[Brussels, 15 November 2017] The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is pleased to outline some of the international events on violence against women happening in the coming weeks, organised by EWL members or in which EWL representatives will be taking part.
On the 20th of November the 3rd Annual Colloquium on fundamental rights, organised by the European Commission will take place in Brussels organised by the European Commission. This years’ focus will be on “Women’s rights in turbulent times” and the three panels will be dedicated to violence against women, including trafficking in human beings. EWL President, Edith Schratzberger-Vecsei, and EWL Secretary General, Joanna Maycock, will be giving an impulse statement on the Women’s Movements session. EWL members will be attending as well to ensure our demands to end violence against women and girls in Europe are heard. Further information about all the events at the colloquium can be found here.
The FEMM Committee of the European Parliament has organised an Inter-Parliamentary Committee Meeting in Brussels on the 21st November entitled “The Istanbul Convention: combating violence against women at national and EU level”. EWL executive member, Laura Albu will present an analysis and the demands of the EWL. The draft agenda for the event can be found here.
The meeting will be followed by a screening of “The Sands of Silence: Waves of Courage”; a documentary in which women speak out against violence, produced by Spanish Director Chelo Alvarez-Stehle. The Screening is organised by S&D group and Irene Rosales, EWL Policy and Campaigns officer, will take part in the discussion after the screening. Registration for the screening can be found here.
In Copenhagen on the 24th November, the European Network of Migrant Women and Women Refugee Route have organised the conference “Istanbul Convention and the Universal Rights of Female Migrants”. The panels will tackle the violence and discrimination migrant women face and analyse the role the Istanbul Convention can play in protecting the universal rights of all women. More information about the event and registration can be found here.
ENOMW security tradition or VAW
The End FGM Platform have organised an event on 28th November, “European Forum to build Bridges on FGM” in Brussels. The event is designed to create an opportunity for all actors working to end the practice of FGM to share experiences, exchange good practice and discuss future trends.
EWL President, Edith Schratzberger-Vecsei will be present to represent the EWL and to make links to other forms of violence against women. You can register and find more information here.
Building bridges between sectors
On the 1st of December the European Family Justice Centre Alliance has organised a conference entitled “International Conference: how to start a Family Justice Centre.” The event aims to provide insight into the functioning and added value of family justice centres in the context of the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. More information about the event can be found here.
On the 5th December there will be two high level events on violence against women in Brussels. A hearing on “Ending forced sterilisation of women and girls with disabilities” organised by the European Disability Forum. EWL Executive member, Laura Albu will represent the EWL at this meeting and more information can be found here.. On the same day, the Estonian Presidency of the European Council is preparing a conference “Addressing the digital violence against women”, where EWL Observatory expert Isabel Ventura will be presenting the results of the #HerNetHerRights project.
EWL Vice-President, Iliana Balavanova-Stoicheva will also be representing the EWL at the meeting of the EU Civil Society Platform against trafficking in human beings in Brussels between the 5-6th of December.
We hope you have the opportunity to engage in any of the events and continue to support the EWL and our members in combatting violence against women and girls.
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