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Human Rights Commissioner Strässer: Violence against women is not acceptable!
Following the publication of a study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights on violence against women, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Christoph Strässer, issued the following statement today (5 March):
I am appalled by the study’s finding that violence against women remains commonplace in our society. Unfortunately it is not a marginal issue, but affects one in three women in the EU.
This shocking discovery is a wake‑up call to policymakers and society to significantly step up their efforts to better protect women and girls.
We should see the forthcoming International Women’s Day on 8 March as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on this important task.
We should tolerate neither physical nor psychological violence against women!
Background:
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) was founded in 2007 and supports the European Union and its member states in protecting and enforcing human rights. On 5 March 2014 the Agency published a report on violence against women, which is based on the results of an EU‑wide survey. The report shows that violence against women is widespread in Europe and provides information on the forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence that women experience during their childhood and as adults.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) addresses the issue of putting an end to violence against women. So far 187 states have ratified the Convention, including Germany in 1985. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examines to what extent the states parties are fulfilling their obligations from the Convention. Germany, too, submits to review at regular intervals.
