About us
Czech Women’s Lobby is a network of non-profit organizations promoting women’s rights
in the Czech Republic. Czech Women’s Lobby is a member of the European Women’s Lobby,
joining women’s and gender organisations in the European Union and cooperating
with European institutions.
Main aims and priorities of Czech Women’s Lobby:
— cooperation, networking and laying down common
points of view and positions of Czech women’s
and gender NGOs
— promotion in the media and opening important
public discussions, defining drawbacks connected
with the question of equal opportunities for women
and men
— lobbying and promotion of interests of all girls and
women living in the Czech Republic from the European
perspective, i.e. interests of women from marginalized
and socially excluded groups, women from ethnical
and national minorities and foreign/migrant women
— cooperation with Czech executive branch, providing
expert base
— monitoring in the fi eld of gender equality
— acknowledgment and promotion of diverse values
and needs of women with regard to their cultural,
national, ethnical, religious, social, sexual and other
specific identities
Czech Women´s Lobby Attitudes
Czech Women’s Lobby declares its support to feminist belief that women have right to political, social and economic equality with men. Czech Women’s Lobby lobs and asserts the interests of all women regardless of their race, ethnic origin, health condition, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief. At the same time, CWL promotes diversity and acknowledges and asserts diverse values and needs of women with regard to the above mentioned characteristics. Czech Women’s Lobby accepts variety of its organizations as well as variety of feminist trends professed by individual organizations. At the same time, however, CWL requires shared attitudes to the following issues:
Sexuality and reproductive rights of women
Czech Women’s Lobby rejects ideologies disabling women the control of their own bodies. CWL requires equality in sexual relationships and says no (not only) to sexual violence against women. CWL supports freedom to choose when one would like to have a family and to decide whether one will have children and what number. CWL calls for education and awareness in the area of sexual and reproductive rights available to all. CWL holds a view that women should have access to contraception of their choice and access to safe and legal abortion. At the same time, Czech Women’s Lobby does not promote abortion as a family planning method. Czech Women’s Lobby promotes the right to freely choose care in pregnancy and at delivery, emphasizes health care in accordance with latest available scientific development.
Prostitution and human trafficking
Czech Women’s Lobby perceives trafficking in women as a material breach of human rights. Prostitution should not be related to terms such as “coercion” or, on the contrary, “free will”. These are always relative terms which must be perceived in economic, political, social and cultural contexts. It is necessary to assert various strategies both protecting women’s rights and to hold those profiting from sexual industry liable. Czech Women’s Lobby also asserts shifting responsibility to women’s customers. Women’s rights should include access to health care, police protection, training and education opportunities, legal services and legal representation including residence permits to women from non-EU countries, support, consulting and other services available to all women.
Violence against women
Czech Women’s Lobby explicitly denounces all forms of violence against women, both in public as well as private spheres. Violence against women (home violence, sexual abuse, rape or other gender-conditioned acts able to induce physical, sexual or psychic harm) is violation of human rights and therefore it is necessary for both government and non-government bodies to cope with it and to adopt measures necessary for its elimination and protection of victims. Violence must be approached as a global social phenomenon with certain cultural and historical background and specific dynamics.
Women in decision-making positions
Czech Women’s Lobby asserts equal representation of women and men in decision-making positions in politics and central bodies of state administration. Czech Women’s Lobby considers equal division of power between men and even basic principles of democracy. Insufficient representation of women in politics can also mean that life experience of one half of population is not taken into account in an appropriate way. Since women face a number of barriers, Czech Women’s Lobby introduces measures assisting equality of men and women in decision-making positions, e.g. edifying campaign, education and supporting programmes targeted at women willing to participate in public, intra-company quotas or legally defined quotas.
Women in labour market
Czech Women’s Lobby promotes labour market without discrimination on the basis of sex. The following principles are part
of it:
Non-discrimination approach to recruitment, equal pay for the same work and work of same value, equal chances of career growth
for men and women of all ages, same chances in labour market regardless of sex, reasonable pension not decreased for the time
spent on parental leave, getting rid of sexual harassment at workplace, promoting personal/family and professional life balance.
Gender roles and stereotypes
Czech Women’s Lobby fights against gender roles and stereotypes which continue spreading in the European context and are
preserved mainly through education systems and the media. Czech Women’s Lobby rejects clichés depicting women as inferior
to men, sexual subjects or people connected primarily with domestic work. CWL encourages equal access to education and including
gender equality in curricula. CWL says no to negative and humiliating depiction of women their symbolic overlooking, condemnation
or trivialization in the media.
Member Organisations
Aperio - Healthy Parenting Association is a association, whose mission is to improve a situation of families in the society. In the field of obstetrics Aperio promotes the right of women to decide on the method, location and provider of obstetric service. In the field of parents´position Aperio promotes an equal treatment of men and women in the family and the labor market.
Asociace podnikatelek a manažerek - The Business and Professional Women´s Association of the Czech Republic (APM – BPW CZ) is a non profit, non-governmental and voluntary organization of women aiming to support development of small and medium women businesses and the development of professional women as managers in the Czech Republic. The main goals of the APM – BPW CZ are: to improve business and managerial skills of women, to create consulting and information network, to educate women to explore their potential, to support ethics in business and management.
Česká asociace dul - Czech Doula Association brings together women who provide emotional and physical support and information to women and families during pregnancy, childbirth and after delivery. It organizes courses for doulas and contributes to their further education.
Moravská asociace podnikatelek a manažerek
Národní kontaktní centrum - Ženy a věda
Oddělení Gender & sociologie Sociologického ústavu Akademie věd ČR