Safety, dignity and equality for all women”

On 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) renews its struggle for a world free from violence, exploitation and war, recalling that in 2025 we will also celebrate 80 years of international trade union commitment alongside workers around the world.

Violence against women is never an individual or private matter. It is rooted in the power structures of capitalism, economic and social inequalities, patriarchal culture and the militarisation of territories. Wars, occupations and armed conflicts disproportionately affect women, increasing poverty, instability and insecurity. Similarly, economic exploitation, low wages, precarious work, lack of rights and the reduction of public services fuel violence and discrimination.

The WFTU fights for a world where women’s dignity and safety are top priorities, where work is safe and fairly paid, where every woman can live free from violence and fear. On this day, we remember in particular the situation in Palestine, where women today are suffering genocide and have been suffering the consequences of war, occupation and Israel’s policies of oppression for 77 years.

Trade union organisations affiliated to the WFTU have always maintained that the fight against violence against women is closely linked to the fight for workers’ rights, decent wages, safe housing, public education, healthcare and accessible social services. No woman can be free without access to economic resources, social protection and freedom from war and systemic violence.

On this day, the WFTU reaffirms:

• The need for effective legislation against all forms of violence, discrimination and exploitation;
• The right of women to safe work, decent wages and equal opportunities;
• The fight against imperialist wars and all forms of occupation;
• The right to education, contraception, social spaces and free public services, which are fundamental tools for women’s autonomy and protection;
• The need to combat patriarchy and the culture of violence, including through trade union campaigns, information campaigns and concrete actions on the ground.

The WFTU and its affiliates call on all trade unions and workers to mobilise, build international solidarity and support concrete actions against violence against women, predatory capitalism, exploitation and wars. Only collective struggle and the participation of workers can create a world where safety, dignity, equality and freedom are a reality for all women.

80 years of international trade union struggle.

Stop violence against women. Stop exploitation and war. Freedom and justice for Palestine.    Safety, dignity and equality for all women!

The post WFTU Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women first appeared on Labor Today.

25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

‘Safe Country, safe Home, safe Workplace

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN’

The 25^th of November has been designated by the UN as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

WFTU, on this occasion and under the slogan ‘Safe Country, safe Home, safe Workplace – STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN’ condemns violence against women and stresses that violence, wherever and in whatever form it may occur, has no place in society.  The struggle to eliminate violence is a priority of the class-oriented, progressive international trade union movement and its millions of members who struggle daily against all forms of exploitation and injustice through the ideals of peace, justice and equality.

Violence against women is not just a personal/individual problem, but a social one, a global scourge that grows and thrives through the inequalities and diseases of the capitalist system. A system that has failed to create the conditions that prevent such behavior, which is rooted in patriarchal perceptions and the abuse of power by the strong at the expense of the so-called “weaker” gender. As a result of this systemic failure, millions of people, the majority of them women, from all social strata, regardless of education, age and other characteristics, experience these inhuman and abhorrent behaviors.  Every woman has the right to live and work in dignity and security, without fear for her own life, and it is the duty of every state and every society to ensure this.

On this day in particular, we draw attention to women living under war conditions and experiencing all forms of violence, at the same time. In particular, we stand in solidarity and respect for the Palestinian woman who is experiencing the worst form of violence and human rights violations and demand an immediate end to the genocide and the war, so that  finally the people of Palestine can live in peace in their own independent homeland.

WFTU and its affiliates will continue the struggle to create a culture against all forms of violence, for a world where every woman and man can live freely, with dignity and safety, because violence also means the absence of rights and protections, the absence of alternatives to one’s own condition, but also the absence of economic independence, counselling centres, sex education in schools, social spaces, free contraception, a home to live in, an income that guarantees a dignified existence, a salary commensurate with one’s work, and free public territorial services.

stop violence against women and solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people against the genocide of Israel, USA and EU.

The post Declaration of the WFTU for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women first appeared on Labor Today.