Speeches

Madam President, 35 years have passed since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty which stipulates that all children in the world must be safe, healthy, have access to food, education, medical care, play, technology, happiness. 196 countries from the outset signed and ratified this treaty, because we all recognize that our children need us, they need our protection. We, too, need children, because children are the life of the future in the present. But today, 35 years after the treaty, it becomes clear that a signature is not enough, it does not make it self-evident that it will secure the rights of children around the world. Out there are children who are hungry, who are in danger, who are abused, who are abandoned, who do not go to school, who have no home, who have no country. Children who work, who don't have access to medical care. Children who have been addicted to the Internet since they were four years old. Out there are still children of an inferior god. The modern way of life, armed conflicts, some extreme cultural practices, economic instability, the pathologies of adult society are things for which children bear absolutely no responsibility, and yet they pay for them. And I wonder, if a child comes and looks us in the eye and asks us: Why? Why is all this happening? Why don't you stop them?", what will we say to them?

We have just heard you vulgarly attack fellow human beings who may have been born of the wrong sex or have fallen in love with the same sex as them. I would like to ask you very much, because you have labelled these people mentally ill, to tell us in what capacity you say this – if you are, for example, a psychiatrist – and whether there are any substantiated scientific samples to prove your claims.

Madam President, I think you have all been informed of the fact that a few Member States have decided to ban schools from speaking about inclusive ideas and views concerning the LGBTIQ community, and have even set financial penalties for all those who do not follow the law. I don't want to dwell on this decision anymore, because I don't want to become a partaker of these toxic and regressive homophobic beliefs. I prefer to focus on what the European Union envisions to be. A big hug for all people, where discrimination, racism, homophobia, prejudice, rejection and marginalization have no space. A dormitory of culture, where education and education will be the means to promote principles and values such as inclusion, acceptance, love, respect and solidarity. A Europe that fights to criminalise hate speech, not to punish hate speech and inclusion. I understand that for some it is difficult to get out of the cocoon of homophobia and racism, but for those of us who are not, we must fight not to succumb to any practice that will lead again to the marginalization and exclusion of people. We are here for them too, to be the concrete reinforcement of their voice and their representation. We are here to react when we see education and education being instrumentalised against democracy and human rights, and instead of being vehicles to fulfil our goals, we are sabotaging struggles that have been taking place for years in this room for the LGBTIQ community. Europe must not succumb to this fascism, because, if it succumbs, it has opened the door wide to discrimination and social injustices that we will see spread like gangrene in other fields, which we have been trying for years to cleanse from the carcinomas of racism and hatred. I have only been a Member of the European Parliament for a few months, and from the first moment I came here all I remember is everyone talking about a Europe that is open to diversity. But now I see that there are also a few Member States that do not want to move forward. This, however, should not hold all of us back, nor should members of the LGBTIQ community be left behind.

Mr President, today is the Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Not just physical, but all forms of violence. Every year this day arrives, when we count dead, abused, raped, beaten, leveled women, as if we were making a "violence fund". We're not doing something right. Are we not dealing enough with stereotypes? With beliefs about what a woman's place is? Today we often condemn practices in other countries that prohibit women from studying or working. In our own home in Europe, however, we allow models to be reproduced and perpetuated that want the woman to be called the weaker sex, to be considered the property of the partner, with the obligation to have children by sidelining her needs and desires. We condemn the practices of countries that force women into marriage, but we continue to promote those standards that want the woman to end up with a wealthy husband who will secure her financially, even if this entails absolute submission and dependence. And if the woman does not want to marry, then she is targeted as an "old maid". We condemn the practices of countries that prohibit women from speaking, but we here in Europe do not encourage them to speak more. "Don't talk, be patient, it will pass," the victims of the violence hear. 7 out of 8 women who are victims of violence do not dare to talk about it. They try to manage by themselves the shame and guilt that society creates for them anyway. Are you going to break up your house? Don't you think about your children? He can't, you did something to him and he treated you like that.” The victims of violence listen – and this one who finds the courage to speak at 8 again with remorse and guilt ends up fighting. Why do you say it now and not earlier? Why didn't you leave? Victims of violence don't want to listen anymore. They want to talk. And we who speak must be a little quiet if in every word we promote all those toxic stereotypes that will never be changed by any legislation. And if we can't be silent, at least let's change the narrative, the narrative about who we are, about how much we can, about what we want to be the position we choose and deserve. Europe has become accustomed to us in every crisis acting swiftly, effectively and unitedly. Isn't violence against women a crisis?

