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IPPF EN, together with around 80 civil society organisations, healthcare professionals and academics working to advance women’s rights and the rights of LGBTI people, address letter to President von der Leyen to express our deep concern at the long delay in the publication of the European Commission Recommendation on the prevention of harmful practices against women and girls. We urge the current Commission to adopt the Recommendation swiftly or guarantee its adoption by the next Commission before 2025, in line with the clear commitments made under the Gender Equality Strategy and the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025. We strongly support the adoption of this Recommendation, which will provide effective guidance for Member States on ways to address various harmful practices, including those committed to in the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and in the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025. Furthermore, we call on the Commission to ensure all forms of obstetric and gynaecological violence, mistreatment and abuse are included in this Recommendation. We strongly believe this Recommendation would fill a critical gap and make a substantial contribution towards protecting women and girls in all their diversity from all forms of harm in the EU. Please read the full letter below. 

Three Polish feminists on trial for pro-abortion protests have been found not-guilty. Although positive news, this is not a complete win for activists around the world. Marta Lempart, Klementyna Suchanow and Agnieszka Czerederecka-Fabin - three leading women’s rights defenders from the Polish Women's Strike were facing eight years in prison in Poland for exercising their right to peaceful protest. At today’s trial they were found not guilty. Though the not guilty verdict is a relief, we can’t ignore the fact that this trial never should have happened in the first place. These women’s rights defenders were unfairly targeted because of their work, with the prosecution attempting to use the courts as a tool of intimidation. Defending reproductive rights is not a crime. It is deeply troubling that they were subjected to a sham trial that not only robbed them of time, energy and money, but also affected their mental well-being. Cases like this are designed to silence activists. They are a dangerous attack on fundamental human rights and democratic values.     In future, we urge the Polish government, and all governments, to focus on protecting rights, not prosecuting those who defend them.   Marta Lempart said "I'm looking forward to going back to work. Thank you for all the solidarity from the international community."

Date: 3.10.2024 Time: 12.00 Courtroom: 224 Location: District Court in Warsaw, Solidarności 127 Press briefing after the verdict.   The criminal case against Polish Women's Strike pro abortion protests’ (2020) leaders is finally coming to an end in the District Court in Warsaw, Poland. Marta Lempart, Agnieszka Czerederecka and Klementyna Suchanow are charged under Article 165 of the Penal Code (endangering the public by organizing protests)  and Women's Strike leader Marta Lempart is additionally charged under Article 226 and Article 255 of the Penal Code. All three women face up to 8 years in prison. The announcement of the verdict will take place on October 3rd at noon in the District Court in Warsaw at 127 Solidarności Avenue (room: 224). This date is significant and symbolic for the entire movement that the Polish Women's Strike is. It was on October 3rd, 2016 that the Women's Strike organized the first mass protests in Poland in defense of abortion rights, which went down in history as Black Monday. At that time, women took to the streets of more than 160 cities and towns dressed in black in protest against the tightening of abortion law in Poland. On the 8th anniversary of the first Polish Women’s Strike protest (2016), activists will hear the verdict for their involvement in the 2020 100-days stress protests, brutally suppressed by the state police and secret services. It will be a verdict for their years of fighting in the streets, for the many days and nights spent protesting, in police cauldrons and in police detention. Judgment for their courage and determination, for their eyes burning with pain from the police gas, for their arms broken during the demonstrations, their spines physically damaged from the police batons. The judgment will therefore be symbolic not only for the anniversary of the Women's Strike, but above all for the fight for women's rights in contemporary Poland. The verdict will show which way we are heading - towards the shameful direction of maternity wards where women are dying, or towards the civilized part of Europe. Marta Lempart: Please be with us on that day. It is important that not only we, but also others who are still being dragged through the courts, know that they are not walking alone. Whatever happens this October 3rd or afterwards. See you there!   Media contact: +48 577 099 077 Marta Lempart [email protected]

The Norwegian government has proposed a new bill extending self-determined abortion rights from 12 weeks up to the 18th week. If the bill is passed by the Norwegian Parliament, it will mark a significant victory for sexual rights in Norway. However, this right will not be equally accessible across the country. Sex og Politikk, the Norwegian Member Association of IPPF, asserts that viability should not be a political decision and that respect for human life cannot be legislated. Sex og Politikk has been actively engaged in discussions on the new abortion law since the Government established a committee in 2022 to look into the country’s almost 50 year old abortion legislation. The organization has participated in a separate committee of feminist NGOs, closely following the development of the law and contributing to the debate. This month, Health and Care Minister Jan Christian Vestre and the government introduced proposals for a new abortion law. While welcoming this milestone in the fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), Sex og Politikk argues that the proposal needs revision on key points. Just three