“Let us remember that behind each number is a face, a name, a story”. This was the message from President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Monday 25 November, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Paying tribute to victims such as Giulia Cecchettin in Italy, Debora Mihailova in Bulgaria and Gisèle Pélicot in France, she brought to life some alarming figures: “One woman in three will experience violence in her lifetime”.
According to Eurostat, around 50 million women in the European Union - or 31% - have experienced physical or sexual violence as adults, and 18% of women in the EU who have ever had a partner have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner. This figure rises to 32% when including psychological violence.
“They deserve shelter and support. They deserve justice to be served. And they deserve to be heard”, said Ms von der Leyen. Calling for the silence to be broken, she added: “Their stories must be told”.
In Strasbourg, European Parliament’s plenary session debated emerging trends in the fight against gender-based violence and lit up its building in orange, the colour of the United Nations’ ‘Orange the World’ initiative, for 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, a campaign launched in 2008 with the aim of eradicating such violence by 2030.
Eurostat data: https://aeur.eu/f/egt (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)