One more step towards gender equality in Barcelona
After Madrid, Bilbao and Valencia, Barcelona signed the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life on October 16, 2009.
The Charter was signed by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu.i Boher, as part of the meeting of the Commission of Local and Regional Elected Women of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR). More than 100 Spanish cities and regions have signed the charter, out of a total of 912 at the European level.
The working seminar was also an opportunity to discuss specific themes of the Charter and in particular its Article 22 on violence against women. The seminar participants were able to present the concrete actions taken by local authorities in this area.
The President of the Equality Commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), Ana Barceló Chico, presented her “guide for local authorities on raising awareness and preventing violence against women”. The guide is available in French, English and Spanish.
For his part, the mayor of Ugao Miraballes, Isaskun Landaida, a member of the Association of Basque Municipalities (EUDEL), explained the actions carried out by the new network of Basque municipalities to combat violence against women. The association has also published a guide for the implementation in Basque municipalities of actions in this area.
The representative of the Committee of the Regions, Alicia García Rodríguez, for her part presented the opinion on “Priority actions of local and regional authorities to prevent violence against women and improve assistance to victims”. The European Commission was represented by Juan Luis Barbolla Casas. The representative of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Juan Luis Barbolla Casas, presented the work of the European Commission in the field of gender equality.
The Director of Statutory Affairs and Institutional Relations of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), Emilia Saiz, and the European expert on gender equality from the United Nations, Françoise Gaspard, also spoke as part of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Gender, Diversity and Migration Officer
