Legislative actions to prevent violence against women in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
On Friday, May 8, 2020, ParlAmericas held its first virtual meeting organized by the Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality (PNGE), which explored legislative actions to prevent violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This meeting was attended by parliamentarians and parliamentary officials from 14 countries in Latin America. Panellists Yeliz Osman, Policy Specialist on Ending Violence Against Women at the UN Women Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean; Member of the National Assembly Karina Arteaga (Ecuador), PNGE Vice-President for South America; Member of the Chamber of Deputies Marcela Sabat (Chile), PNGE Alternate Vice-President for South America; and Senator Verónica Camino (Mexico), PNGE Vice-President for North America, shared valuable experiences and preventive measures that can be adopted by parliaments to respond to the growing incidence of violence against women, especially domestic violence, during this pandemic. The session featured concluding remarks from Member of the Legislative Assembly Cristina Cornejo (El Salvador), PNGE Vice-President for Central America.
Member of the National Assembly Elizabeth Cabezas (Ecuador), President of ParlAmericas, stated that “it is evident that public health and economic impacts have been the focus of our efforts in this first stage, but we cannot leave aside other silent and shameful epidemics that persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, like the epidemics of violence against women, and also against children and youth.” In addition, Member of the Chamber of Deputies Maya Fernández Allende (Chile), President of the PNGE, issued a call to “put women’s safety and integrity, through legislative actions to prevent gender-based violence, at the centre of parliamentary responses to COVID-19.”
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