Unite The Union Celebrates International Women's Day
Unite the union has issued a statement celebrating International Women's Day, highlighting the women "who in the face of adversity have stepped up and done their part in the fight against COVID-19".
A statement from Unite the union follows below:
Unite the union would like to join in celebration with all women around the globe who in the face of adversity have stepped up and done their part in the fight against COVID-19.
According to reports women make up almost 70% of the healthcare workforce, exposing them to greater risk of infection. At the same time, women are also shouldering much of the burden at home, given that schools and childcare facilities have closed during periods of lockdown.
This has meant in many cases that women have lost their income exposing them to risks of violence, abuse or harassment during times of crisis and quarantine.
On the 25th of January 2021, the RGP reported that they had received 614 reports of domestic abuse incidents, up from 489 cases in 2019, seeing an increase of 26%.
Unite encourages further improvement by all relevant parties to ensure that Gibraltar fully eradicates any and all domestic abuse situations.
We would also like to echo Unite UK’s statement by celebrating women’s achievements who are leading and inspiring movements globally- from the women of India campaigning against sexual violence to the women of Palestine on hunger strike against illegal occupation to the #metoo movement.
