EU Delegation holds panel discussion to mark International Day for Eradication of Violence Against Women

On 23 November, the Delegation of the European Union to China held at its premises a panel discussion to mark the International Day for Eradication of Violence Against Women. The event was open by the EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis. Smriti Aryal, Head of UN Women China was invited to present at the event.

In his remarks, Ambassador Chapuis echoed the EU’s commitment to Human Rights and to contribute to more gender equality and women’s empowerment across the world. He reminded that no country in the world is on track to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.

In the EU, the progress in women’s rights has been uneven, and we still have to tackle problems of women’s participation, gender pay gap and domestic violence. In China, progress has been made towards gender equality, however, millions of women continue to be victims of domestic violence, and the #MeToo movement has been cracked down upon. Recently the world has been concerned about the cases of female activists, such as citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, female rights campaigner Sophia Huang Xueqin and the champion tennis-player Peng Shuai.

The European Union is striving to promote gender equality and to contribute to women’s empowerment across the world. In its international partnerships and political dialogues with third countries, the EU includes a strong gender focus. Ambassador Chapuis noted that the Gender Action Plan on Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025, endorsed by the EU and its Member States in November 2020, highlights the importance of the awareness, prevention and support to victims of gender based violence. He also highlighted several EU projects developed with civil society and the coordinated efforts with UN Women.

The panel “Eradicate Violence against Women: Our common goal” welcomed contributions from several civil society representatives and NGOs that have long partnered with the EU in raising awareness and prevention of gender-based violence, as well as in supporting victims of sexual violence. Five speakers joined a rich discussion on relevant topics, including SUN Haihua, from Shaanxi Gender Development Solutions; HE Ting, from Great Britain China Centre (GBCC); LI Hailong, from Beijing Chaoyue Adolescent Social Work Services Agency; JIANG Yi, from Save the Children; and YUAN Chunzi, from RNW media’s project ‘Justice for Her’.

This panel discussion was open to diplomats and press.

Find below Ambassador Chapuis’ full speech delivered at this event:

Opening remarks

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Beijing, 23 November 2021

Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues and partners,

I would like to thank you for being here at the Delegation of the European Union to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Upholding women's rights is a cornerstone of the European Union's commitment to human rights. Violence against women and girls remains one of the most widespread and devastating human rights violations in the world. It can affect any and every society. It can happen anywhere: at home, at work, in education, in public spaces and increasingly online.

In many countries, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated existing gender inequalities.  COVID-19 lockdowns in many countries have led to an increase in domestic violence and sexual abuse.  At the same time, a significant part of the burden of care has fallen on women and girls.  The adverse effects of school closures have also fallen disproportionately on girls.

While there has been some significant progress achieved in advancing women’s and girls’ rights, women’s participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life, no country in the world is on track to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.

In the EU, the progress in women’s rights has been uneven, and we still have to tackle problems of women’s participation, gender pay gap and domestic violence. In China, progress has been made towards gender equality, however, millions of women continue to be victims of domestic violence, the #MeToo movement has been cracked down upon and female activists are victims of human rights violations. On this day, the EU puts a spotlight on the fact that the women’s rights should be respected globally and there is no place for violence against women in any society.

The EU has publicly denounced the detention and ill-treatment of the citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, and has requested Chinese authorities her immediate and unconditional release. The EU is concerned about the disappearance of independent journalist and prominent #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin, who went missing and according to reports is now in detention.. The case of the champion tennis-player Peng Shuai has created resonance among the EU Member states. There is a wall of silence from the Chinese side.

The European Union is striving to promote gender equality and to contribute to women’s empowerment across the world. In its international partnerships and political dialogues with third countries, the EU includes a strong gender focus.

In November 2020, the EU and its Member States endorsed the Gender Action Plan on Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025, GAP III. The Action Plan aims to accelerate progress on empowering women and girls, and safeguard gains made on gender equality during the 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action. GAP III highlights the importance of the awareness, prevention and support to victims of gender based violence.

I want to highlight our co-operation with the office of UN Women in China, including the ongoing programme “Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women at Work in Asia or “WeEmpower Asia”. It helps to enhance the power of businesses to enable women’s full participation and leadership in economic life, involving government officials, the private sector, international organizations, academia and civil society organizations.

The European Union has a long history of co-operation with civil society and NGOs active against violence against children and women.  I would like to highlight some of their work:

• Shaanxi Gender Development Solutions has carried out transformative work in the area of  Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) through the provision of maternal care services;
• through social media, RNW Media has fought to reduce stereotyping and gender based violence, as well as improving access to justice by providing legal aid to women migrant victims of abuse.
• Other EU-funded projects focus on the support to victims of sexual violence. For instance, the Beijing Chaoyue Adolescent Social Work Agency, Great Britain China Centre (GBCC) and Save the Children work on supporting child victims of sexual abuse and establish one-stop centres in China to introduce child- and gender-sensitive handling of victims of abuse.

We will listen with great interest to the experience and best practice that the representatives of civil society and NGOs will share with us this evening. The panel of experts will bring visibility to their actions, preventing and fighting gender based violence and domestic violence, promoting awareness and advocacy on gender equality and women empowerment, improving capacity building for support to victims of sexual abuse. The panel will also look into the implementation of the gender equality policies, and sustainability of gender actions.

I hope that marking this significant date will give hope and inspiration to work towards a more inclusive and equal society.

I wish you a very successful event.