years ago, few would have anticipated a new abortion law in Norway. The government's proposal represents progress, but it also reveals significant weaknesses from an SRHR perspective. The law remains entrenched in outdated beliefs that abortions should only be conducted at regional hospitals. In reality, most abortions today are performed at home with medication, not through surgical interventions. Despite this, the government's proposal still limits abortion care to specialist healthcare providers, even as it calls for further investigation into the role of primary healthcare in offering abortion care. This limitation complicates access to abortion, especially for those living far from hospitals. "We need a law that simplifies, not complicates, access to abortion care," says Kjersti Augland, Assistant General Manager of Sex og Politikk. "For most women who currently undergo abortion at home after receiving medication from a hospital, direct access through primary healthcare would provide more compassionate and accessible care. The current law particularly disadvantages those living in remote areas, far from hospitals."   A Necessary and Increased Recognition Sex og Politikk supports the proposal to extend self-determination up to the 18th week, including the possibility to reduce the number of fetuses. This represents a necessary acknowledgment of a pregnant woman's right to make independent decisions about her body and life. The new law will effectively allow 98-99% of Norwegian women seeking abortions to make autonomous decisions about their bodies. Additionally, Sex og Politikk welcomes the bill's provisions that strengthen the independent right to be heard for people living with disabilities. The organization also supports the proposal that abortion should never be forced, and the right to complete a pregnancy should be legally protected.   Concerns About Statutory Discrimination Sex og Politikk is critical of the law's wording that it "must ensure respect for unborn life." The organization argues that this clause may impose guilt and shame on women rather than achieving the law’s aim to ensure the pregnant person’s right to decide over their own body without being subject to pressure. The bill also mandates follow-up medical interviews for those who have undergone an abortion. Sex og Politikk views this as statutory discrimination, as it creates unequal treatment between those who have had an abortion, those whose applications have been denied, and those who withdraw their applications. If follow-up rights are to be included, they should be available to all who need them.   Viability Should Not Be a Political Decision   Sex og Politikk also opposes the proposal to legislate a strict 22-week limit for abortion care. The organization argues that viability assessments are complex medical determinations that should be made on a case-by-case basis, not through rigid political decisions. It is inappropriate for politicians to assume the role of healthcare professionals in deciding viability. "The government's proposal is a step in the right direction toward a law that better reflects current realities and needs," concludes Kjersti Augland. "However, we believe the proposal requires revision on several key points." We will continue to follow these developments as the law makes its way through the parliament.   Illustration: Olga Mrozek for IPPF x Fine Acts

Paving the Way for an Equality-Centred Policy Cycle - Civil Society Joint Statement The European Union was founded on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Yet too many people continue to face discrimination and inequality across the Union, including intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination in all aspects of their lives. In the current climate, it is now imperative that the EU institutions strengthen their resolve to take meaningful and urgent action to address this reality. As European Union leaders decide on their priorities for the 2024-2029 cycle, we call on them to ensure that equality and non-discrimination are included as central priorities in the EU work programme for the next five years. Only by centring equality and protection from discrimination in this way can the EU truly respond to the key concerns of people living in the Union. The equality and non-discrimination agenda was afforded increased visibility and action during the last five years as a result of the ambitious “Union of Equality” agenda and the appointment of the first Commissioner for Equality. This led to unprecedented progress in efforts to advance equality and non-discrimination across EU policy making. Progress included the adoption of important initiatives such as the Directive on violence against women, inaugural Gender Equality and LGBTIQ Equality Strategies, an Anti-Racism Action Plan, a Green Paper on Ageing, an Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, a Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU, as well as the renewal of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the EU Roma strategic framework. At this critical juncture, it is vital that the EU continue to prioritize efforts to guarantee the founding values of equality and non-discrimination, to advance the entire package which comprises the Union of Equality, and to ensure an intersectional approach to this agenda. Failure to do so would seriously jeopardise progress in this area and mark a very dangerous step backward.   