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in my country, Greece, recently, a group of underage girls organised the beating of a classmate via an online platform. The audio messages and visual material that came to light were shocking. The video of the beating went viral. The girl ended up in the hospital and her friends incited people to revenge through hate speech by posting on social media the details of the perpetrators. In Belgium, a man committed suicide after an artificial intelligence virtual conversationalist convinced him to sacrifice his life to stop climate change. In many Member States the platforms themselves are used to polarise and recruit young people for terrorist attacks. It is clear that new technologies are now a new channel for spreading extremist views and recruiting criminals. Europe must react and act. A good start has been made with the rules outlined in the Digital Services Act. But more pressure is needed. We must criminalise hate speech. The anonymity of the internet should be removed when necessary. We need to find a way to harness the dark side of artificial intelligence. It is necessary to control children's access to the internet and to explicitly prohibit it at specific childhoods for the good of all of us. In my country, our government has already incorporated the Digital Services Act. However, the Commission must monitor the implementation of the rule in all Member States. New technologies have much to offer humanity, but they can self-evidently be turned into hard weapons, capable of promoting terror, lies, fear, hatred, violence. It is up to us to change that.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. 84 million European citizens have admitted that they have experienced or are experiencing mental health problems. 51% of them were ashamed to acknowledge it. Imagine, then, how many people there are still out there who suffer inside their souls and dare not ask for help. The European Union is known to have mental health issues high on its agenda through an integrated approach. However, this ambitious plan has to fight a huge enemy: Prejudice. Nowadays, people who face mental challenges are socially stigmatized, resulting in marginalization, with great consequences in all areas of daily life. The lack of knowledge about the importance of mental health, the reasons why we are all vulnerable to mental challenges, but also the importance of both prevention and treatment, allows modern society to remain anchored in anachronistic rigidities. That is why we should start talking openly about mental health issues. We are no longer in obscurantist times, when mental illnesses were interpreted through superstition. We are going through a difficult modern era, which through its demands makes us all candidates for mental disorders. But that shouldn't scare us. Psychiatry and psychology have made leaps and bounds so that they can now map the mind and soul, as well as the rest of the body. Finally, we must all, when we feel the need for help, either for ourselves or for familiar people, have the courage to ask for it without guilt, addressing experts, but real experts with certified studies from higher education institutions, who will have the knowledge, experience and skills to undertake the healing of our soul.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, in Greece I have a daughter who is 6 years old. She likes ice cream, she started school, she likes going to the swings and playing with her dolls. She does what all the little girls in the world do. Or not all the girls in the world? In Iraq right now political leaders are trying to pass a law that through a series of despicable acts against women will pave the way for the marriage of little girls. From the age of just nine. Nine-year-old girls will be forced to marry men of all ages who have the right to have sex with them and have children. Nine-year-old girls will be deprived of education, they will become victims of sexual and not just abuse, they will put their lives at risk from pregnancy in childhood and adolescence. Here we are not just dealing with rape and the violation of women's rights, but with the vulgar violation of children's rights. And Europe is taking a stand. It is in this context that I address the political leaders of Iraq. We, what is going to happen in Iraq, here in Europe, we call paedophilia. It's a brutal crime and it's severely punished. What do you call it, and how can you even want to allow it by law?

