to support the oversight body's efforts to review existing programs to determine our community’s current and potential efforts on behalf of women’s equality.

I am proud to be a partner in the North Carolina Cities for CEDAW initiative.  To help spread the word, I will also join the Cities for CEDAW Facebook group (www.facebook.com/C4CCEDAWNC
and share my efforts with my advocate networks.