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Getting Started

Before embarking on a campaign to implement CEDAW, or any human rights treaty, you must ask why you are doing what you are doing and what you and your organization can realistically accomplish. You have to answer these questions, regardless of whether you are a community nonprofit organization, a government body, or an individual.

• Why do you want to pass an ordinance on CEDAW?
• How will it improve the lives of women and girls in your community, city, county or state?
• What value does CEDAW add to existing advocacy, policy, and legislation, and what is the community lacking?
• Will your approach and strategy impact long-term change beyond the people who are working on it now?

The answers to these questions will determine the structure of your action plan.

In our view, although San Francisco had consistently promoted human rights, protection of women’s human rights, including enforcement of existing law and policy could be improved. We wanted to build support for a CEDAW ordinance by highlighting and addressing the ways in which many women and girls in San Francisco fall through the cracks of existing law and policy. Increasing awareness of such gender discrimination and addressing gaps through a framework of interconnected rights helped us go beyond single issues and impact long-term change.

Next: Building and Maintaining the Partnership

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