L-R: Annie Nickels-Theis; Danièle Becker-Bauer; Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men; Joëlle Letsch; n/a; Credit: MEGA

Orange Week 2019, organised by the National Women's Council of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg section of Zonta International, will be taking place next week in the Grand Duchy; the initiative aims at combatting violence against women and girls.

As part of Orange Week 2019, the City of Luxembourg has called for public participation in an "orange" human chain on Monday 25 November 2019 at 12:00 in front of the Town Hall in Place Guillaume II. Participants are encouraged to wear orange clothing or accessories to give greater weight to this awareness and solidarity event.

The City of Luxembourg will support Orange Week 2019 with two other actions: the illumination in orange of several municipal buildings and the organisation of a special film screening and discussion at the Cinémathèque. In this context, the Town Hall, Villa Vauban, the tower of the Grand Théâtre, the Ban de Gasperich water tower and the administrative building of the Water Service will be lit up in orange from 25 to 30 November 2019.

Then, on Thursday 5 December 2019 at 20:30, the Cinémathèque will screen the documentary "#Female Pleasure" followed by a skype discussion with director Barbara Miller, which will be hosted by Andrée Birnbaum from the non-profit organisation Femme en Détresse. This special session, organised in collaboration with Femmes en Détresse asbl, will take place in cinema room 17. Further information is available at www.cinematheque.lu.

Supporting this event for the third consecutive year, Luxembourg's Ministry of Equality between Women and Men is also organising several information and awareness events putting the subject of violence against women and girls at the centre of public interest from 19 November to 10 December 2019.

Luxembourg's Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Taina Bofferding, commented: "I particularly welcome the fact that Orange Week's circle of partners is getting bigger and bigger, which proves that the fight against violence has come to the centre. In a prosperous country like Luxembourg, violence against women and girls is also a daily reality. It is omnipresent, it is visible under the eyes of society or invisible behind the closed doors. It is physical or psychological. It has taken on new forms and introduced itself into new social media, a place where it is becoming easier to spread hatred and create a hostile climate".

Minister Bofferding continued: "For this reason, the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in July 2018 has been an important step in highlighting the many facets of violence. The obligations arising from this international treaty will be the cornerstone of our efforts to end violence against women and girls in a sustainable way".

The minister recalled that Luxembourg today has an effective protection system to supervise the victims of violence with specific legislation on domestic violence and a network of partner managers who commit themselves daily in the fight against violence suffered by women and men. She concluded: "Without the cooperation of these actors, the state would not be able to assume its social missions. Orange Week is the right time to thank them".

For the full programme of Orange Week 2019, see https://www.cnfl.lu/files/90235.pdf.