UNA-USA Women’s Affinity Group Generation Equality Consultation December 2025

The United Nations Association of the United States of America’s (UNA-USA) Women’s Affinity Group hosted a Generation Equality consultation on December 6, 2025, in advance of the Seventieth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70). Curated by UNA Women Legacy Chair Lady Tee Thompson and UNA Women Generation Equality Committee Chairs Shivi Kumar, Chloe Wang, and Joy Ferdinand, this intergenerational consultation convened diverse voices to examine persistent gaps in the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), particularly General Recommendation No. 33 on women’s access to justice.

The consultation explored how legal, institutional, and social barriers continue to impede girls’, adolescents’, and women’s access to justice, especially within rapidly evolving digital environments. Participants examined emerging challenges such as digital harm, AI-driven exploitation, and gender-biased technologies, and discussed actionable solutions to strengthen accountability and ensure that technological progress advances, rather than impedes, gender equality.

Participants shared insights on many topics including sextortion, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, doxxing, digital misogyny, AI-generated deepfakes, and platform accountability. These issues are central to identifying where General Recommendation No. 33 no longer keeps pace with modern-day forms of exploitation.

Notably, the UNA-USA Women’s Affinity Group submitted the findings of the Generation Equality Consultation to UN Women, and these contributions were subsequently published and incorporated into the CSW70 Global Youth and Adolescents Recommendations. The consultation directly informed Recommendations 10, 11, and 33, which call for:

• Gender-transformative oversight of digital technologies;
• Legal accountability for private sector actors, including technology companies; 
• Inclusive, youth and community-led monitoring and data collection to advance access to justice.

As Member States prepare to adopt the Agreed Conclusions on the priority theme of strengthening access to justice for women and girls, the recommendations highlight how youth-led and intergenerational advocacy, alongside civil society, can shape international policy. The recommendations will be discussed at CSW70, on March 16, during an interactive dialogue with youth representatives, civil society organizations, and Member States.

Join the UNA-USA Women’s Affinity Group today to engage in global advocacy, amplify diverse voices, and support civil society efforts to strengthen accountability and advance women’s access to justice in a rapidly evolving digital world.