Commenting on the situation of women on the occasion of International Day Against Violence Against Women, Swedish GUE/NGL MEP, Eva-Britt Svensson, who chairs the Parliament's Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee said "It is distressing to see how we still fail to protect women against violence."

However, she said it is a "complex problem which involves protecting the integrity of individual victims of crime but also protecting important common social interests, such as freedom and democracy."

MEP Svensson concluded by saying that "the European Union must therefore shoulder its responsibility and introduce the legislation required to put an end to the violence".

In her statement, Portuguese MEP Ilda Figueiredo, who is GUE/NGL coordinator on the Women's Rights Committee said "we join together today with all those people who are demanding effective measures to stop violence against women and my group also demands effective measures to eliminate violence, from prevention and repression of individual and collective violence, to accompanying both the victims and the perpetrators of this violence."

"Women suffer various forms of violence, including that resulting from gender discrimination. And when they belong to the poorer sections of society, they are sometimes victims of multiple forms of violence," she added.

"Therefore, public policies are urgent not only in this domain but also for the defence of workers' rights and fair wages, for access to health care, for education in equality and to ensure quality housing."

"But equally important we need to combat taboos and gender stereotypes, promote women's participation in social and political life and support women´s organizations," Ilda Figueiredo concluded.

GUE/NGL PRESS CONTACTS:

Gianfranco Battistini + 32 475 64 66 28
Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20
David Lundy + 32 485 50 58 12
www.guengl.eu
Gauche Unitaire Européenne/Nordic Green Left
European Parliamentary Group