Beijing Platform for Action

All EU Member States have criminalised some forms of violence against womenand, together with the EU institutions, have worked to strengthen legal frameworks and better determine the scale of the phenomenon. At EU level, gender-based violence is a policy priority, as reflected in the strategy for equality between women and men (2010-2015) and in the follow-up strategic engagement for gender...

The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) underlined the importance of women’s participation in conflict resolution and the promotion of lasting peace. It also recognised that women have the right to protection, as they are at particular risk of being targeted by violence in conflict, such as conflict-related sexual violence and forced displacement. These themes were later incorporated in the United...

Women’s economic empowerment has long been a feature of EU policy, but the shift in priorities in the aftermath of the economic crisis has left the employment policy largely gender blind. Thus the Europe 2020 strategy includes a target of having 75 % of the working age population in employment by 2020 but does not distinguish between women and men...

Recent years have seen considerable focus on the representation of women in political and economic decision-making by EU institutions. Both the European Parliament and the European Commission put in place actions to encourage politicians in the Member States to introduce measures to improve and accelerate gender balance in political and economic leadership positions. The European Commission has continued to promote...

Gender equality is one of the fundamental values of the EU. Since 1996, the EU Commission has committed itself to a dual approach, which involves ‘mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies, while also implementing specific measures to eliminate, prevent or remedy gender inequalities’ (1). More recently, the 2013 Council conclusions on institutional mechanisms highlighted the mainstreaming principle within all...

All EU Member States have obligations to eliminate discrimination against women and ensure that they fully enjoy their human rights. The long-standing Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women is the basis for this. Since 2013, there have been several developments within EU policy that are relevant to the human rights of women. First, the Istanbul...

The EU’s overarching gender equality commitments and measures have rarely addressed women and the media. The media were not mentioned as a priority in the European Commission’s strategic engagement for gender equality 2016-2019 or in the Council of the EU’s pact for equality between women and men 2011-2020. Nevertheless, the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2018) marked a significant development...

The climate change policy agenda in the EU is driven by the EU’s 2020 climate and energy package, which sets out broad targets to be achieved by 2020. The EU is expected to integrate gender equality concerns into its climate change and other environmental policies. Furthermore, under the strategic engagement for gender equality (2016-2019), the Commission has committed to reporting...

Since 2013, the EU has developed several important policies with relevance to the health of girls. These relate to tackling obesity and promoting safe sexual relations. The EU action plan on childhood obesity (2014) highlighted gendered aspects of obesity and called for healthier environments and restrictions on marketing to children. The European Parliament’s resolution on eliminating gender stereotypes (2013) called...

Although the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) was established 25 years ago, many of the challenges identified in 1995 remain relevant today (such as the gender pay gap, unequal distribution of unpaid work or experiences of gender-based violence, to name just a few). This report both tracks progress against these long-standing challenges and goes beyond them to assess new challenges...

Digital technology has changed many things in our lives, but how is it affecting gender equality? Digitalisation has transformed the character of the labour market, changed the way we interact with our friends, shaped political participation, is impacting the future of work and also carries the risk of cyber violence. All of the above present new challenges, but also offer...