On Tuesday 20 May, MEPs from the European Parliament’s Committees on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), Development (DEVE) and the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) held an exchange of views with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
This exchange follows an initial meeting in New York last March, during the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Pramila Patten spoke of the scale of sexual violence in contemporary conflicts, with examples from Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Sexual violence continues to be used as a tactic of war, along with repression, torture and violence”, she said, before adding that “this is not an unfortunate side-effect of war. No, it’s something we can fight”.
She therefore urged the European Union to step up its support.
“We have the framework in place, we have a strong United Nations architecture. The aim now is to ensure that our efforts are stepped up”, she declared. And to clarify: “It’s not a charity, it’s a strategic choice”.
The Vice-Chair of the DEVE Committee, Robert Biedroń (S&D, Polish), welcomed the “crucial presence” of Pramila Patten. “Women’s bodies are used as weapons”, he added.
French MEP Chloé Ridel (S&D), who is responsible for gender mainstreaming in the Subcommittee on Human Rights, condemned the ideological backsliding of certain groups. “Many people still refuse to use the term sexual and reproductive health, while women pay a double penalty”, she said.
She also called for the creation of a European fund to support feminist organisations active in the field.
During the hearing, accusations of selective conflict management emerged from the ranks of the conservative right. “We do not choose particular conflicts or particular victims”, said FEMM Committee Chair Lina Gálvez (S&D, Spanish) firmly.
Robert Biedroń agreed, calling for a point of order. He also criticised the “politicisation of victims”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)