On 16 – 17 April 2015, 90 Parliamentarians from 50 countries and experts, representatives of international organisations and civil society gathered at the German development ministry in Berlin for “She Matters: The 2015 International G7/G20 Parliamentarians’ Conference – Empowering women and girls to lead self-determined, healthy and productive lives”. WFC partnered with the organisers – the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF), Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) and the German All Party Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development for this conference. Karin Heisecke, Senior Project Manager, participated as a speaker in the session “Addressing violence against women and girls – Guaranteeing women and girls’ safety and bodily integrity”. Delegates adopted a very ambitious appeal, calling the G7/G20 to step up their commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, and women’s and girls’ human rights.
The WFC was also invited to address the Council meeting of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) on 18 April 2015. EPF invited the WFC to provide expertise and support their work notably on ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention (the Vision Future Policy Award 2014 winner), in particular in ensuring a strong role for national Parliaments in the monitoring of implementation.