To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women a cross-party group of international MPs issued a statement calling on Governments across the globe to take steps to support women against gender-based violence.
Over 100 parliamentarians from 8 different countries signed the joint statement which called for Government’s to:
1. Protect funding for programmes to tackle all forms of gender-based violence both at home and abroad. While each of our countries’ economies have been badly impacted by the pandemic, we cannot balance our spending deficits on the backs of vulnerable women and girls.
2. Work together to find new ways to support women and girls at risk of gender-based violence. Whether through bilateral engagement, or using international fora like the United Nations and the European Union, our countries together are worth more than the sum of their parts. The global challenge of gender-based violence requires global solutions.
3. Put women leaders at the heart of our response to gender-based violence. By increasing the number of women in decision-making roles in government, international agencies, and peacekeeping operations, we can tackle not just the violence against women and girls, but the regressive values that are the root causes of such violence.
Commenting on this Dr Neil Hudson said:
“I fully support this statement and I was pleased to put my name to it. It remains as important as ever that Governments across the world continue to support women and girls who encounter gender-based violence. The Coronavirus pandemic has unfortunately seen an increase in instances of violence of this kind and Governments need to ensure that women and girls do not become a casualty of this crisis.
Through education, multilateral engagement between Governments and representation of women in key decision-making roles we can hopefully eliminate violence of this form.”