Spain - EWL members oppose imposition of joint custody for children
[Madrid, 25 June 2012] On Thursday 21 June, the Plataforma Andaluza de Apoyo al Lobby Europeo de Mujeres expressed its condemnation of Justice Minister, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón’s announcement that "in six months a Law of Shared Custody will be established where the judge will have the freedom to choose the model that s/he considers best for the child.” For the Plataforma, “imposing joint custody is not thinking of the well-being of minors.”
This was highlighted on Thursday at a press conference where feminist activist and member of the Plataforma, Lourdes Pastor, argued that the imposition of joint custody in judicial separation to ensure equality “does not explain or take into account why all the alimony is not paid, what responsibilities were assumed by the parent before separation, or why parents who break the rules of visits with children are not penalised”.
Therefore, the Plataforma expressed its “concern at the cuts, not only in terms of economic, but also human rights—a recent phenomenon in this country which we are suffering from at breakneck speed.”
On the other hand, the president of the Plataforma, Rafaela Pastor, expressed her opposition to the repeal of the current Organic Law 2/2010 on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy, in line with the position advocated by the Plataforma “Nosotras Decidimos” (“We decide”), which, under the banner of “To decide to make us free”, has developed a manifesto that supports over 200 organisations in Spain, which criticises, among other things, "that the denial of sexual rights and reproductive rights of women leads to the decrease in such basic issues as sex education or improving access to contraception, including emergency contraception.”
Rafaela Pastor noted, “returning to the 1985 Act, as claimed by the Government, is a regression of human rights, depriving women of their right to decide about her pregnancy only up to a 14 week deadline, which is what is established in most of Europe.”
—
Plataforma Andaluza de Apoyo al Lobby Europeo de Mujeres C/ Obispo Fitero, 9 local 4
14001 Córdoba Tel/Fax.: 957 474 959
www.mujereslobby.org
