Working breakfast held by President Barroso and members of the FEMM Committee

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission welcomed members of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality on a working breakfast today in Strasbourg. MEP Lívia Járóka, Vice-Chairwoman of the committee, spoke about the connections between domestic violence and social exclusion.

Celebrating the International Women's Day, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship held a working breakfast in Strasbourg with members of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality to review current issues of equality between women and men. MEP Lívia Járóka, Vice-Chairwoman of the committee reminded that the long-drawn recession had intensified social exclusion and those women who had been born in already disadvantaged communities, must face almost insurmountable obstacles in their lives, as detailed by her report adopted in December. Járóka emphasized that due to unemployment, inadequate education, homelessness, growing up in state care or early school leaving, marginalized women were increasingly vulnerable to domestic violence and other harmful social phenomena, such as sexual exploitation or even trafficking. At the meeting the Commissioners confirmed that the European Commission had a number of specific instruments to prevent the victimization of disadvantaged women and raise the awareness of marginalized communities and that they were ready to mobilize these instruments also in the future.