Parliament to vote through criminalisation of gender-based violence across the EU
Gender Based Violence Directive
Today, Members of the European Parliament will debate the final negotiation outcome of the Gender Based Violence Directive. The vote will take place tomorrow. This historic and first of its kind directive is expected to be adopted with a large majority. It is the first ever piece of EU legislation on violence against women and domestic violence. It is a major victory for the feminist movement and a huge step forward in terms of tackling violence against women and girls at EU level. The Greens/EFA Group has long been in the forefront in calling for this directive.
Diana Riba i Giner MEP, Greens/EFA shadow rapporteur directive in the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee, comments
“This is a historic victory for feminists and the fight for gender equality across Europe. Finally, the EU is taking big steps towards the first ever legislative document combating gender-based violence on EU level. However, the initial ambitious proposal for a new directive was severely watered down by the Council’s restrictive approach, especially with regards to the exclusion of rape as a criminal offence from the directive. Nevertheless, for many member states this directive establishes new minimum standards that will help to improve the lives of women and girls in all their diversity and contribute to the prevention of gender based violence in our society.“
Dr. Sylwia Spurek MEP, Greens/EFA shadow rapporteur on the Directive in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee, comments:
“Cyberviolence is the new face of an old problem of GBV – violence that women experience at home, at work, on the street. With the development of technology, new forms of violence against women are being invented. The directive is taking measures in order to protect women online. It is a big victory that non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, cyber stalking, cyber harassment, and cyber incitement to violence or hatred will now be criminalised across the EU. By implementing this directive, we can establish a unified system of fighting gender-based cyberviolence across the European Union.
“The negotiations on this file show this directive is not enough to eliminate gender based violence, especially without the crime of rape based on the consent. It is clear that we need to continue pushing to add gender based violence to the list of EU crimes.“
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The scourge of gender-based violence continues to be a significant issue within the European Union. According to the FRA’s last survey on gender based violence, one in 3 women have experienced some form of sexual or physical violence since the age of 15, one in 20 women have been raped and many of those who are subject to intimate partner violence suffer from repeating occurrences.
