Violence against women, a plague faced by all countries, and the need to continue improving relevant legislation were the subjects of the debate titled „Gender Equality: Legislation and Best Practices in Romania and Latin America” organized on Monday at the Palace of Parliament by the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on equal opportunities for women and men and the Embassy of the Republic of Chile, and which saw the participation of members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Romania, according to Agerpres.

In the opening of the event, the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on equal opportunities between women and men, Dan Tanasa from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, gave a historical presentation on the importance of the women’s role in Romanian society, stressing that Romanian women were deeply engaged in the modernization process and even rose to battle, fighting „side by side” with their fathers, husbands, brothers and children.

Social Democrat deputy Georgeta-Carmen Holban, deputy chair of the Committee on equal opportunities, noted that important steps have been taken at the level of the European Union regarding gender equality, and said that internal and external actions must be strengthened so that women’s empowerment becomes the central goal of a common agenda.

Liberal MP Mara Calista, deputy chair of the Committee on equal opportunities, said that there are two major problems in Romania when it comes to violence against women, specifically the authorities that implement the calls for laws, and the qualified staff.

Human rights expert Lorena Fries, member of the Committee on equal opportunities of Chile’s Chamber of Deputies, emphasized that violence against women is a global problem, and that a problem specific to her country is violence against women in politics.

Luminita Popescu, Secretary of state with the National Agency for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, said that the institution is currently running a series of particularly important projects aimed at creating services for the victims of domestic violence.

Cuba’s ambassador in Bucharest Deborah Leticia Valedon believes that there are two ways to combat gender violence – setting in place an adequate legal framework, and education.

Ours was a patriarchal society. In 1960 a large organization – the Federation of Cuban Women – came into being, which has since focused on ensuring that women have equal opportunities at the workplace and in education and has fought to combat prejudice. Efforts have been made to ensure gender equality through laws and cooperation between various ministries, such as the Ministry of Education. National centers have been established for pregnant women, for single women, for those in vulnerable situations, for the elderly, for victims of domestic abuse. (…) The subject of equal opportunities is a very important subject. (…) Progress has been made regarding the participation of women in the country’s political and social life. (…) There are still challenges to having an effective compliance, we still need to build a culture among the youth and have a higher level of awareness, Deborah Leticia Valedon showed.

Also attending the event were Silvana Polich – representative of the Brazilian Embassy in Bucharest, the chairperson of the Chamber of Deputies’ Education Committee Natalia Intotero, and other guests. The event was moderated by deputy Oana Murariu from the Save Romania Union, deputy chair of the Committee on human rights, religions and national minorities.

Agerpres