Narrowing the gap between rhetoric and practice to protect women and girls from violence at the core of the 3rd Workshop held in Madrid, Spain on the 3 July

European Network of Migrant Women participated in the 3rd Workshop for the Empowerment of Women, organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Casa Árabe.  ENOMW’s Strategy Coordinator Anna Zobnina chaired the session “Building cross-border cooperation in protecting refugee and asylum seeking women and girls”, with the speakers from the UN WOMEN, Gender and Migration Unit, and IOM’s Human Trafficking Focal Point.

The Workshop tackled the protection of women and girls against gender-based violence to bridge the gap between existing solutions and international standards and their effective implementation, as well as to explore the current potential of the regional and multi-stakeholder cooperation. As such a wide topic, the Workshop delved into two focus topics: the cross-border cooperation in protecting refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls and the domestic implementation of the victim-centred approach.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

“Narrowing the gap between the rhetoric and practice to protect women from violence”

9:30-10:00: Registration

10:00-10:30: Opening session

H.E. Mr Manuel Montobbio, Chair of the NorthSouth Centre Executive Committee

Mr Pedro Martínez Avial, Director General of Casa Árabe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spain

H.E. Mr Francisco Ribeiro de Menezes, Ambassador of Portugal in Spain

10:30-10:45: Keynote address: Ms Ángeles Moreno Bau, UnderSecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, Spain

10:45-11:15: Coffee Break

11:15-12-15: SESSION 1: Domestic implementation of the victim-centred approach

Moderator: Ms Randa Siniora, General Director of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, Palestine 

Discussion with:

– Ms Mehrinaz El Awady, Director of the Centre for Women, UN ESCAW

– Dr. Pilar Vilaplana García, Member of the Advisory Board, Government Delegation for Gender Violence, Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the courts and Equality

12:15-13:00: Public discussion on SESSION 1 – recommendations, proposals for action, testimonies

13:00-14:30: Lunch Break

14:30-15:30 – SESSION 2: Building cross-border cooperation in protecting refugee and asylum seeking women and girls

Moderator: Anna Zobnina, Strategy & Policy Coordinator, European Network for Migrant Women

Discussion with:

– Ms Inkeri von Hase, Policy Specialist, Gender and Migration, UN Women

– Ms Georgina Lara, Human Trafficking Focal point, International Organisation for Migration

– Ms. Cécile Gréboval, Gender Equality Unit, Council of Europe

15:30-16:00 – Public discussion on SESSION 2 – recommendations, proposals for action, testimonies

16:00-16:20 Coffee Break

16:20 -17:10: Youth for gender equality: (15/20 minutes presentation of good practice Q&A+ 10 minutes to share youth recommendations)

Winner of the youth-led initiative to combat violence against women: Ms Vedrana Frasto and Ms Medina Mujic , CURE Foundation, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Report on recommendations drafted by youth: Ms Sodfa Daaji, Co-Chair of Afrika Youth Movement, Tunisia/Italy

17:10-17:30: Closing remarks: sessions’ reports and conclusions

Report session 1: Ms Fatima Outaleb, President of Union of Feminine Action, Morocco

Report session 2: Ms Nuha Muhreiz, President of Women helping Women Network, Jordan

Mr José Caroço, North-South Centre Executive Director