Thirty years ago, Vienna held the World Conference on Human Rights, which the Global Campaign for Women’s Human Rights took as an opportunity to fight for women to receive their inherent human rights. These women gave testimonials on human rights abuse in the family, war crimes against women, violations of women’s bodily integrity, socio-economic violations of women’s human rights, and gender-based political persecution and discrimination. One testimonial discussed female genital mutilation in African countries, the removal of essential female genitalia to conform to the culturally perceived notions of femininity. Another testimonial shared the experience of being a comfort woman for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. At just fifteen years old, Bok Dong Kim was a sexual slave for ten to fifty soldiers a day. 

Living in the United States, it may be easy to remove oneself from these situations that occurred in other countries or in the past. The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 allowed us to see how U.S. women continue to face oppression. This Supreme Court's decision took away a woman's constitutional right to an abortion, putting the health and lives of women at risk. In turn, this decision takes away a woman's right to her bodily autonomy. Along with fighting for reproductive rights, women still do not get equal pay or treatment in the workplace, and many women across the world are being trafficked, sexually exploited, and murdered. Even in the home, which is a site of safety and nurturance, one in three women experience physical violence. Women continue to be oppressed systemically and socially all over the world.

There are numerous United Nations campaigns that fight for women's rights. If you are unable to donate your time or money, another way we can help is by raising awareness on social media. Following @unwomen will allow you to stay educated about what is happening to women around the world. Sharing posts about women's rights will spread that knowledge to more people who are willing to help. These are simple things we can implement into our lives to fight against violations of women's human rights.