As we stand on the cusp of the 2024 European Parliament elections, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in our ongoing journey towards gender equality and the eradication of gender-based violence against women. Amidst a backdrop of escalating challenges, from the resurgence of far-right extremism to economic instability and global health crises, it is imperative that we steadfastly uphold the principles of gender equality and human rights. We must elect representatives who are unwavering in their dedication to advancing feminist agendas, prioritising the safety and well-being of women and girls, and dismantling the structures of oppression that perpetuate gender-based violence.
Action Plan for a Feminist Future: WAVE’s Direct Asks to MEPs
- Prioritize Primary Prevention Efforts: Allocate resources and support initiatives focused on primary prevention of gender-based violence against women, including comprehensive sexual education, promoting autonomy for women and girls, ensuring access to reproductive rights and health services, and advancing intersectional equality.
- Facilitate Transposition Workshops: Organize workshops to aid in the transposition of EU directives related to gender equality and violence against women into national legislation, fostering consistent implementation across member states.
- Finalize Recommendations on Harmful Practices: Expedite the finalization of recommendations aimed at combating harmful practices like female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and honour-based violence, ensuring robust protective measures for women and girls.
- Strengthen EU Network on Prevention: Enhance the EU network on the prevention of gender-based violence, providing a more prominent role for feminist civil society organizations in shaping prevention strategies and initiatives.
- Challenge Gender Stereotypes: Launch targeted campaigns and initiatives to challenge and dismantle gender stereotypes, addressing the root causes of gender-based discrimination and promoting gender equality in all spheres of society.
- Collect Comprehensive Data: Sustain efforts to collect comprehensive data on violence against women and domestic violence in alignment with EU directives, enabling evidence-based policymaking and effective interventions.
- Close Gender Gaps: Continue efforts to close gender gaps in society, including those related to salaries, care responsibilities, and access to opportunities in the labor market, with strategies to promote equal pay and redistribute care responsibilities.
- Implement EU Care Strategy: Ensure effective implementation of the EU Care Strategy, particularly in childcare, long-term care, and childhood education, to promote gender equality in caregiving roles and alleviate the burden primarily borne by women.
- Support Migrant and Undocumented Women: Reject hypocritical policies toward migrant, undocumented, asylum-seeking, and refugee women, addressing neocolonial practices that exploit their labor while denying them rights and support.
- Exercise Caution with EU Migration and Asylum Pact: Exercise caution in implementing the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, particularly concerning its implications for migrant, undocumented, asylum-seeking, and refugee women, ensuring adherence to international responsibilities and commitments.
- Enforce Pay Transparency Measures: Implement robust pay transparency measures to address gender pay gaps and promote women’s rights in the workplace, empowering women to advocate for fair and equal compensation.
- Advocate for Gender Equality in Political Representation: Champion gender equality in the European Parliament and the European Commission, ensuring women’s equal representation in leadership positions and decision-making bodies at all levels, including within EU institutions and EP offices. Additionally, support the continuation and strengthening of the FEMM Committee to address gender equality issues effectively.
- Ensure a Commissioner for Gender Equality and Combatting Violence: Advocate for the continued presence of a Commissioner dedicated to advancing gender equality and combating violence against women, ensuring these critical issues receive attention and resources.
- Secure Abortion Rights: Take further action on the legal access to abortion at the EU level and adopt the call of feminists on the European Citizens’ Initiative to secure abortion rights in Europe.
- Enhance Support for Peacebuilding: Increase financial resources for feminist organizations that support the peace movement, taking to heart the role of women in peacebuilding as per the Women, Peace and Security UN Resolutions.
These direct asks are aligned with our manifesto’s vision for a feminist future in the 2024 European Parliament elections.
