March 17, 2025
New York, USA. ACT Alliance launched a new report 30 Years On from The Beijing Platform for Action: Faith-Based Actors as Catalyst Towards Positive Norm Change at a side event at the UN Commission on the Status of Women on March 13, 2025. The report focuses on concrete experiences of members of ACT Alliance around the world in acting as agents to change in transforming social norms that advance human rights and gender justice.
“Social norms often rise from religious interpretation of religious texts, teachings, and traditions. While respecting and valuing individual faith and religious freedom we have to be aware of the grounding principles of human rights and the ultimate need for promoting and protecting every human being, and the need to strengthen the international human rights treaty system,” said Rosa Puhakainen, human rights and advocady advicer, Felm, Finland.
While the report acknowledges the harm that has been done by some faith actors in maintaining patriarchal structures and pushing back against gender justice, the report focuses on thirty stories of positive change from around the world. The thirty stories are symbolic of the thirty years since the Beijing Platform of Action was adopted in 1995.
When working to transform negative norms, we will push back the backlash through consistent and contextualized dialogue to create common understandingKidist Belayneh Deputy Country Director, NCA Ethiopia
“When working to transform negative norms, we will push back the backlash through consistent and contextualized dialogue to create common understanding,” said Kidist Belayneh, Deputy Country Director, NCA Ethiopia.
The Beijing Platform for Action identifies the ability of religion to act as a source of empowerment for women and girls, and how faith leaders can amplify initiatives for gender equality. This identification has been lived out by ACT members, illustrated in concrete stories from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, including Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
The report also lists key recommendations for member states and UN agencies, for programmatic responses, and for faith actors, including:
- Establish and strengthen mechanisms to monitor the impact of social norm change by diverse stakeholders, including faith-based actors, to identify progress, gaps, and lessons to remain relevant and effective
- Amplify collective faith-based advocacy messages, where possible in interfaith alliances, to amplify messages and challenge religious misconceptions.
- Utilise cultural gatherings and festivals, including religious ceremonies, to promote wider community involvement in ending child marriage and awareness of legal protections.
The full report can be found here. Photos from the side event can be found here.
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