Women’s Rights Platform says there is no freedom without fighting violence

The Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights (PWR) said this Sunday, International Human Rights Day, that there is no freedom and justice as long as violence against women and girls continues.

The PPM statement said that this Sunday marks the end of the 16-day campaign to end the violence! — November 25 — December 10, which coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and advocates for the creation of a specific European directive to combat violence against women that addresses the issue of rape.

To this end, the PPDM will undertake two initiatives, including the creation of a petition for the European Violence Directive and an open letter signed by lawyers and jurists to include the offense of rape in the directive.

“This is a global disaster: in the European Union, one in three women becomes a victim of physical and/or sexual violence from the age of 15. One in ten women is a victim of some form of sexual violence, and one in twenty have been raped,” the organization reports.

PYM takes advantage of today to defend that “there can be no freedom, equality and justice without ending violence against women.”

“Violence against women and girls undermines peace, stability, cohesion and security in families and communities. It weakens or prevents consistent guarantees of the rights of women, all women. It represents an additional obstacle to the full development of women’s abilities in all areas. , especially in professional and social life,” says the team.

He points out that it also imposes financial costs on society, whether in terms of health, education, social protection, justice or productivity, “preventing the economy from reaching its full potential.”

He adds that calculations by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in 2021 estimated the cost of violence in Portugal at eight billion euros per year.

We recall that on November 25, the PDM presented a manifesto “How much does Portugal care about ending male violence against women and girls”, signed by more than 240 people and organizations, calling on political parties to include the fight against violence against women in their electoral programs for legislative elections in March 2024.

“This disaster must become a national public policy priority. Women make up more than half of the Portuguese electorate and their priorities must be heard. The Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights calls for major investment in support of women’s rights organizations whose actions on this ground have played a decisive role in preventing and combating male violence against women in Portugal,” the statement said.