The issue of violence against women and girls is a global one, and the Catholic Church, with its deeply entrenched patriarchal and hierarchical structures, is no exception. Despite repeated appeals and numerous reports from affected women during the Synod, the final synod report did not mention the widespread violence against women. ​This deliberate failure of the Synod has its origins in a culture of sexism, machismo and widespread narcissism of priests, bishops and male parishioners. The prioritisation of their own interests and power is paramount.

 

The CWC therefore believes that it is important to draw attention to the violence against women in the church and to show how this violence is perpetuated in society through gender stereotypes and a binary anthropology. In particular, Catholic clergy play an outsized role in politics and policy-making, too often resulting in neglecting or blocking legal protections for women, including the right to sexual self-determination, reproductive freedom, and autonomy. Men's dominance and control over women and women's bodies is reinforced.

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This is why the CWC and numerous member organisations are once again taking part in the global UN campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. We invite you to stand with us and demand a Church and a world where every woman is treated with dignity, equality, and respect.