European Women’s Lobby at CSW69
Date: 12 March 2025
Time: 10H00 -12H30 (EST)
Place: European Union Mission to the United Nations
666 3rd Avenue, (between 42nd and 34rd Street), New York NY 10017
Registration necessary via this form
About the hosts
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is the largest organisation of women’s non-governmental organisations in the European Union (EU), comprising over 2000 women’s organisations expanding across 32 countries including EU Member States, accession countries, those part of the European Economic Area and the UK.
The French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby (CLEF) is the head of a feminist network that facilitates and coordinates nearly 70 French associations that campaign for gender equality and women’s rights. CLEF works primarily through advocacy alongside with the government and parliament in France, in Europe, and internationally because it has the ECOSOC special consultative status linked to the UN and its agencies.
The Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights (PpDM), EWL national coordination, is an umbrella organisation of women’s human rights composed of 34 member-organisations working towards the elimination of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
As members of the European Women’s Lobby, we advocate together for a society free from prostitution as prostitution is a form of violence that nourishes itself from different forms of systemic inequalities based on exploitation, sex, poverty, age, ethnicity and migration status and as women and girls are the most affected by this form of violence.
About CSW69 and the need to re-prioritise the fight against prostitution at the global level
CSW69 will be dedicated to the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is the most comprehensive global policy framework for women’s rights tackling issues affecting women and girls. These include poverty, lack of education and training, lack of access to health care, male violence against women and girls, objectification of women in pornography, armed conflict, lack of economic empowerment, and lack of access to power and decision-making. Most of these issues are crystallised for women and girls in prostitution. Yet, except from the outstanding reports done by UNSRVAW Reem Alsalem in 2024, little progress was done at the global level to prioritise the fight against this form of violence that continues to affect specifically women and girls.
However, in Europe, over the past two years, the Noichl resolution at the European Parliament (2023), and the ECHR ruling of M.A and Others v.France (2024) spread the same message: prostitution should never be trivialised as “sex work” and survivors of prostitution must be supported with tailored services and exit programmes.
The European Women’s Lobby, La CLEF and PpDM, in partnership with the European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW) and CAP International, stand by this message and underline equality between women and men and genuine sexual freedom cannot be achieved as long as prostitution exists. This is why, this CSW69 side event will tackle how to challenge the trivialisation of prostitution at different levels, how to counter new forms of prostitution and sexual exploitation - especially in the digital sphere - and it will end with a reflection on how we can gather as abolitionist allies to promote best practices and achieve a society free from prostitution.
PROGRAMME OF THE EVENT
Welcoming words - Iliana Balabanova, EWL President
on the need to re-prioritise the fight against prostitution at all levels, including at the global scale.
Opening words - Survivor of prostitution – Blessing Okoedion
Panel 1 - Challenging the trivialisation of prostitution at all levels (global, European, national scales) and countering new digital and hidden forms of prostitution and sexual exploitation
Moderation: Ana Sofia Fernandes, PpDM
- Saga Brodersen
- Françoise Brié, representative of Amicale du Nid, former GREVIO member & la CLEF Vice-President, new forms of online exploitation/prostitution and what can be done for victims of prostitution (digital outreach)
Panel 2 - Gathering our forces to end prostitution: best practices & strong alliances
Moderation: Marie Debard, CLEF director
- Hema Sibi, CAP International on best practices
- Adama Sira Le Blay, Co-President of ENoMW, on the crucial need to hear from migrant women as they are the most affected by the regulatory model on prostitution in Europe.
- Mary Collins on the EWL, the Brussels Call Coalition and the invitation to sign our Beijing + 30 commitment to survivors
Q&A
Closing remarks - EWL President, Iliana Balabanova ; Marie Debard, CLEF director; Ana Sofia Fernandes, PpDM Secretary-General
