OBR 2020: EWL members calling to end all forms of violence against women and girls
[Brussels, 20 Feburary 2020] EWL members engaged in the 2020 edition of the One Billion Rising (OBR) campaign by developing a social media campaign and a set of artistic actions calling for concrete EU action to end all forms of male violence against women and girls.
Taking the opportunity of the EWL Board meeting in Brussels on 15 and 16 February, EWL members presented the artistic pieces that they have developed and the events organised in the framework of the One Billion Rising Campaign in order to escalate political consciousness and urge to action to end violence against women.
Christiane Ugbor, EWL Board Member from the Austrian Women’s Ring, presented the events organised by One Billion Rising Austria(OBRA): Opening of the Exhibition "Stop Violence against Women" which was opened from 12.2.2020 until 28.2.2020; the screening of the short version of the Film "Abandoned" of Patricia Josefine Marchart and director Aiko Kazuko Kurosaki, the chair and artistic director of OBRA, and Hannah Pühringer,
Anna Zobnina, EWL Executive member from theEuropean Network of Migrant Women, presented the artistic pieces developed by the women participating at La Voix des femmes, ENoMW member in Belgium, to react against different forms of male violence and inequalities. Ana also presented the installation and the actions of "El Coño insumiso" (The Holly Vulva) in Spain. You can read more about this action here (only in Spanish).
Isma Benboulerbah, a woman’s right activist and ENoMW, joined the EWL board members in the evening to read and explain the context of a very powerful written piece developed to mark the international day against Female Genital Lutilation, highlighting unknown - or less known - social norms aimed at controlling women’s bodies. You can access it here. We thank you again for your powerful speech!
Eleni Karoli, EWL Board Member from the Cyprus Women’s Lobby, presented the initiatives to mark International Women’s Day " The Time is Now", an hour strike that all women’s organisations are organising together for the 6 March 2020.
Medical Women International Association presented the visual their organisation has created to represent their organisation and their engagement on ending violence against women.
Ana Sofia Fernandes, EWL Executive Committee member from the Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights, presented the visual created by a 13 years old to raise awareness on the need to end violence against women and girls.
EWL Board members also took part in an artistic workshop where they developed a set of beautiful paintings expressing our common call for action to end all forms of male violence against women.
Find a flickr album with all the pictures here.
The EWL social media action gave visibility to women’s mobilisation in Europe. The action was coordinated and targeted towards key national and EU decision-makers in order to raise awareness and socialise our political demands on disrupting the continuum of violence against women. At the EU level, we called for the future EU strategy on equality between women and men to commit to concrete actions including; the EU accession to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) and a comprehensive EU legal framework to end the continuum of violence against women and girls. Find out more in EWL social media accounts!
