Parents’ contribution to the European public consultation on ‘challenges of work-life balance’

The European Commission launched a public consultation on a roadmap on ‘possible action to address the challenges of work-life balance faced by working parents and caregivers’. The roadmap openly declares that “the main reason behind the initiative is to address the low participation of women in the labour market by modernising and adapting the current EU legal and policy framework to today's labour market”. On behalf of European parents, EPA as a registered lobby organisation contributed to the public consultation emphasising that issues of reconciliation parents are facing are much broader than measures pushing women to participate at the labour market. First of all, it is important for us to demand the use of another phrase ‘work-life balance’ as it suggests that work is not part of life while it is.

Violence against women is more common in the EU than you would ever think

A new report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presents results from the world’s biggest-ever survey on violence against women, revealing the extent of abuse suffered by women at home, work, in public and online. As well as demonstrating the wide prevalence of violence against adult women, the report also details incidents of physical and sexual violence experienced by women in childhood. The survey shows that policy makers need to recognise the extent of violence against women, and ensure that responses meet the needs and rights of all victims of violence against women in practice and not just on paper.