The European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, travelled to Rome on Friday 21 November for the High-Level International Conference against Feminicide, organised by the Italian government in cooperation with the OSCE. This event is being organised in the run-up to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November.
In her opening address, the Commissioner, who linked her responsibility within the EU to her personal commitment, reiterated that “ending violence against women must stay a priority, no matter how the political winds blow”. This was the principle behind the publication of the roadmap presented in March.
She also affirmed “the urgent need to stop violence against women and to end feminicide”, a fight that “is not limited to a simple political domain”.
The aim, as she put it, was to “save lives”, both by “changing laws” and “changing minds”. Indeed, “femicide is not inevitable. It is preventable”.
In this sense, “only concrete action” will make it possible to build a Europe where every woman can live “in safety, freedom and autonomy”, in the words of the Commissioner.
The conference also included sessions dedicated to the prevention of feminicide and the protection of all victims, including those of human trafficking. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)