On 23 November, the Delegation of the European Union to China held at its premises a panel discussion to mark the International Day for Eradication of Violence Against Women. The event was open by the EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis and received the support of UN Women China, represented by Head of the Office Smriti Aryal.
In his remarks, Ambassador Chapuis echoed the EU’s commitment to Human Rights and to contribute to more gender equality and women’s empowerment across the world. He reminded that no country in the world is on track to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.
In the EU, the progress in women’s rights has been uneven, and we still have to tackle problems of women’s participation, gender pay gap and domestic violence. In China, progress has been made towards gender equality, however, millions of women continue to be victims of domestic violence, and the #MeToo movement has been cracked down upon. Recently the world has been concerned about the cases of female activists, such as citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, female rights campaigner Sophia Huang Xueqin and the champion tennis-player Peng Shuai.
The European Union is striving to promote gender equality and to contribute to women’s empowerment across the world. In its international partnerships and political dialogues with third countries, the EU includes a strong gender focus. Ambassador Chapuis noted that the Gender Action Plan on Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025, endorsed by the EU and its Member States in November 2020, highlights the importance of the awareness, prevention and support to victims of gender based violence. He also highlighted several EU projects developed with civil society and the coordinated efforts with UN Women.
The panel “Eradicate Violence against Women: Our common goal” welcomed contributions from several civil society representatives and NGOs that have long partnered with the EU in raising awareness and prevention of gender-based violence, as well as in supporting victims of sexual violence. Five speakers joined a rich discussion on relevant topics, including SUN Haihua, from Shaanxi Gender Development Solutions; HE Ting, from Great Britain China Centre (GBCC); LI Hailong, from Beijing Chaoyue Adolescent Social Work Services Agency; JIANG Yi, from Save the Children; and YUAN Chunzi, from RNW media’s project ‘Justice for Her’.
This panel discussion was open to diplomats and press.
Ambassador Chapuis’ full speech delivered at this event can be found here:
EU Delegation holds panel discussion to mark International Day for Eradication of Violence Against Women - European External Action Service (europa.eu)
