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- Ελληνικά
Worldwide:
- Nine out of ten men and women have deep prejudices against women
- 49% believe that men are better leaders than women.
- 25% believe it is justified for a man to beat his partner (UN, 2023). In an era of #MeToo.
Anti-women prejudice is also becoming a reality in the European Union (EU):
- 37% hold managerial positions, 28% board positions. (In Cyprus 40% of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Boards [ARE WOMEN], 38.8% women are Ministers and Deputy Ministers).
- The pay gap is 16% (in Cyprus 9.7%).
- One in five women has suffered sexual and/or physical violence from a current or former partner.
- One in five women has suffered sexual and/or physical violence from a current or former partner. (In Cyprus one in four.)
Worldwide:
- 81,000 women and girls have died at the hands of their partner or a family member. That means that every 11 minutes a woman is murdered in her home, a place that theoretically should be safe.
- By the time we leave here, about 19 women somewhere in the world will have been murdered by their partner or a male relative.
"Don't wear that."
"Where do you think you're going?"
"You're not going anywhere."
These phrases make women vulnerable in their own homes, with the result that in the space where women - and each and every one of us - should feel the most safety, we feel the most fear and insecurity.
Congratulations for the publication of the collective volume "Femicide and Criminal Law" and to the editor, Mr. Charalambos Papacharalambous.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Murders of women, femicides, are the most extreme manifestation of violence against women and girls. It is defined in international texts as deliberate murder with the sole motive that the victim is a woman. It can be caused by the deep-rooted system of patriarchy, anachronistic stereotypical roles and perceptions, and discrimination against women and girls. It is based on unequal power relations between women and men.
Murders of women because they are women happen everywhere, in every country and society. It is a human rights issue that concerns us all, and requires concerted and urgent action by all. At the same time, it is also a reminder that women's rights, the promotion of gender equality is not a local or national issue, but a global one. Feminicide is a crime that requires a strategic response, an international exchange of experience and a unified social, but above all a unified political response.
It is a stark reminder that today there is still an urgent need to accelerate our efforts for full and substantive equality between women and men, to live in a world where gender equality is guaranteed, so that all can live free from violence and discrimination.
Stereotypes, ladies and gentlemen, can beat, they can also murder.
From a very young age, even before [OUR CHILDREN] are born - as soon as we learn their gender - we put them in boxes, confine them and more or less predetermine their future on the basis of their biological sex.
So the stereotypes and prejudices start the day we find out their gender. Starting from simple cuddly stereotypes, through the clothes we buy girls and boys, from cute and cool, to the toys that significantly enhance our children's relevant skills and abilities, and what their role is in society. The kitchenettes and dolls that have the effect of wanting women to know their place in the home, to be sensitive, to take on the role of caregiver, to take care of others, but at the same time to be cared for themselves, because that is what society demands. Boys with a ball, a gun, out. If they get hurt, we don't allow them to cry, but we allow them, under the guise of adrenaline, to get hurt with the excuse: 'Boys will always be boys - boys will be boys."
We tend as a society, even when women are pregnant with a girl, to hear expressions like:
"Let the next one be a son."
"When will you have a son?"
"The child and the daughter", they used to say until recently in Greece. We have a tendency, grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers, to call girls mumbles. "You're hysterical." "You're on your period." How do all these games, words and descriptions translate as we get older? All these stereotypes go back centuries, including the killing of women as witches for not conforming to social roles, the reactionary ones. All the way up to today that "he killed her because he loved her."
I mentioned earlier that men don't cry, the daily pressure on girls about how their bodies should look, their family duties to both husband and children, parents and elders. We still observe in the labour market a division of jobs into female and male jobs, with male jobs being better paid than so-called female jobs. We see young women to this day being asked in job interviews if they are thinking of starting a family soon.
We observe as advice to women, when they disagree with their partners, not to excite them, not to provoke them. The fact that they provoke, we hear it not only at home, but also on the street, with the clothes they wear or their behaviors. "Don't wear tights to gym", a teacher said to a 14-year-old student, as the student herself conveyed it to me. And the reason was - according to the teacher - that they would provoke the boys. All these stereotypes also plague men with a constant anxiety as the main economic carriers.
The set of roles, of behaviours that societies define as appropriate for women and men can be the cause and effect of the mechanism of power relations between women and men, from the private sphere to the highest levels of decision-making. All of the above has created a normative framework that justifies - in quotes - male violence against women in the context of power relations between women and men. This is what we are called upon to break. Male violence against women, femicide, ceases to be part of the private sphere. It is a political issue, since the personal becomes political.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Earlier, the Minister of Justice and Public Order referred to the government's action, through the Coordinating Body, to prevent and combat violence against women, as well as to the implementation of a bill of the same name on the basis of the Istanbul Convention.
In an effort of a holistic approach of the government of Nikos Christodoulides, and by upgrading the role of the Office of the Gender Equality Commissioner, aiming at the horizontal integration of the gender dimension in Ministries and Deputy Ministries, we promote, through targeted policies, actions and systematic information, the creation of a gender-sensitive environment, which can support and contribute to the prevention of violence against women. As part of the implementation of a holistic approach, we work in parallel at all levels with actions and systematic awareness-raising in our education system on equality and respect within each Ministry and Deputy Ministry and their policies, as also provided for in the National Strategy for Gender Equality. We are acting in parallel actions and partnerships with the private sector, up to the highest level of government, by adopting the policy statement on zero tolerance of sexist and harassing behaviour. The Policy Statement was signed by the President of the Republic himself, Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Commissioners to the President.
I mentioned earlier that women's rights, the promotion of gender equality is not a local or national issue, but a global issue. But promoting gender equality is a matter of national interest, since a healthy society, free of stereotypes and gender violence can be socially and economically more sustainable and stronger.
Thank you
(NYAN/EATH)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
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