Orange the world: Parliament says no to gender-based violence - Main contents
The European Parliament is lighting its building in Brussels in orange on 25 November to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
Parliament is again marking the day this year as part of the UN Orange the World campaign to raise awareness about violence against women and girls. Orange is used as a symbol of a better future, free from violence and discrimination.
Parliament also marked the day with a debate in plenary, when MEPs discussed the lack of progress in ratifying the Instanbul Convention, the international treaty on fighting violence against women and girls, signed by the EU in 2017. MEPs urged the six EU countries that have not ratified the Convention yet - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia - to do so without delay.
Gender-based violence remains a problem
One in three women in the EU has experienced physical abuse and sexual violence since the age of 15. Every week, about 50 women lose their live to domestic violence from their partners.
According to the UN, globally 243 million women and girls suffered abuse in 2019, but only 40% reported it.
The situation worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic as lockdown restrictions forced women to stay at home with their abusers.
On 16 September 2021, the Parliament called on the European Commission to make online and offline gender-based violence a crime under EU law.
Find out how the EU is tackling gender-based violence
Find out more
Product information
Ref.: 20211118STO17607
Read more ...