Brussels, 25/11/2008
Violence against women and girls is perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, it devastates lives, fractures communities, and stalls development. It is a major global problem, with many institutional, legal and cultural obstacles to its elimination. Women and girls experience gender-based violence in every country and in every sector of society – regardless of class, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or culture.
At least one in every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime – and the abuser is usually someone known to her.
Violence often increases when women and girls claim or try to establish more equality, freedom and independence for themselves.
Violence against women at work is often linked to broader abuse of workers' rights and gender discrimination in general.
Europe is no exception to this problem.
Despite efforts across the EU, we have failed to put an end to violence against women and girls. We must do more.
ETUC calls on EU Member State governments to take action to ensure that this problem is tackled in a serious manner, as an indispensable part of wider policies on gender equality. ‘Training and awareness raising must be carried out, funding must be made available, protection and assistance must be provided for those affected by violence, and justice must be brought to the perpetrators’, according to John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC.
At the workplace level, the ETUC draws attention to the recently agreed EU framework agreemment on violence and harassment at work and urges social partners across the EU to transpose and implement this agreement without delay.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has produced brochures on ‘Trade unions say no to violence against women and girls' which can be viewed at the following links:
- http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ITUC-violence-pageGB.pdf
- http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ITUC-violence-pagina_ESP.pdf
- http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ITUC-violence_depliant-pageFR.pdf