The government approved a package of measures to promote equality between men and women and combat domestic violence

The Government approved this Thursday the Equality and Non-Discrimination (ENIND) package of measures aimed at promoting equality between women and men and preventing and combating violence.

Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ana Catarina Mendez spoke about the plan to achieve equality between women and men, as well as combating gender discrimination in policy and action.

“This strategy has been important over the past four years as the gender pay gap has narrowed. The number of women on boards of directors of companies listed on the stock exchange is already above the European average,” says Ana Catarina Mendez.

In the field of domestic violence, which continues to be a “scourge”, support has increased, although much remains to be done in this area and in the fight against gender discrimination, the Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Affairs added.

According to the government, the strategy is “a programming cycle up to 2030 that is timely and substantive in line with the 2030 Agenda”.

Minister Ana Catarina Méndez announced in the context of domestic violence “the establishment of a pilot project aimed at identifying urgent cases within the territory.” The minister said that “these projects aim to help us take a broader view of what this problem involves.”

This strategy is based on three action plans: Equity between Women and Men (PAIMH); Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (PAVMVA); Combating Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (PAOIEC).

From the executive’s point of view, the approval of the three plans “seals the progress made”, as sustainable development is seen as “closely linked to the achievement of real and transformative equity”.

The government emphasizes that the development of the plans was based on public consultations held in 2022, taking into account also the recommendations of independent internal and external evaluations, as well as lessons learned from previous national plans, based on the findings of the Monitoring and Evaluation Study of the National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination (ENIND), conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies at ISCSP”.