Home The Council Membership Views & Publications InfoWomen Links Photo Gallery Contact Us
Left Banner Right Banner
 
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.
National Council of Women
Approved Resolutions 2001

REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY

The National Council of Women in conference assembled at its Annual General Meeting on 27 January 2001,

REAFFIRMS its policy as expressed in its various relevant resolutions and recommendations over the past years and especially those that are still outstanding,

RECALLING

i) legislation on Bioethics (1998)
ii) the setting up of a mental health education programme (2000)
iii) the setting up of professionally run residential facilities for juvenile offenders and

URGES Government to enact without further delay

i) the updating of the Industrial Law (CERA),
ii) and implement with urgency the laws on Domestic Violence.

1. WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES

a) Curative and Preventive measures

The National Council of Women,

AWARE that health issues should be given priority throughout a woman's life,

RECOMMENDS that morbidity of cancer cases be investigated thoroughly and appropriate treatment be given early;

ALSO RECOMMENDS that preventive measures, such as effective educational campaigns on breast care awareness and diagnostic services, be made available as early as possible for all women.

b) Fertility Services

The National Council of Women,

CONCERNED about the current infertility rate in Malta, and also aware of changes in lifestyle which may lead some women to delay starting a family until their late twenties;

CONCERNED that both factors are contributing to a marked reduction in the birth rate;

STRONGLY RECOMMENDS the availability of free services that treat infertility problems.

c) Medical Examination in alleged rape cases

The National Council of Women,

Having NOTED with concern the justified grievances of the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) regarding the current procedures at the Gynaecology Ward, St Luke's Hospital during examinations carried out on victims of alleged rape;

Having NOTED also the MUMN claim that these procedures do not concur with the professional ethics and recommendations set out by WHO, and that they do not safeguard the dignity of the victims concerned but could psychologically aggravate the trauma and shock;

CONCERNED at the pressure sometimes put on the nurses and midwives at the ward to go against the legitimate instructions of their union when certain ethical practices are not observed;

URGES the Minister of Health to ensure that the necessary protocol according to WHO directives be established to safeguard the dignity and human rights of the victims, and the professional ethics of the nurses and midwives.
The National Council of Women further

RECOMMENDS the setting up of a Rape Crisis Centre, within the hospital setting run on 24 hour service where the victim may be examined on the lines of a set protocol and where a multi-disciplinary team can offer assistance to those concerned and which also continuity of Care

2. EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP

The National Council of Women,

NOTING the increasing interest and importance given by the general public to the issue of Malta's EU membership,

CONCERNED that the main political parties are locked in controversial arguments which do not always reflect an objective picture of the real issues,

URGES all parties to forego personal and partisan considerations, and reflect on what is the true interest of the country and the community as a whole, to ensure the overall improvement of the quality of life of the Maltese people without impinging on their moral and constitutional rights, while keeping in mind the economic and social consequences of globalisation;

and FURTHER URGES Government to ensure that the ordinary citizen is given an accurate account of Malta's position after finalisation of the negotiations with the European Union.

3. CHILDREN

a) Rights of the Child

The National Council of Women,

Having NOTED the increasing public awareness of the rights of the child,

CONCERNED that the drafting of the Children Act has been too protracted,

URGES Government to speed up the procedures towards its enactment,
and further urges that the rights of the child should be given preference to that of the parents according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

b) Decade for a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the world (2001-2010)

The National Council of Women,
in support of the appeal of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to the UN proposing the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World,(2001-2010)

AWARE that many children are suffering the effects and consequences of violence.
that is physical, psychological, socio-economic, environmental and political;
that the defences of peace are constructed in the minds of human beings from childhood,

URGES Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the practice of peace and
non-violence is taught at all levels of society, particularly through the media and in educational institutions.

c) National Minimum Curriculum

The National Council of Women,

While NOTING with satisfaction the efforts of the Government to implement the National Minimum Curriculum,

MAINTAINS that more time should be allocated to discuss the implementation of the National Minimum Curriculum and more resources be made available for effective results to be achieved.

d) Children with Learning Difficulties

The National Council of Women,

AWARE of the need for complementary teachers to cater for children with learning difficulties at all levels of primary school,

URGES Government to ensure that this service be extended to all children with learning difficulties, and thus give equal opportunities to all.

4. LEGISLATION ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)

The National Council of Women,

RECOGNISING that NGOs, through voluntary endeavour, have always played a major role in pioneering new policies and practices for the benefit of society;

AWARE that the year 2001 has been designated the International year of Voluntarism,

URGES Government to take measures to regulate NGOs to protect public interest, and

RECOMMENDS that NGOs take steps to regulate themselves collectively by establishing Codes of Ethics.

5. ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS (EMF) AND RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) AND PUBLIC HEALTH

The National Council of Women,

AWARE of the considerable scientific uncertainty regarding potential health risks of EMF and RF, as well as the high level of public apprehension on the issue,

RECOMMENDS that the Precautionary Principle be rigorously applied and a more
preventive and pro-active approach be adopted with regard to the telecommunications industry and the use of mobile phones.

6. REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN ON THE MALTA COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (MCESD)

The National Council of Women

NOTES with satisfaction the recent declaration that as from this year, the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, as from this year will be enlarged to emphasise social aspects of development by the appointment on the Council of relevant representative bodies, including women representatives,
but is concerned that, while other categories are represented by an independent Commission and NGO, women will be represented solely by the Commission for the Advancement of Women, which is not an NGO and therefore

URGES the Minister for Social Policy to include as representative of women, the National Council of Women which has been recognised as an umbrella NGO since its foundation in 1964.
 

NCW Head office - National Council of Women, Pope Pius XII Flats, Mountbatten Sreet, Blata l-Bajda, Malta



 
Developed by Alert Communications