European MPs are expected to adopt the first ever EU law to combat violence against women tomorrow. Today they discussed the content of the directive, which is expected to unify legislation and introduce stronger protection for women throughout the Union.
The new directive will ban forced marriages and female genital mutilation and contain specific rules on cybercrimes such as cyberflashing and cyberstalking. Victims will have improved access to justice and healthcare, including reproductive services, and the legislation will also include provisions to prevent rape.
However, MEPs expressed concerns that the directive does not do enough to protect women from rape, pointing to the responsibility of some European leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who are refused to include in the bill definitions of consent to assist in the prosecution of the crime of rape.
However, Swedish MEP Evin Injdir pointed out that the bill, for the first time in EU history, includes the requirement that member states promote sexual intercourse based on a culture of consent. While this may not seem innovative at first glance, the challenges we faced during the negotiations revealed its truly strong and revolutionary character, Injir stated.
Irish MEP Frances Fitzgerald said passing the bill was not enough. “We need a robust monitoring framework and real commitment at all levels of government to ensure that this is really implemented,” she said, calling on member states’ justice ministers, some of whom she said were not fully convinced. in the need of the law, to do everything in their power, to learn from their colleagues in Europe, to exchange best practices, to fight for additional budget, to invest in resources and to make the successful tackling of this crime their legacy .
Tags: European Parliament discussed directive tackle violence women domestic violence
