women's rights

For years, Polish women have faced systemic oppression, driving constant shifts in feminist activism strategies. The past decade has been particularly turbulent under the rule of Law and Justice, sparking mass protests but also fostering the growth of new grassroots initiatives, strengthening solidarity and resilience. What are the current realities of the feminist movement in Poland, and how is it driving societal change?

Presidents’ column: Pregnancy termination is still a criminal offence in Germany under section 218 of the Criminal Code, with serious consequences for access to abortion and women’s right to self-determination. There can only be one answer to this.

Violence against women is particularly alarming, as one in three women have been subjected to physical or sexual violence. In this article, lawyer Aikaterini Georgiadou provides an unparalleled critical review of the legislative framework for gender-based violence in Greece. She examines the provisions of the Istanbul Convention and the severe concerns reflected in GREVIO's evaluation report about the implementation of the Convention in Greece. Furthermore, she focuses in particular on the newly adopted EU Directive on combating violence against women, which Member States are obliged to transpose into their national law within three years.

In a blow to women across Europe, a crucial law to combat sexualized and digital violence was thwarted by Germany and France. With rape still not uniformly defined, and digital abuses narrowly defined, the fight for women's safety demands a stronger, unified front. Equal rights demand equal security.

In an interview for the Heinrich Böll Foundation Warsaw, Irena Cvetkovic talks strategies of dealing with structural discrimination, human rights situation in the Western Balkans, and creating a new progressive voice of the future.

Gendered disinformation online silences women in the public sphere. The disinformation and democratization expert Nina Jankowicz explains how.   

Despite the high number of rapes, the judicial progress that has been made, and the judgements passed by international, national and local courts, most of the affected women are still far from receiving compensation, reparations, or recognition as a victim.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine tragically continues with brutal shelling of civilian targets, escalating into a humanitarian catastrophe. At the forefront of all this is the masculinity of war which caused these horrors in the first place, and which allows for ignoring the voices of Ukrainian women at all levels.