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The National Council of Women Annual General Meeting “Towards a regeneration for the Future”
NCW Malta Annual General Meeting 2021 was held at The Palace Hotel Sliema on Thursday 22 July 2021 In her opening address, outgoing NCW President, Mary Gaerty, called on the Assembly to join her in a prayer for past members of NCW, for those who lost their life due to the Covid-19 and for the women whose lives were taken away due to femicide, which saw an increase during Covid-19.
Elimination of Violence against Women - 16 Days of Activism
Elimination of violence against women – 16 Days of Activism. You too can do something about it! The 25th of November is the kick off date for the annual international campaign of 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence. It starts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and runs till the 10th of December, Human Rights Day .
Human dignity should be respected at all times.
The National Council of Women would like to express its concern about the video posted online portraying men pelting a woman with eggs during a stag party. Human dignity should be respected at all times. As a society, we should condemn any type of abuse even if this is done by consent for financial gain.
OSCE/ODIHR anti-trafficking survey for survivors of trafficking in human beings
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has received numerous responses and has decided to extend the submission due date for the survey of survivors of human trafficking to Monday 26 August 2019.
NEW TASK FORCE AT EUROPOL TO TARGET THE MOST DANGEROUS CRIMINAL GROUPS INVOLVED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING
On 2 July, the Joint Liaison Task Force Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings (JLT-MS) was launched at Europol. This new operational platform will allow liaison officers from all EU Member States to step up the fight against constantly adapting criminal networks.
Malta is EU country with highest rate of tertiary education graduates in employment
A report in the Independent states that Malta stood above the EU average in 2018 when it came to the employment rate of graduates aged 20-34 who had attained a tertiary level education within the previous three years,
European Commission
On 2 July 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated by the European Council to the position of President of the European Commission; she will be the first women and the first German since Walter Hallstein
Equal opportunities and access to the labour market
1. Education, training and life-long learning Everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market. 2. Gender equality Equality of treatment and opportunities between women and men must be ensured and fostered in all areas, including regarding participation in the labour market, terms and conditions of employment and career progression. Women and men have the right to equal pay for work of equal value.
The gender pay gap in the EU and the European Pillar of #SocialRights
1. The gender pay gap in the EU is 16.2%, that’s 16.2% higher than it should be! Gender equality is the second key principle of the European Pillar of #SocialRights for a reason 2. The European Pillar of #SocialRights supports the right to equal treatment and opportunities regarding employment, social protection, education, and access to goods and services available to the public. Something NCW Malta has supported since its creation!
Gender Equality in the Media Sector
This study was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality. It examines key elements of the European policy agenda pertaining to gender equality in the media sector. It also reviews existing research on women's representation within media content and the media workforce. The study provides analysis of actions to promote gender equality in the media at both EU and Member State levels. Finally, it presents case studies of gender equality in the media sector in four Member States: Austria, Malta, Sweden, and the UK.
Empowering women and girls in media and ICT
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality is holding an inter-parliamentary committee meeting on empowering women and girls in media and ICT. The meeting, which will bring together EU institutional representatives, members of EU national parliaments, experts and stakeholders, will take place on 08 March 2018. The presentation and debates will deal with the topics of women shaping media, empowering women and girls through digital inclusion and women’s movements and advancing equality in the digital age.
Digital healthcare / health insurance
In the view of the EESC, given the digital revolution in the field of health, it is vital to maintain and promote a health insurance system which serves the needs of everyone, and is solidarity-based, inclusive and non-discriminatory. Inclusion and fair access for all to good quality health services (digital or otherwise) and commitment to these are in fact prerequisites for universal health coverage.
Gender equality in European labour markets
In order to improve gender equality in labour markets, the EESC considers it necessary to draw up an integrated and ambitious European strategy to tackle systemic and structural obstacles and lead to adequate policies, measures and EU funding programmes for improving equality between women and men, thus fostering "more equal economic independence of women and men" . This would also contribute to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Services to the family
Developing services in private homes in order to achieve a better work-life balance Every family has a home and clothes to maintain, meals to prepare, children to care for, elderly parents or ill or disabled family members who need help. Women often have to work part-time in order to carry out these tasks, missing out on the career for which they have trained or on time they would use for training.
Women and girls digital gender gap
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, attempts to reveal the links between the different factors (access, skills, socio-economic and cultural), which prevent women from having equal access to digital technology. It then suggests ways of dealing with online and offline inequalities to the effect of closing the digital gender gap and improving women’s and girls’ digital inclusion and future technology-related career paths.
Plastics, human health and environmental impacts: The road ahead
Plastics have been with us for more than a century, and by now they’re everywhere, for good and for ill. Plastic containers and coatings help keep food fresh, but they can also leave behind neurotoxins such as BPA in the human body. PVC is used for everything from pipes and flooring to furniture and clothes, but it contains compounds called phthalates that have been implicated in male reproductive disorders. Studies have also shown that childhood exposure to environmental pollutants can have significant negative effects later in life, including reduced labor force participation and even earnings.
European Commission aims to significantly reduce the gender pay gap
The European Commission plans to use a series of measures aimed at significantly reducing the pay gap between men and women over the next five years. The average gender pay gap in the EU currently stands at 18%. To lower this rate, the Commission plans to raise awareness among employers, encourage initiatives to promote gender equality and support the development of tools to measure the gender pay gap.
NCW Annual General Meeting 2019
NCW Annual General Meeting 2019 The Annual General Meeting of the National Council of Women was held on Saturday 26th January 2019, at The Victoria Hotel, Sliema. President Mary Gaerty spoke about the work which the Council has embarked on during 2018. This included pensions, education, violence against women, work and entrepreneurship, work life balance and the challenges faced by women on a daily basis. She also highlighted the fact that the National Council of Women is looking ahead at the constant changes
Work-life Balance
Better work-life balance for EU citizens: Presidency reaches provisional agreement with the European Parliament
The National Council of Women supports the Act to provide protection for human embryos
NCW has always advocated for legislation of alternative IVF treatment not least because of the sensitivity and the consequences for both parents and society if it had to remain unregulated. NCW believes that IVF treatment should be for heterosexuals within a stable family environment The Council has always supported the protection of embryos as the first cell of a human life and, with the development of alternative treatment over the past years this has become possible successfully.
Women on Boards: Vice-President Viviane Reding meets with leaders of Europe's business schools and i
Today, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding met with European Industry Associations, European Business Schools and Senior Executive Women to discuss progress being made on improving the gender balance in company boardrooms.
UfM adopts new project to support women’s empowerment in the Mediterranean
A project aimed at developing women’s empowerment in the Mediterranean through the development of effective field projects and the setting up of networks and platforms, was adopted by Senior Officials of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) at a meeting held last month.
Date: 30/12/2010
 

