The European society does believe in gender equality and women’s rights. Integrating the gender perspective in all policies and fighting against gender-based violence are inherent to our identity, and, they have become even more important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Promoting the values of the European Union is our way of protecting and ensuring the development of more democratic, inclusive, resilient, just and sustainable societies. Women, in the European Union and in many other parts of the world, today suffer from discrimination, violations of their fundamental rights, and inequality. From the European Parliament, and chiefly, from the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Renew Europe, we are committed to pushing for women’s rights, ending gender-based violence, and combating gender stereotypes both within and outside the EU borders.

Women to the Forefront is a space designed to give voice to women who are at the front of the struggle for human rights, and those who work for women’s rights and freedoms where they are violated as well as to push for major changes to achieve greater equality in our societies.

On March 8, the Commission presented the Proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence. The Commission proposal was a historic milestone for more than 250 million European women and girls. The European Parliament has started this November the legislative work on this Directive.

Soraya Rodríguez (Renew Europe) analyzes the text proposed by the Commission, the aspects to be worked on during the parliamentary process and the main challenges ahead in the procedure.

On 24 June, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark ‘Roe vs Wade’ ruling which, since 1973, had guaranteed the voluntary termination of pregnancy as a constitutional right.

This decision not only threatens to deny freedom and bodily autonomy to US citizens. It is a trigger that is fuelling a threat that is taking place in many parts of the world and even in some EU Member States.

Trafficking in human beings is a serious crime, usually committed in the context of organised crime, which directly attacks the fundamental rights of those who are trafficked. The Directive 2011/36/EU, adopted in 2011, aims to strengthen the prevention of this crime. It brings a comprehensive, gender and human rights approach to the fight against trafficking in human beings.

The Simone Veil Pact, representing a political commitment by Member States to adopt the most progressive measures in women's rights, aims to make a reality of equality between women and men as a fundamental right at the heart of the European project.