Statements

Statements podium These Statements lay out the EWL position on topical matters.

  • European Women’s Lobby calls on the European Parliament not to throw the baby out with the bathwater!

    European Women's Lobby calls on the European Parliament not to throw the baby out with the bathwater!

    We urge the European Parliament to be united and adopt the long awaited law on violence against women and girls in Europe.
    [Brussels, 31 January 2024] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) reiterates its deep outrage at the Council of the EU’s decision to persistently refute the inclusion of a harmonised definition of rape based on consent in the proposed Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (herein referred to as ‘the Directive’). However, we call on the MEPs from (...) Read more

  • New deal to update the Anti-trafficking Directive: Significant improvements for women’s protection announced

    New deal to update the Anti-trafficking Directive: Significant improvements for women's protection announced

    The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) welcomes the agreement reached this week by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission to update the 2011 Anti-Trafficking Directive. We congratulate the (co)-rapporteurs of the European Parliament in achieving notable progress for the protection of women and girls affected by this form of violence.
    [Brussels, 25 January 2024] Taking into account the significant limitations of the General Agreement adopted by the Council when compared (...) Read more

  • Stop Barbaric Violence and Start Listening to Women

    On 4 October, Israeli and Palestinian women gathered in Jerusalem to demand an end to the cycle of bloodshed and to demonstrate support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The demonstration was organised for the second year in a row by Women Wage Peace, the largest grassroots peace movement in Israel, and Women of the Sun, the Palestinian women’s peace movement.
    The work, mission, and collaboration of these two organizations illustrate that women can, want, and need to be involved in (...) Read more

  • Congratulations to Nobel Prizes Winners Narges Mohammadi and Claudia Goldin. A well-deserved recognition for women’s rights!

    Congratulations to Nobel Prizes Winners Narges Mohammadi and Claudia Goldin. A well-deserved recognition for women's rights!

    [Brussels, 10 October 2023] This year, the [Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences->https://www.kva.se/en and the [Norwegian Nobel Committee->https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org took a strong stance in recognising women’s vital contributions to society. The European Women’s Lobby congratulates the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin on their remarkable achievements.
    [Narges (...) Read more

  • Historic decision of the Council on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention

    Historic decision of the Council on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention

    [Brussels, 2 June 2023] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) highly welcomes the Council decision to give green light to the EU’s ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention.
    “This historic decision has sent once again a strong message that the EU cares, that women are taken seriously and that violence against women is not a private matter but a structural issue embedded in patriarchy, sexism (...) Read more

  • Historic vote in the European Parliament on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention: a step closer towards the end of violence against women and girls in Europe!

    Historic vote in the European Parliament on the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention: a step closer towards the end of violence against women and girls in Europe!

    The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) highly welcomes the European Parliament decision to give green light to the EU’s ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention. This historic vote has sent once again a strong message that the EU cares, that women are taken seriously and that violence against women is not a private matter but a structural issue embedded in patriarchy, sexism and misogyny. The (...) Read more

  • The European Women’s Lobby calls for an immediate halt to gender apartheid in Afghanistan

    The European Women's Lobby calls for an immediate halt to gender apartheid in Afghanistan

    [Brussels, 14 April 2003] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL), the largest women’s organisation in Europe, with over 2000 member organisations, is extremely concerned about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and calls for immediate action from the international community to bear pressure on the Taliban to cease the exclusion of women and girls from participating in all areas of life, which amounts to gender apartheid.
    ‘This situation is intolerable, now and for the future’, states Réka (...) Read more

  • Time to deliver: Recognise rape as sexual exploitation at EU level

    Time to deliver: Recognise rape as sexual exploitation at EU level

    [Brussels, 26 January 2023] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL), the largest umbrella organization of women’s associations in Europe, is urging all EU Member States to make Europe a safe place for all women and girls. We call on all Member States in the Council to step up their efforts to work towards enhancing and swiftly adopting a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, including the provisions based on the EU crime of sexual exploitation of women and children in (...) Read more

  • The EWL’s Statement on Iran

    The EWL's Statement on Iran

    [Brussels, 19 December 2022] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) strongly condemns the brutal violence targeting women in Iran, as well as towards all those in solidarity with the women and girls who are legitimately claiming their fundamental human rights.
    Iranian women are demanding accountability for the death of Masha Amini and are calling for an end to the ongoing repression of women and girls. The EWL stands by them and supports them in their quest for justice, equality between women (...) Read more

  • Joint Statement on Surrogacy

    Joint Statement on Surrogacy

    [Brussels, 10 November 2022] Women’s and human rights organisations call on the European Commission and Parliament to include the crime of reproductive exploitation of women in all their legislative initiatives as violence against women and as trafficking in human beings.
    View the PDF version here.
    Forward
    By reproductive exploitation, we refer to: prohibition of abortion, forced abortion, forced pregnancy, surrogacy, oocytes sales. These practices lock women into the role of reproducers (...) Read more

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Latest video

EWL event "Progress towards a Europe free from all forms of male violence" to mark the 10th aniversary of the Istanbul Convention, 12 May 2021.

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