So many forms of violence against women
Protests and events are taking place around the world today to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Commentators in Europe's press denounce the many forms and structures in which this violence is manifested.
A fight for freedom, equality and dignity
In Le Monde, 20 female presidents of international parliamentary chambers reaffirm their commitment to strengthening women's rights in the world:
“Yes, more than ever, our parliamentary diplomacy must be diplomacy for women. ... We are ... committed to defending women's rights wherever they are trampled on and crushed: this is the case in Afghanistan of course, but also in Iran, and wherever fanaticism and obscurantism threaten them, including even in our own countries, where anti-rights movements are gaining ground and where the elimination of all forms of violence against women can never be taken for granted. This fight for equality, dignity and freedom is the fight of all women. It is a fight for our common humanity. We will never stop waging it.”
All these things are not normal
Avvenire rails against the normalisation of violence in everyday life:
“No, it is not normal for a colleague to pat another colleague on the bum, or to make jokes about her clothing in front of others in a meeting. No, it is not normal for a young man to install a tracker on his girlfriend's mobile phone, or to go through her private chats on WhatsApp. No, it is not normal for a woman to be followed into the entrance of her home when she returns from work or a dinner party, or for an ex-boyfriend to lie in wait for her under the pretext of 'one last talk'. Above all, it is not normal for all of this to be considered normal. ... It's as if a woman first has to be killed, raped or beaten before we can speak of violence.”
Embedded in socioeconomic structures
La Repubblica looks at the complex structure of violence:
“It can be physical, sexual, psychological or economic. It transcends territories, social classes, nationalities and age groups. It is the violence with which men exercise their will to possess and dominate women. And it depends not only on the men who exercise it, but also on the economic and social context that sustains it over a long period of time in which male domination has been articulated and stratified and discrimination against women has not been eliminated. The socio-economic context is primarily represented by labour. The situation in our country, where half of the women are not employed - and are therefore not economically independent - is serious.”