Newsroom

There are no truly safe spaces for women. At home, at work, in public or online, 1 in 3 women and girls have experienced some form of gender-based violence. This ranges from hate, harassment, abuse, to physical and sexual violence. Women are being silenced and harmed - online and offline - every day, as the EU gender-based survey findings show. But we have the tools to fight it. By preventing violence before it starts, by strengthen legal protection, by funding support services for victims and by training police and healthcare professionals.
The FRA Director and colleagues took part in a number of engagements under the Disability Rights Week from 2 to 4 December in Brussels, organised by EU institutions.
FRA participated in the dissemination event of the EU-funded project ‘ECHOFunds’ which took place in Brussels on 3 December. The project looked into ways of preventing the funding of projects which are not in line with the Charter by the EU as required by the EU Common Provisions Regulation.
On 1-2 December, the Agency contributed to the conference on Human rights in local government practice in Gdansk. The event brought together more than 100 representatives from local councils, regions, and civil society organisations in Poland.
FRA joined the 4th plenary meeting of the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CDDEM) from 26 to 28 November in Strasbourg.
The European Union (EU) is legally required to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The EU’s accession aims to further strengthen the protection of human rights in Europe. In a Q&A note, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) outlines some of the key legal and operational implications of the accession. It highlights how EU law interacts with the ECHR and examines the links between the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Protecting persons with disabilities from violence in institutions requires legal guarantees, empowered monitoring, accessible justice and cultural change. All of these actions should be driven by the lived experience of persons with disabilities.
FRA held an online information session on 5 December for public authorities on the findings of the report Places of care = places of safety? Violence against persons with disabilities in institutions.
On 5 December, FRA shared insights from its work on digital accessibility and inclusion at the first Digital Accessibility Day in the European Parliament, held during Disability Rights Week.
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This December marks 25 years since the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission solemnly proclaimed the EU’s bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights. To honour this important occasion, a special edition of the 3rd Annual Online CharterXchange, will take place online from 8 to 9 December.
On 10 December, Human Rights Day, FRA and the Bulgarian Fund for Women will host a national outreach meeting in Sofia. The ‘Between Statistics and Reality: Domestic Violence in Bulgaria Beyond the Numbers’ event will discuss the latest EU data on violence against women.
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FRA will give a presentation during the plenary meeting of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The Center for the Study of Democracy and FRA will host a National Round Table spotlighting Roma equality and inclusion. The event will present the Roma survey 2024 results, revealing both progress and persistent gaps in poverty, education, housing, and discrimination.
On 11 December, FRA will take part in the Regional Human Rights Mechanisms Focal Points online meeting organised by the Global Operation Division of the UN Human Rights Office. FRA will join the meeting organised for regional human rights mechanisms from the European, Asian and Arab regions.
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The Agency’s Executive Board and Management Board will meet from 11 to 12 December.
FRA’s Director took part in the EU – Colombia Human Rights Dialogue on 1 December organised by the EU’s External Action Service in Brussels.
The civil society umbrella network Civil Society Europe awarded its Civil Dialogue Award for the first time. The award recognises good practices and initiatives of meaningful involvement of civil society organisations in EU policy making, by EU Institutions and bodies.
FRA took part in the working group on digital dimensions of migrant smuggling, coordinated by the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies Network. Participants from Europol, Frontex, the European Commission, EUAA, CEPOL, eu-LISA and FRA discussed ongoing counter-measures at the legislative, policy and operational levels.
FRA spoke at the launch event of the EU Charter for the defenders of civic spaces. The Charter is an outcome of research and discussions in the REVES network (European Network of Cities and Regions for the Social Economy) and its B.Right Spaces project.