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Need to fight the systemic problem of gender-based violence in Europe (debate)
Ladies and Gentlemen, women's organisations estimate that more than 800,000 women in Poland experience violence every year. Unfortunately, the scale of this phenomenon is still growing. These figures are not just cold facts - behind them lies drama, suffering, fear, and sometimes life lost forever. As the European Union, we must support all actions that combat violence against women. We must step up our efforts to legislate, educate, support victims and punish perpetrators. But above all, there is a need to increase the reporting of cases of violence against women, which is still dramatically low. Here I would like to stress the importance of social campaigns such as the 16 days of gender-based violence, which play a key role in raising public awareness. Thanks to such initiatives, we can break the silence around violence, which is often hidden and underestimated. I myself, for many years, have been patronizing in my region, the Silesian Voivodeship, many events supporting women in this field and I co-organize such events. But campaigns aren't everything. We need coherent European legal solutions and financial support for anti-violence programmes. The European Union should strengthen its monitoring of the implementation of the Istanbul Convention and support local initiatives that directly help women in need. That no woman in the European Union will ever again be left without help.