SPH student presents to United Nations

May 1, 2013 • Uncategorized

Helena_2

Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate student Kun-Ying (Helena) Sung (class of ‘13), in the SPH Department of Health Management and Policy, was a presenter, along with Professor Shang Luan Yan from Shih Chien University, Taiwan, at the recent United Nations (UN) 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

The joint presentation discussed efforts to combat violence against women in Taiwan and Texas related to Batterer Intervention Programs (BIP), from Taiwan’s pilot perspectives to Texas’ new BIP accreditation and domestic violence legislative and policy initiatives.  While both examples were noted for their success on many levels, the outcomes and predicted future challenges continue to call for even more comprehensive strategies to stop violence against women.

The program was titled, “Implementing CEDAW: Action Plans of Anti Gender-Based Violence against Women: Examples of Taiwan and Texas.” CEDAW stands for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or the Treaty for the Rights of Women, adopted by the UN in 1979.  The treaty provides an international standard for protecting and promoting women’s basic human rights, addressing political, civil, cultural, economic and social life.

The Commission on the Status of Women is part of the UN Economic and Social Council, dedicated to gender equality and advancement of women. The theme of this year’s session, held at UN headquarters in New York, was “Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.”

As a health policy intern with Texas State Representative Lon Burnam, Texas House District 90, Sung’s research relates to 83rd Texas Legislature priorities regarding gender-based violence and her work on a women’s healthcare community outreach project.