To this end we call on EU leadership to take the following steps: Appoint a Commissioner for Equality and Fundamental Rights, ensuring the mandate has the power to renew and deepen the Union of Equality agenda and nominating a candidate with a demonstrated commitment to equality; Strengthen the Union of Equality agenda by introducing new strategies to address grounds not already covered, mainstreaming all strategies across policy areas and renewing and building-out existing equality strategies, such as the Gender Equality Strategy, LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, the EU Strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities and the Roma strategic framework; Ensure the next EU budget includes robust funding streams for civil society organisations working on equality and non-discrimination; Ensure equality and non-discrimination objectives are also core components of EU priorities in the sphere of international cooperation, external and humanitarian action; Maintain the current status of the Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and refrain from weakening its mandate; Establish a Council configuration dedicated to equality in the EU and ensure concrete commitments towards implementation of equality strategies by member states; Establish a new Directorate-General for Equality and Fundamental Rights thereby strengthening the Commission’s ability to design and monitor equality and non-discrimination laws and policies; Renew and upgrade the mandates of the Commission Coordinators working on equality, ensuring a focus on intersectionality during this term; Entrust the Commission Task Force on Equality with a strong mandate and ensure it works transparently and in close consultation and cooperation with civil society organizations and networks. --- As 143 civil society organisations with significant expertise on equality, and as representatives of groups at increased risk of discrimination across the EU, we issue this call as a testament to our solidarity with each other, and urge EU leaders to ensure that the people most affected by EU policies and legislation on equality and non-discrimination are always involved in their development and implementation: A Scuola Per Conoscerci, Italy ACCEPT LGBTI Cyprus ACCEPT Romania ACT Alliance EU AESCO (América, España, Solidaridad y Cooperación)  Agapanto, Italy AGE Platform Europe Agedo Nazionale, Italy Aidos (Italian Association for Women in Development) ALFI - Associazione Lesbica Femminista Italiana, Italy AlfiLune, Italy Amnesty International Amref Health Africa - Italy Anemos Dimiourgias - Greece ANTAMA (Greece) Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial Brussels APRe! Associação de Aposentados, Pensionistas e Reformados (Portugal) ARCIGAY LGBTQIA+ Association, Italy ASKV Refugee Support Asociación de Investigación y Especialización sobre Temas Iberoamericanos - AIETI (Spain) Asociación Por Ti Mujer Association Bagdam Espace Lesbian - France Association Legebitra, Slovenia Association Libellula ITALIA APS, Italy Association Liberas - Italy Association for Monitoring Equal Rights / Eşit Haklar İçin İzleme Derneği (Turkey) ASTRA Network ATDAL Over 40 (Italy) Austrian Disability Council Austrian Family Planning Association (OGF) Autism-Europe Avaaz Avocats Sans Frontières Belgian Disability Forum (BDF) Brain Injured and families European Federation (BIF) çavaria, Belgium Center for Gender Rights and Equality DIOTIMA Center for Reproductive Rights Certi Diritti, Italy Circolo di Cultura Omosessuale " Mario Mieli", Italy Civil Rights Defenders COC Nederland Cologne Counselling - Germany Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) Dachverband Lesben und Alter e.V. - Germany Danish Family Planning Association Deutscher Behindertenrat (DBR) Disabled Peoples' International European Region (DPI Europe) Doctors of the World Spain EDGE, Italy EMAIZE Sexologia Zentroa - Centro Sexológico End FGM EU Epen, El Parto es Nuestro EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community (EL*C) European Blind Union (EBU) European Disability Forum European Dyslexia Association European Federation of Hard of Hearing People European Network Against Racism (ENAR) European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network (ERGO Network) European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance (ESWA) European Women’s Lobby Famiglie Arcobaleno APS, Italy Federación de Mujeres Progresistas Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial (FLCPF) Foundation for Women and Family Planning (FEDERA) French Family Planning / le Planning Familial Fundación Aspacia GAMS Belgium (Groupe pour l’Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles féminines) Gaynet - Formazione e Comunicazione sui temi Lgbti, Italy GenderLens, Italy General Commission for Justice and Peace of Spain GLAS Foundation, Bulgaria Haurralde Fundazioa  HelpAge International HelpAge International Spain Human Rights Watch IGLYO ILGA-Europe Iniciatíva Inakosť, Slovakia International Commission of Jurists International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) International Federation of Persons with Physical Disabilities (FIMITIC) International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) IntersexEsiste, Italy Irish Family Planning Association Jovesólides Kif Kif vzw KISA Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation La Coordinadora de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo (Spain) La Strada International Labrisz Lesbian Association - Hungary LesbenRing e.V. - Germany Lesbian Magazine and Program Organizing Association - Hungary Lesbian Organisation Rijeka – LORI – Croatia LesWorking - Spain LGBT komiteen - The LGBT Committee, Denmark Light for the World LSVD, the Lesbian and Gay Federation, Germany Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability (MFOPD) Malta LGBTIQ Rights Movement (MGRM) medicusmundi Mujeres Jóvenes de la Región de Murcia: 8 de marzo (MUJOMUR) Mujeres Supervivientes de Sevilla NET.Collect - Germany Nőkért Egyesület / Association for Women, Hungary  Nothern Ireland Council for Racial Equality (NICRE) OII Europe Older Women’s Network PA.SY.D.Y. Pensioners Union (Cyprus) Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) Polish Women's Strike Possibile LGBTI+, Italy PRISME – Fédération wallonne LGBTQIA+, Belgium pro familia Bundesverband Quaker Council for European Affairs Queer Base - Welcome & Support for LGBTIQ Refugees - Austria Queer Sisterhood Cluj - Romania Quore, Italy Rainbow Families Croatia Red de Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe – España Rete Genitori Rainbow, Italy RFSL, Sweden Rutgers Save the Children SB Overseas Sdružení pro integraci a migraci (SIMI) / Association for Integration and Migration SEDRA-Federación Planificación Familiar Sensoa Society for Education on Contraception and Sexuality - SECS SolidarityNow Stichting LOS, Netherlands Terre des Femmes TGEU – Transgender Europe Toutes des Femmes -France Turun Valkonauha ry, Finland Women Against Violence Europe - WAVE Network Zavod Moja mavrica – Slovenia Zavod Transfeministična Iniciativa TransAkcija - Slovenia   *Throughout the text, “equality and non-discrimination” is to be understood as encompassing equality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of the full range of human rights, including all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.   Illustration by Ivonne Navarro

