The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), with the financial assistance of the European Union, support efforts to strengthen equal rights and opportunities for women and men in the Republic of Moldova. This is the message conveyed at the final session of the conference "EU4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence", IPN reports.

According to UN Women Moldova, the main goal of the program is to strengthen equal rights and opportunities for women and men, by changing social perceptions of gender roles, addressing gender stereotypes and increasing men's participation in childcare.

"We cannot have a harmonious society without putting gender equality at the forefront because gender equality is one of the fundamental rights and is at the core of EU policies. We are glad that in Moldova there are fundamental elements that support the progress of strengthening gender equality," said EU Ambassador to Moldova Jānis Mažeiks.

Within the EU4 Gender Equality program, ways to debunk gender stereotypes were researched, awareness-raising campaigns were launched to combat gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices against women, and grants were awarded to launch tailored activities aimed at improving opportunities for women.

At the same time, partnerships were initiated with local healthcare institutions to increase the involvement of men in parental care and technical assistance was provided to institutions working with victims of violence against women.

The program is carried out simultaneously in six Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.