European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
Take Responsibility for Wartime Crimes of Sexual Slavery and Human Trafficking: Remember the "Comfort Women"

Peition by Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW)

Posted on 27 February 2015 |

[Petition of our colleagues at CATW] Prior to and during World War II, Japan’s Imperial Army established a system of brothels in its zones of combat specifically designed for military use, called "comfort stations." Women and girls as young as 13 years old were enticed, kidnapped or coerced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military and its designated agents. Historians estimate that as many as 200,000 women and girls throughout Asia and the Pacific, the majority from Korea, were (...) Read more
European & International News
Interesting to read & watch

Posted on 13 February 2015 |

* Afghan women protest at absence of female ministers in new cabinet
"Women take to the streets of Kabul after pre-election promises of fair gender representation fail to materialise in ministerial appointments." The Guardian - Read the article here
* Des militants réclament la pénalisation des "prostitueurs"
"Alors que Dominique Strauss-Kahn est entendu mardi 10 février 2015 et ce jusqu’à jeudi au palais de justice de Lille dans le cadre du procès de proxénétisme du Carlton, une dizaine de (...) Read more
European & International News
Interesting articles

Posted on 30 January 2015 |

The Cost Of Inequality In Women’s Work by Nuria Molina, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at ActionAid UK.
It’s that Davos time of the year, when a bunch of powerful men gather in a luxurious Swiss ski resort to re-assure the 99% that the global economy is in good hands. Read more
Georgieva to push for 40% women in Commission’s top positions - article in Euractiv
In a move to bring more gender balance to EU institutions, the European Commissioner in charge of budget and human (...) Read more
European & International News
Press release: MEPs call Council to step up actions to improve gender balance on company boards

Posted on 14 January 2015 |

[Press release, 14 January 2014] “Over 60% of university graduates are female, but only 18.6% of board members of largest listed companies are women. That is clear sign that concrete measures need to be taken to remedy the situation”, said the representative of incoming Latvian Presidency, Zanda Kalnina-Lukaševica in a debate with MEPs on women on company boards on Tuesday evening. “Major step on the road to effective gender equality need to be made and the adoption of women on board’s (...) Read more
European & International News
The European Roma and Travellers Forum recruits National Roma Women Contact Points !

Posted on 22 December 2014 |

[Brussels, 22 December 2014] The European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), the International Roma Women’s Network (IRWN) and Phenjalipe, the Informal Network of Romani Women are calling for applications from Romani women from the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Romania and Sweden to act as National Roma Women Contact Point for the project “Making Roma Women’s Voices and Votes Count”, implemented with the support of the Ministry for Foreign A-airs of Finland.
Why?
The full and equitable (...) Read more
European & International News
UN Women Beijing+20 campaign: Human’s rights of women

Posted on 8 December 2014 |

[UN Women, December 2014] In 2015, the Beijing Platform for Action runs 20. As part of UN Women’s Beijing+20 campaign, this month’s focus is on Human rights of Women. You can find more information on UN Women Beijing+20 website: facts and figures, take the quizz!, interviews, news from the world and videos, resources.
Women’s and girls’ rights are human rights. They cover every aspect of life – health, education, political participation, economic well-being and freedom from violence, among many (...) Read more
European & International News
Luxembourg - Réforme de l’IVG : Enfin l’autodétermination de la femme respectée

Posted on 8 December 2014 |

[Communiqué de presse du Collectif Si je veux – pour l’autodétermination de la femme, Luxembourg, 2 décembre 2014] Avec la nouvelle réforme de la loi relative à l’information sexuelle, à la prévention de l’avortement clandestin et à la règlementation de l’interruption volontaire de grossesse (IVG), le Luxembourg va rejoindre les pays ayant une législation libérale en matière d’IVG. Le « Collectif Si je veux – pour l’autodétermination de la femme » se dit satisfait du nouveau texte de loi car enfin, (...) Read more
European & International News
Canada and Ireland Pass Landmark Legislation to Combat Sex Trade

Two More Nations, Canada and Ireland, Enact Demand-Focused Legislation to Regulate Prostitution, Signaling Global Trend to Combat Sex Trade

Posted on 8 December 2014 |

[Press release of the Coalition against trafficking in women, New York, December 1, 2014] The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) applauds the legislatures of Canada and Ireland for their historic passage of laws that respectively target the demand for prostitution or buyers of sex, and decriminalize prostituted individuals. In Ireland, on November 25, 2014, the Cabinet passed the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill of 2014 that criminalizes solely the purchase of sex, while (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament adopts strong report on post-2015 framework

Posted on 8 December 2014 |

[Statement of DSW, EPF and IIPF-EN, 25 November 2014] Brussels-based SRHR organisations welcome today’s adoption of the European Parliament’s report on the “EU and the global development framework after 2015”. The report, authored by Croatian centre-right MEP Davor Ivo Stier, plays a key role in establishing the European Parliament’s position for negotiations on the global development framework after 2015.
The report promotes the human rights-based approach and the central role of women and (...) Read more
European & International News
New perspective on the history, the presence and the future.

First feminist museum opens in Sweden

Posted on 28 November 2014 |

The doors to the first ever “Women’s history museum” opened this weekend in the small town; Umeå, north of Sweden. The slogan says “We are breaking the silence” for “new perspectives of the history, presence and future”.
“When searching for women in history, there are huge gaps, blank pages or an echoing silence.” The women’s history museum was founded because women is and historically have been under-represented in the historiography.
Historically women have been excluded from societal and (...) Read more