European & International News

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

European & International News
Undocumented migrant women’s right to protection from violence

Posted on 29 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 29 June 2012] Undocumented women who are survivors of domestic violence lack access to support, shelter and justice. Victims often face deportation if they report abuse and are therefore denied their basic rights. Members of the European Parliament on 21 June took up this issue. “When looking at access to justice, the focus should be on the crime and not the status of the victim” said MEP Jean Lambert.
The event was organised at the European Parliament for the launch of PICUM’s (...) Read more
European & International News
Rio+20: Women “Disappointed and Outraged”

Posted on 24 June 2012 |

Women’s Major Group Releases Final Statement on the Outcomes of Rio+20
[WMG, Rio de Janeiro, 24 June 2012] The Women’s Major Group (WMG) at Rio+20, representing 200 civil society women’s organizations from all around the world, is greatly disappointed and seriously outraged by the results of the “official” deliberations at the United Nations’ Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20. We believe that the governments of the world have failed women, future generations and our (...) Read more
European & International News
Zainab Hawa Bangura takes over from Margot Wallström as UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict

Posted on 24 June 2012 |

[United Nations, New York, 22 June 2012] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Zainab Hawa Bangura, currently the Minister of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone, as his new Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
She will replace Margot Wallström, a Swedish politician with a long history of defending women’s rights, who had served in the position since it was created two years ago.
According to a statement from Mr. Ban’s spokesperson, Ms. Bangura brings to the (...) Read more
European & International News
Turkey - Protests continue against proposed restrictions to right to abortion

Posted on 18 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 18 June 2012] Protests continue in Turkey against the ruling party’s plans to restrict access to abortion, legalised in Turkey in 1983.
Last month Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked women’s basic rights to control over their bodies by calling abortion ‘murder’.
The protesters who convened on Sunday 17 June in Istanbul’s carried signs that read ‘AKP: Get your hands off my body’ and ‘Murder is outlawing abortion’.
A recent poll commissioned by Turkish newspaper Haberturk (...) Read more
European & International News
France makes progress on women’s political representation

Posted on 18 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 18 June 2012] On Sunday 17 June, France elected 155 women to the National Assembly, increasing women’s representation from 18 to 26%. France moves from 19th to 9th place in the EU in terms of political representation of women. However, despite existing constitutional and legal requirements, France is still far from parity, with men taking 422 of the 577 seats.
The Socialist party provided the largest number of women representatives, with 104 female deputees among the 280 elected (...) Read more
European & International News
UK becomes 13th EU state to sign Council of Europe Convention on violence against women

Posted on 18 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 18 June 2012] On 8 June 2012, United Kingdom signed the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. The UK became the 20th member state of the Council of Europe to sign the Convention, and the 13th member state of the EU to do so since its opening for signature last May in Istanbul. Up to now, only Turkey has ratified the Convention (see EWL news in March 2012). The treaty requires 10 ratifications to enter into force.
The European (...) Read more
European & International News
Parliament urges Member States to act against female genital mutilation

Posted on 15 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 15 June 2012] Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have unanimously adopted a Resolution calling on the Member States to take action to combat the continued widespread practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), which they acknowledge to be an act of violence against women and girls and a violation of their human rights.
The EWL lobbies for the implementation of international commitments to end FGM. On the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, the (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament studies sexualisation of young girls in media

Posted on 14 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 14 June 2012] Members of the European Parliament heard last week how the portrayal of young girls in the media is feeding a dangerous trend which contributes to gender inequalities and violence against women. The Parliament is to due to adopt a Report on the issue in October.
The EWL is deeply concerned with the increasing sexualisation of young girls in media today. The problem of sexualisation refers to the imposing of adult sexuality on children, especially girls, at an age (...) Read more
European & International News
New cross-border campaign seeks to empower Roma women

Posted on 13 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 13 June 2012] The European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network (ERGO Network) and its members from Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey have launched a Roma Women Empowerment campaign under the banner ‘Our Place, Our Space, Our case’. The campaign invests in the empowerment of grassroots Roma women to interact and participate in their democracies to become equal citizens, while keeping their identity. It also has an on-line component on the Roma React website (...) Read more
European & International News
GEAR campaign calls for structured dialogue between UN Women and women’s NGOs

Posted on 8 June 2012 |

[Brussels, 08 June 2012] The GEAR Campaign, an international campaign coordinated in Europe by the EWL which led in 2010 to the establishment of UN Women, has issued a Statement praising the formation of UN Women’s Civil Society Advisory Group, of which EWL Secretary General, Cecile Greboval is a member. The Campaign Statement was delivered on 29 May 2012 by GEAR Campaign representative, Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, Executive Director of femLINKpacific, at the annual UN Women Executive Board (...) Read more