Women should have the right to exercise all basic legal and human rights. Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights. Since the first World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975, women, in organizations and networks, have been raising and addressing the concerns of women before societies and nations around the world. The Platform reflects their efforts. For example, the issue of domestic violence has gone from secrecy to a world crusade.
Governments acknowledge it exists and that they have a responsibility to act to eliminate it.
At the NGO Forum, women from large international organizations and grassroots groups lobbied, networked, listened and learned from each other, and met with government delegates to affect the outcomes of the Conference. American women have carried this spirit and inspiration home. The message that has come home to America is a unifying one. It is a call for a partnership between men and women based on equality. Such a partnership is a crucial way to foster social and economic development, to overcome discrimination, and to construct a more prosperous, equitable and harmonious society.