Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a discussion in the European Parliament was led on the subject with the goal of promoting the fight against violence against women, which is still present in all countries regardless of their level of democratic and economic development.

 
"The seven women a day are killed in the European Union and every third woman is a victim of violence. But these are not numbers, these are specific names and lives. Each year on the 25th of November we have the same debate, unfortunately only symbolically. We can no longer wait and watch one of the greatest violations of human rights happening, and that is violence against women. The statistics are devastating. We advocate for the rights of minorities, so why wouldn't we rally for half of the population, for women young and old, for women in cities and in villages, for women with education and those who were not so lucky, and for the rich and the poor," said MEP Dubravka Šuica.
 
An encouraging sign is tomorrow's award of the Sakharov Prize, which has been won by Denis Mukwege, a fighter for the rights of the dignity of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as last year's Sakharov Prize, which was given to little Pakistani girl who is fighting for women's right to education.
 
"The Holy Father said today that it is necessary to put human dignity at the center of events, and we can ask ourselves whether there is greater dignity than respect for women? If we can agree on how to save banks through the banking union, how can we not agree on the fight against violence towards women," asked Šuica.
 
"I wil also use this opportunity to call on the parliaments of Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention because so far only eight states have done so. It is commendable that the Commission explicitly mentions gender equality within the department of Vera Jourova, so we hope for progress in this area", concluded Šuica.
 
It is interesting that in answering questions to Europarliamentarians Jourova admitted that she herself was a victim of violence several years ago. So they are not numbers or statistics, but actual women!