Κύριε Πρόεδρε, αγαπητοί συνάδελφοι. Βρισκόμαστε στη Γαλλία όπου δικάζεται η φρικιαστική υπόθεση βιασμού της Ζιζέλ Πελικό. Γι ́ αυτό επιτρέψτε μου να μιλήσω στα γαλλικά. The defendants, her husband and more than 50 men raped the victim after the husband drugged her. More than 200 rapes were committed over a ten-year period. The perpetrators are all accused of rape because, in addition to the visual material found in Mr. Pelicot's possession, there is also his own admission that confirms the facts. But if this evidence did not exist, the law would leave everyone free to dispute that Gisèle Pelicot was raped, because France, among other countries, rejected the proposal of the European Commission and the European Parliament to classify any sexual act without consent as rape. The case of Gisèle Pelicot justifies the European Commission's proposal, which the European Parliament, and especially the European People's Party, strongly supported by stressing the need for a definition of rape that leaves no one with the possibility of exploiting, abusing and raping women, even through chemical submission, as in the case of Gisèle Pelicot and thousands of other women across Europe. Ο βιασμός, κυρίες και κύριοι συνάδελφοι, θεωρείται από τα πιο ειδεχθή εγκλήματα που αφορούν στις γυναίκες και όπως φαίνεται δεν τελείται πάντα μόνο από αγνώστους, στο σκοτάδι και με την απειλή όπλου. Μια γυναίκα μπορεί να βιαστεί από τον ίδιο της τον άντρα, από άτομα του οικείου περιβάλλοντος, χωρίς απαραίτητα να ασκηθεί βία πάνω της πριν από τον βιασμό της. Κι εφόσον μιλάμε για έμφυλη βία, μην ξεχάσουμε ναναφέρουμε πως η στοχοποίηση του θύματος, η αμφισβήτηση των ισχυρισμών του αλλά κα κοινωνικά στερεότυπα που θέλουν συχνά το θύμα να προκάλεσε τον βιασσμό τουου, είναι κι αυτά μια μορφή βίας που θα έπρεπε να καταπολεμήσουμε. Η Ευρωπακή Ενωση, με τη στήριξη του Ευρωπακού Κοινοβουλίου και των μελών της Επιτροπής για τα Δικαιώμα των Γυναικών, έχεινήσει έναν πραγματικό αγώνα για την αντιμετώπιση της έμφυλης βίας, χαρίζοντας μας δύο ποπολύ σημαντικά εργαλία: τη Σύμβαση της Κωνσταντινούπολης και την πρόσφατη οδηγία για την καταπολέμηση της βίας κατά των γυναικών. Οφείλουμε να τα αξιοποιήσουμε.

Mr President, I have one minute to talk about women's rights in Afghanistan. So I have a minute to talk about something that just doesn't exist. Women in Afghanistan no longer have any fundamental rights. The Taliban regime and the abusive laws it imposes have taken care to violate women's rights to an absolute extent, with the aim of simply forcing them to roam a life without a real existence. Have you ever wondered how much strength, how much patience, how much courage it takes to be a woman in Afghanistan? How much fear, pain, injustice, terror, punishment, even death does this entail? What is happening in Afghanistan today is not just a gender apartheid. It is a real crime against humanity, a global disgrace. And as long as the Taliban try to trivialize, rivet, drain from life and silence women, we will become their strength and voice. Afghan women, you're not alone.

Mr President, I would very much like to read to you today some of the millions of messages that LGBTIQ people, people with disabilities and women receive every day, in addition to religious groups, on social media and beyond. However, the rules of this Chamber, which condemn and prohibit the use of abusive language and verbal violence, do not allow me to do so. No one, of course, accuses us of violating freedom of speech. Out there, however, in society, on social media, the use of verbal violence is not only allowed, but has increased sharply, with millions of people becoming victims of verbal abuse, ridicule, humiliation, and vilification. For their opinions, for their physical appearance, for their sexual orientation, for their possible disability, for their gender – considering that we women are high on the list of victims. All these people suffer, get sick, withdraw, often commit suicide. The marks of the soul may not seem like the marks on the body, but physical violence is punishable, and we accept it without feeling that the principle of free will is being violated. So why not punish verbal violence? Why should some have the right to flatten souls in the name of democracy, while in the same democracy they are punished when they flatten bodies? Why should the effort to tackle verbal violence be considered a violation of freedom of speech and not a social need? It's time to act. The time has come to find ways to make opinions heard without encroaching on some people's right to dignity, mental health and their own freedom. Our democracy is under attack by itself. Our democracy becomes violent because hate speech is a clear form of cruel human-to-human violence, in which we have unfortunately come to be spectators or, worse, voyeurs.