[Brussels, 15 December 2010] The European Commission yesterday announced the appointment of Ms. Myria Vassiliadou, current Secretary General of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) to the new post of European Anti-Trafficking Coordinator. According to the Commission press release, Ms. Vassiliadou will ‘elaborate existing and new EU policies relevant to the fight against trafficking and provide overall strategic policy orientation for the EU’s external policy in this field’.
Reacting to the news, Brigitte Triems, President of the European Women’s Lobby, said that the appointment of Ms. Vassiliadou to this post was an important indication of ‘new political will at the European level to address the root causes of trafficking in human beings which are heavily gendered’. According to the United Nations, 79% of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation; 66% of trafficking victims are women, and an additional 13% are girls.
The announcement of the appointment came at the same time as Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg endorsed new legislation obliging EU Member States to act on the so-called ‘three Ps’: prevention of trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of perpetrators.
‘We very much hope that the European Union is moving towards a comprehensive approach to tackling the phenomenon of trafficking, which takes into full account the issue of prevention and demand’, added Ms. Triems. ‘Ms Vassiliadou has extensive academic and practical experience working on trafficking from a human rights perspective and we are delighted to see this post go to someone so competent.’
Ms Vassiliadou holds a PhD in Sociology and has published on the gender dimensions of identity politics, migration, ethno-political conflict, and the media. She was a founding member of the Mediterranean Institute for Gender Studies (MIGS) and served as its Director and Chair before joining the European Women’s Lobby in 2007.
Read the European Commission Press Release: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/1715
