1/ Why CSOs call on EU Member States to support increased funding to the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme in the next #MFF
A thread 📣:
2/ Equality between men and women is a founding value of the #EU. Yet, gender inequality and gender-based violence are still widespread within the EU. In recent years, an increasingly organised, visible and well-funded opposition to women’s rights and gender equality has risen
3/ This backlash, combined with an overall undermining of EU fundamental values, a shrinking civic space and lack of funding for civil society, are threatening the progress achieved towards gender equality and hindering the work done by women’s rights organisations and defenders
4/ The #MFF is the main instrument that funds #CSOs promoting EU Values in the EU, including #genderequality and combating GBV. @vonderleyen committed to prioritise #genderequality but such commitments would remain empty rhetoric if not properly resourced
5/ We call on the Governments of EU member states to support increased funding to the Rights & Values Programme, particularly for #CSOs, and sufficient and earmarked funding for gender equality and combating gender-based violence within this Programme.
6/ EU Member States SHOULD ensure 📣:
➡️an increase of the total amount allocated to the Programme to €1.834 billion, as requested by @Europarl_EN.
➡️sufficient and earmarked funds for civil society organisations
7/ sufficient and earmarked budget for #genderequality and combating GBV within the respective strands. This should be done either through:
➡️independent budget lines,
➡️OR, through allocated percentages
8/ GBV is ABSOLUTELY an #EUissue
and thousands of organisations are working hard to ensure the EU is a place where everyone can equally thrive, free from coercion, violence and discrimination. Read and share our letter with your national Government here: bit.ly/2XIIKTp
Talk 3 of the @baadon1 event with @morissanda and our Director @AnnaWidegren talking about "Sexual Rights and Healthcare Advocacy in the movement against FGM"
"Access to information for Survivors of FGM in Europe, especially if they are asylum seekers, is critical."
"There's a lack of services particularly targeting Children and Youth, and this is a problem as most (not all) cases of FGM happen before the age of 15." @AnnaWidegren
"Community members have a key role in advocating against the practice as well as in ensuring access to information. Our Youth Ambassadors are a great example of this, they created the #PurpleChair YouTube series specifically to raise awareness and empower others to speak up."
Speech by EU Commissioner for Equality @helenadalli
"To end FGM we need to explore all solutions. We need to support the work of local and community based organisation, as they are best place to address the practice on the ground."
#Hadeel spoke about the Purple Chair series and how Youth activist have been using videos on Youtube to raise awareness on FGM, GBV, access to services and knowing your rights.
This year, for the #16DaysOfActivism, we are sharing about different (& original) ways to do activism against #GBV every day!
Today, let's talk about a traditional way for women to fight for their rights and ideals, but with a spin! 👇 #orangetheworld
Lysistrata, an anti-war comedy by the Greek playwright Aristophanes, talks about a sex strike 💪
The women in the play, led by Lysistrata, want the Peloponnesian War to end, so they stop having sex with their husbands as a strategy to secure the peace.
And nowadays?
Let's talk about three different sex strikes!
1⃣ Huelga de piernas cruzadas ("The strike of crossed legs"), Pereira (Colombia), September 2006 ▶️ A strike to curb gang violence.
This month, for our Annual Campaign #endFGMmyths, we are answering the question "Are some forms of FGM less harmful than others?" 🤔
Today, we want to talk about medicalised FGM and why it's not less harmful than other forms of FGM!
❓ What is medicalised FGM?
▶️ It's when FGM is carried out in a hospital environment.
❓ Why does it happen? 👇
❓ Why shouldn't be accepted?
👉It doesn't necessarily lead to a lesser impact on Survivors' life.
👉Replacing one form of FGM with another won't necessarily lead to it being abandoned.
👉It can make raising awareness on FGM more difficult, as health professionals support it.