Successful launch of EWL Barometer on Rape
[Brussels, 18 June 2013] On Tuesday 18 June, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) publicly launched its Barometer on rape, thanks to the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The event took place in the European Parliament; two if its members, Ms Mary Honeyball
and Ms Nicole Kiil-Nielsen,spoke about the urgency to address the issue as many women in Europe face this pervasive violation of their human rights. Raluca Popa presented the Council of Europe Convention on Violence against women and domestic violence (or Istanbul Convention) and recalled participants that it is the first European-wide legally-binding instrument on violence against women.
The EWL Barometer aims to give an European overview of the compliance of/gaps in legislation and data collection on rape of women within the principles set up by the Istanbul Convention. By focusing only on rape, a specific form of violence against women, it reveals concretely how and where improvements and changes are needed.
It invites EWL members and experts, as well as other women’s organizations, to use it to push for the signature and ratification of the Istanbul Convention, to eradicate all forms of male violence against women, as well as to put pressure on their governments to ensure that they consult NGOs at all levels of their policy processes and priorities. The Barometer also calls for concrete policy action at European level to build a Europe free from all forms of male violence against women.
To download the Barometer, please click here.
