Press Release, 27.11.2020

On 24 November, on the threashold of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November) and the launch of this year’s international campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence” Yabloko Gender Faction conducted international on-line conference “Situation with Protection of Women’s Rights in the situation of COVID lockdowns. International Experience”. The conference was held on the Zoom platform.

Nikolai Rybakov, Chairman of the Yabloko party, opened the conference. The conference moderators were Olga Radayeva, lawyer and First Deputy Chair of the Gender Faction of Yabloko, and Galina Mikhaleva, Professor of the Russian State Humanities University and Chair of the Gender Faction of the Yabloko party.

Speeches were made by:

Galina Mikhaleva, Chair of the Gender Faction of the Yabloko party, Professor of the Russian State Humanities University

Olga Nemanezhina, Ukraine head of the Rada of Women’s Initiatives NGO, head of the women’s branch of the Sila Ludei (People’s Power) party

Corina Fusu, Moldova, journalist, Political Advisor in the PartidulLiberal party, first Chair of the women’s organization of the party (since 2009), MP (2009-2015), Minister of Education of Moldova (2015-2017)

Tinatin Khidashili, Gerogia, Chair of the Civiс IDEA, Minister of Defence of Georgia (2015-2016)

Eugenia Ivanova, Belarus, Co-Chair of the feminist organisation “Adliga: Women for Full Citizenship”,  Co-Editor of the feminist almanac “Women in Politics: New Approaches to Political”

Tanja Jungqvist, Finland, Svenska Folkpartiet party, member of the Incoo Municipal Council, member of the party Council

Olga Shtannikova, Russia, head of the Apparat of the Ombudsman for Human Rights in St.Petersburg, member of the Yabloko party

It should be noted that 25 November the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November) and on the same day international campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence” starts. The “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” is an annual international campaign and has been held since 1991. The campaign starts on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. The campaign is used as an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. This years activists mark that during the COVID-19 lockdowns, as the world retreated inside homes, reports showed an upsurge in the already existing pandemic of violence against women.

The video of the conference: