WUNRN
European Women's Lobby - EWL
The
Council of the European Union, also informally known as the EU Council, is
where national ministers from each EU country meet to adopt laws and coordinate
policies.
EWL WELCOMES STRONG COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION CONCLUSIONS ON COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Bruxelles,
06 December 2012] Today, the Council of European Union delivered its long awaited
Conclusions
on Combating Violence against Women, and the Provision of Support Services for
Victims of Domestic Violence. The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) warmly
welcomes these Conclusions and their strong content, which put back violence
against women on the political agenda of the EU and call for urgent action from
the EU and its Member States.
The EWL particularly welcome the Council Conclusions’ demands towards the Member States and the European Commission:
The EWL also welcomes the focus of the Council Conclusions on support services for victims of domestic violence. In times of crisis, the EWL reiterates the urgency to maintain and strengthen those services, which are currently under threat of closing or weakening. The EWL/Oxfam report ’An Invisible Crisis?’ showed that the crisis leads to increased violence in intimate-partnership, and to a rise of trafficking and attacks against women in prostitution. it also highlighted the growing difficulties faced by women’s organisations providing services to women affected by violence. For example, crisis centers in Hungary saw the number of available places for women halved due to financial cuts and lack of political support.
The EWL hopes that the new Council Conclusions will be the basis for a strong EU policy to end all forms of violence against women, including a strong EU position at the 2013 Commission on the Status of Women, where the priority theme to be agreed upon will be violence against women and girls.
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Direct Link to Full 15-Page Council
of the European Union Conclusions on Violence Against Women: