On October 10, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN, gave an intervention before the Third Committee of the Seventy-First Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Agenda Item 27, dedicated to “The Advancement of Women.”   

In its statement, the Holy See echoed Pope Francis’ joy that old forms of discrimination are disappearing and that there is a growing reciprocity within families, but expressed its alarm at the rates of physical, sexual and domestic violence against women. Domestic violence, it said, makes the family situation a breeding ground of resentment and hatred rather than a school of socialization. It also said that poverty has principally a female face and that women experience disproportionate economic distress due to unjust employment practices, unequal pay for equal work, lack of access to credit, property and technology. The Holy See stressed its support of the UN Secretary General’s recommendations to the reprehensible practice of female genital mutilations and noted the work of Catholic institutions and organizations to change the cultures that support it. It also underlined the need to battle against trafficking in persons and other forms of modern-day slavery, all rooted in a defective anthropology that allows others to be treated as objects.

The statement can be found here.