Hero Robinson Mccann

This opportunity would never have been possible if it wasn’t for all of the hard work and support that Zarin Hainsworth of Serene Communications gave us while we were there, so thank you for making all of this possible.

My time at CSW taught me so much more than I was expecting and it has changed the way i see the issues of women across the world. I learnt about the different things women have to deal with across the work and all the things that prevent violence, help, and empower the specifically rural women on our earth.

One of the things that i found out about at CSW62 and changed my mind about was the issue of prostitution. I had previously thought that the legalisation of prostitution all in all was better for the woman; they could practice without fearing police and report abuses against her. This however is not the case, the fact is that the legalisation of prostitution actually causes more problems than it creates, women feel like they can’t report any abuses against them because it is just part of the job and most people tend to blame them as they are a prostitute. Also when it is legalised the demand for it goes up and more and more girls are trafficked into the prostitution world. Out of all the girls CAP International talked to 90% said they wanted to escape their current situation and the 10% that didn’t had already escaped. The very low percentages of women, who voluntarily go into prostitution without being trafficked, groomed or pushed by other unfortunate circumstances are very low but tend to cover up the plight of the other girls who are suffering. This event changed my mind on how prostitution should be handled and what my views of it are and without CSW62 i would still be thinking the same misguided things. Another issue that we learnt a lot about at CSW62 was the disadvantages many widows and especially child widows face in rural areas. These issues can be tackled in various ways such as promoting the learning of their rights, employment to give them a steady income as most widows have their possessions taken from them, and give them back their land which was taken from them when their husband died. All this and more did an organisation called Naserian (grace of god) who work in and among Maasai villages in Tanzania. They employ the widows and they create jewellery which when they sell earns money for the children of the widows to go to school.

This amazing opportunity gave me the chance to learn so much, meet people from all over the world who have experienced so much, and are able to tell their stories. I am determined to use this to create something that might make a change the way women are treated in this world. Thank you again and I have loved every part of it.