Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 12 February 2020 - Strasbourg

Gender Equality Strategy (debate)

  Sylwia Spurek (S&D). – Madam President, I come from Poland, a country in which women are still not properly protected from violence; a country in which women who are living in villages still do not have proper access to health care, in which the burden of childcare is put on women, and only one per cent of men take paternity leave. I come from Poland, a country in which women do not have the right to safe and legal abortion.

The list of issues is long and the situation affects even more women with disabilities, the elderly, LGTBI, Roma women and Muslim women, and it is disgraceful that in the 21st century in the centre of Europe there are women who cannot enjoy their fundamental human rights. The ambition of the European Union should be to ensure unified standards and the highest level of protection of women’s human rights in all Member States. It should be the goal of Gender Equality Strategy.