Hi!
I have been a member of the European Parliament since the autumn of 1995. Right from the start I have been a member of the “Committee on women’s rights and equal opportunities”. Women’s issues and gender equality have become my main preoccupation. Since being re-elected in 1999 I have been first vice-chairman of the Committee. Should anyone have told me that I would be spending a considerable amount of my time on prostitution and traffic with women and children for sexual exploitation I would have had some difficulty in believing them. But this is now the case.
Every year four million women and young girls end up in slavery in the sex industry of the rich parts of the world. This is therefore a political problem on a global scale with far-reaching consequences.
“Gender mainstreaming” is a concept many people talk about but few really try to implement. It is important that 52% of the population should have their say. Today they do not. But this is something we must set about changing!
Marianne