On 24 January, as final negotiations on the EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence are taking place, IPPF EN and 11 other NGOs called on negotiators to take effective action and ensure that a robust Directive is urgently adopted. An open letter to negotiators in the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission ahead of the final negotiations of this mandate on the Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (COM (2022) 105 final, 8 March 2022) We are writing as concerned organisations[1] that advocate for human rights, gender equality, and the right for all to live free from violence. As we have entered the final weeks of European Union institutions’ ability to negotiate legislative files before the next European elections, we call on European governments to level up and take effective action to combat violence against women and domestic violence by urgently adopting a robust Directive. We welcome this proposed Directive, as it provides much needed comprehensive responses, incorporating prevention, protection, support for victims and prosecution for a range of criminal offences which constitute violence against women and domestic violence. The adoption of this Directive is, however, endangered due to several Member States’ failure to agree to strengthen laws and policies at the EU level and endorse crucial measures supported by the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as by diverse civil society organisations across Europe. If agreement is not reached in the next weeks, there are serious risks of this proposal being further weakened or not adopted at all under the next mandate of the European Parliament. This would leave women and other people affected across the EU without adequate protection from gender-based and domestic violence. We urge national governments to transform lip service to ending violence against women into concrete and effective action against this scourge that affects millions in the EU, including by ensuring that rape based on lack of consent is a criminal offence across the EU. We have been dismayed to see Member States propose rejecting the unprecedented opportunity to criminalise rape in this Directive. It is utterly unacceptable that some Member States are stubbornly unresponsive to the need to combat rape across the EU, hiding behind restrictive legal interpretations on EU competences. Sexual violence against women is endemic across the EU, with widespread impunity. Consent-based definitions have proven to guarantee greater protection and access to justice for women and other victims of rape, including increased reporting and prosecution rates. We urge governments to act in accordance with their international and regional human rights obligations, particularly under the Istanbul Convention, and agree on the most robust Directive possible to prevent, prosecute and redress violence against women. Therefore, as organisations closely engaged on the issues at hand, we call on Member States to ensure that the Directive criminalises rape with a consent-based definition, as well as female and intersex genital mutilation, forced sterilisation, forced marriage, and sexual harassment in the workplace. It should combat violence on grounds of sex and gender, and address intersectional discrimination, with specific attention paid to LBTIQ+ women, women sex workers, and women who are undocumented migrants or have an insecure or dependent residence status. We call for strengthened protection and access to justice for victims, including access to compensation and safe reporting mechanisms through the establishment of strict firewalls between immigration and other authorities to ensure survivors are not deterred from reporting violence due to their residency status. The Directive should further guarantee comprehensive support to victims and access to both general and specialist support services, including the clinical management of rape and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care for victims of sexual violence, as well as support for child victims. We also call for the adoption of widespread and effective preventive measures, including a clear obligation to provide comprehensive sexuality education. For more detailed recommendations, we refer to our joint position published in 2023. There are times when political decisions can make a profound difference to millions of people’s lives. This is one of them. Member States have an opportunity to enact a Directive that can be truly transformative. We call on you to show courage and leadership and grab this opportunity. Sincerely, International Planned Parenthood Federation – European Network (IPPF EN) Amnesty International Center for Reproductive Rights End FGM European Network EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community (EL*C) European Sex Workers Rights Alliance (ESWA) Human Rights Watch La Strada International, European NGO Platform Against Trafficking in Human Beings  Organisation Intersex International Europe (OII Europe) Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) The European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe)   Transgender Europe (TGEU) [1] Our organisations work on a diverse range of women’s rights issues. In the drafting of this document, we have been led by the expertise of women’s rights organisations and women human rights defenders from communities most impacted by the specific forms of violence described in each section. Our commitment to the text represents our coming together as a collective with shared values, even though not every organisation has its own policy or programme of work dedicated to each issue. We centre and affirm the expertise of women human rights defenders in all their diversity, and encourage the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU to do the same.