Care and the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women: A transformative policy space?

Kate Bedford*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In March 2009, UN member states met at the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to discuss the priority theme of "the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS". This meeting focused the international community's attention on care issues and generated Agreed Conclusions that aimed to lay out a roadmap for care policy. I examine how the frame of "care" - a contested concept that has long divided feminist researchers and activists - operated in this site. Research involved a review of documentation related to the meeting and interviews with 18 participants. Using this research I argue that the frame of care united a range of groups, including conservative faith-based actors who have mobilized within the UN to roll back sexual and reproductive rights. This policy alliance led to important advances in the Agreed Conclusions, including strong arguments about the global significance of care, especially in relation to HIV; the need for a strong state role; and the value of caregivers' participation in policy debates. However, the care frame also constrained debate at the CSW, particularly about disability rights and variations in family formation. Those seeking to reassert sexual and reproductive rights are grappling with such limitations in a range of ways, and attention to their efforts and concerns can help us better understand the potentials and dangers for feminist intervention within global policy spaces.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)197-207
Number of pages11
JournalReproductive health matters
Volume19
Issue number38
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2011

Keywords

  • Advocacy and political process
  • Care policy
  • Disability
  • Family formation
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Sexual and reproductive rights
  • United Nations

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology

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