Seminar Caring for the Unborn Child

The Malta  Unborn Child Movement and the Swedish Embassy in Malta, in collaboration with the Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of  Malta and the Malta Midwives Association organised the Seminar - Caring for the Unborn Child at the Auditorium of Mater Dei Hospital, on 10th December, 2010. The National Council of Women, Agenzija Sedqa of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, the Malta Midwives Association, Caritas Malta, the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin and the Social Assiatance Secretariat of Catholic Action, member organisations of the Malta Unborn Child Movement, were the main promoters of the Seminar.

Ms Grace Attard, President, National Council of Women and Member of the European Economic and Social Committee was Chairperson  of the seminar. In his welcome address, Tony Mifsud Coordinator, Malta Unborn Children Movement stated that the UK press reported that at least 600 Scottish babies a year were judged to be at risk of abuse before they are even born..and that  official figures reveal that in the lately 331 unborn babies were placed on the official child protection register, many of them because of their mother's drink or drug problem.
He added that research had revealed that  babies in the womb were being exposed to cocktails of toxic chemical and that their blood was swimming with dangerous compounds found in everyday household cleaners, perfumes and even pans and furniture. This, he insisted, is affecting the climate for the unborn child in the womb.  

Mr Mifsud suggested that an opportunity is arising for Malta to take the initiatve in  the workings  of  international bodies and initiatives dedicated to the welfare of children to  proclaim before all the member states of the EU, and the world community,  that  “all men are created equal” and that all unborn children, 200 million every year world-wide, including 4000 in Malta -  the common beginners in all mankind, and "created equal" everywhere - should be considered the “common concern of all mankind” and that their dignity, rights, protection, care and development should be the common moral, legal and political responsibility of the world community.... in word... on paper ...and in deed... everywhere.  

In her welcome speech,  H.E. Ulla Gudmundson, Ambassador of Sweden to Malta. expressed her keen interest  working on this issue in Malta and on a very positve note stated that we all need to work together on issues that are similar in Malta and Sweden, but that need to be addresssed in the context of the different cultures, not least where trsditional alcohol intake is one of the problems

Hon Dr Peter Micallef, Parliamentary Assistant at the  Ministry of Health  addressed the Seminar  giving  a holistic overview of ethics reagrding the rights of the unborn child from the moment of coneption. He also spoke about preparations for both father and mother when thye are expecting a child; preventive measures for pregnant mothers, especially those in vulnerable situations of substance abuse, smoking  and alcohol abuse.

Ms Eva Karin Envall, Project Director Swedish National Institute for Public Health, Sweden  gave a  presentation of  an evidence-based project that she has beeen working on for the past 7 years together with her personal  experience  on  Ante-Natal Care, Child Health Services  and Alcohol and Drugs during Pregnancy – as a  Matter of Public Health.

Grace Attard opened the discussion emphasisng the importacne of addressing all types of famlies which all have their particular needs. Particpants, including a wide range of medical practioners, service providers, PHd students who are carrying out reserach on related topics as well as non-gvernamental organisations spoke about their experience unfolding several aspects linked to the well-being of the unborn child, including, planning a preganacy (MAM), workplace legislation and enforcement on alchohol abuse and substance abuse, how to deal with difficulties drug starters come across as well as hardened abusers, the different types of drugs and current stastitics on abuse by sex and age groups (Sedqa), the social and economic consequences, adequates upport sturctures an the role of the media in advertising and the strong lobbies of ahcohol companies amng others. The importance of appropriate education at all levels was also emphasised . Perhaps revealing the situation of prgnant inmates who are serving a prison sentence and the conditions mothers live with their children of various ages was one of the most areas of deep concern in particular the negaative psychological, mental and social consequences for children later on in life

What can be done ar EU level? A short discussion by H.E. Ulla Gudmodson and Grace Attard outlined several initiatives that the EU Commssion is taking in particular with regards to The Rights of the Child, Reducing alcohol related harm, child poverty and children’s wellbeing, maternity leave, breasteeding, work/life balance. Howeer reaching agreement in Parlaiemnt and in the Council of Ministers according to the New Treaty is not an easy matter

The closing address by Dr Rita Borg Xuereb Ph.D.  Head, Department  of  Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta was based on a study she carried revealed some very useful findings on the fertility rate in Mlata, fathers’ attitudes to the unborn child, single parenthood, enotional wellbeing,  work-life balance. Referring to the increased awareness of the ned to care for the environment, Dr Borg Xuereb ended her presentation with a very significant statement – “If there is one thing that we can change within our limits ism the way we care for the unborn child”    

Grace Attard, President NCW                     

 

 
 
 
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