Resources

As the European Commission leadership and European Parliament approach the end of their term, the European Week of Action for Girls (EWAG) is looking back at the past years to assess EU policy frameworks and regional partnerships and evaluate their contribution to promoting girls’ rights. The paper provides an overview of positive advancements, as well as shortcomings, and puts forward a set of recommendations on how to better advance girls’ rights in EU external action onwards.

The European Union (EU) is facing many obstacles in upholding its core values. Challenges such as the COVID pandemic, the Russian war against Ukraine, and the climate crisis have created unprece­dented uncertainty around our common future, and have increased existing inequalities, particularly for women and girls in all their diversity. The rise of autho­ritarian regimes and populist movements has led to growing opposition against EU values such as: the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and equality, inclu­ding a backlash against gender equality and women’s rights. Ahead of the pivotal moment that are the European elections, political parties must take a bold stand in the defence of EU values. The EU should actively tackle intersecting systems of oppression such as patriarchy, racism, neo-colonialism, and neo-liberalism. It should strive towards a world where everyone can enjoy the same rights, and lead free and safe private and family lives, free from sexism, coercion, and violence. We call on European political parties to put inclusive feminism at the heart of their electoral programmes, and to commit to further advancing gender equality and women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in the EU and beyond. Read below our recommendations on how we can create together an inclusive feminist Europe that promotes gender equality, women’s human rights and SRHR in all fields; that puts an end to sexual and gender-based violence; and that counters the threats against its values.

Now is when standing by our values matters most. We must treat all people with dignity and humanity, not despite, but because we are faced with multiple crises caused by war, inflation, and a hard post-pandemic recovery. In 2021, European countries struggled to keep their promises to uphold sexual and reproductive freedom for all. They managed to maintain their overall support to sexual and reproductive health & rights worldwide by investing 2.780 billion euros. This includes 1.385 billion euros allocated to sexual health and family planning, which means at least 10.5 million women and couples had access to contraceptive care. But much more is needed. More investment and better policies around sexual and reproductive health will have a profound impact on people’s futures. It will give options to those of us without them. Which in turn will lead more people to thrive, thus creating safer, more just and prosperous communities. We have a shared moral responsibility to respond to global challenges in an equitable manner. In our most recent report, we are looking at 2021 funding data and 2022 political stances adopted by thirteen European governments and the EU institutions with regards to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Watch our video to get an overview of the findings and download the below resources for more information.

Over the last few years, the EU has been facing many challenges in the realization of its core values: the rule of law, democracy, human rights, equality, especially gender equality, and women’s rights. The upcoming years are an opportunity for the EU to reflect on the direction it wants to take, the values it should stand for, and what more it can do to uphold and defend them. The EU should strive towards a world where everyone can enjoy the same rights, and lead free and safe private and family lives, free from sexism, coercion, and violence. In this crossroads moment, the upcoming three Council of the EU Presidencies – Sweden, Spain, and Belgium – have a critical role to play to uphold EU values. We call on them to adopt a feminist approach and show stronger leadership to further advance gender equality and women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in the EU and beyond. Read below our recommendations to the next Presidencies to lead the EU on a feminist path.