Iratxe García Pérez urges for a European effort against gender violence

Author: Maria Dominguez Hervas

Brussels, november 25 - During the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25^th, Iratxe García Pérez, chair of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM), and Dimitrios Papadimoulis, the Vice-president of the European Parliament responsible for gender equality and diversity agreed on the fact that Europe has still a long way to go before ending with cruelty against women. During the conference on the elimination of violence against women organized in Strasburg by the FEMM committee, Pérez García urged EU institutions and Member States to commit and to take measures at European level in order to prevent the violation of women’s rights.

Even nowadays, 25 years after the United Nations launched the International Day of the elimination of Violence against women, “machismo kills.” The chair of the FEMM committee, Iratxe García Pérez, highlighted during the International Conference held the 25^th November in Strasburg that half of the world’s population is vulnerable face to an unequal society that still tolerates macho violence in its diverse forms. According to the 2014 report issued by the Agency of Fundamental Rights, at least 9 million women living in the 28 member states have suffered physical, sexual or psychological violence at work, at home or in the public space. For García Pérez, this is an extensive human rights violation that the EU institutions must not overlook. Greater efforts at European level must be made in order to end with “one of the largest social plagues that exists in the world at this moment.”

The Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, claims for the need of a European Directive to guide member states’ legislation to prevent the violation of women’s fundamental rights. However, the European Commission excuses the lack of a concrete strategy against gender violence arguing that Europe has not competences to legislate on this topic.

In order to elaborate a European strategy against gender violence, García Pérez states, it is fundamental to establish common standards to recognize and act upon gender violence. At present, the Treaty of the European Union contemplates two terms: “victims of trafficking” and “victims of sexual violence,” but it does not include the more global notion of “victims of gender violence”. For Iratxe García Pérez this lack of wording hides the reality of millions of women and girls around the world who suffer diverse abuses for the mere fact of being women. García Pérez recommends, thus, including the notion of “victims of gender violence” in order for Europe to impulse member states’ actions to prevent this human rights’ violation.

The EU turns orange for the Elimination of violence against women

Author: Hanne Van De Ven

On 25 November the European Parliament building in Strasbourg lit up orange to show support for United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. While the building shined bright on the outside, a heated debate went on within. The facts do not lie: one in third of the European women have faced physical or sexual violence, or both, and every day seven women are killed by gender-based violence in the EU. In presence of Věra Jourová, the Commissioner of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, the European Parliamentary Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) expressed the need for change.

Article 8 of the Lisbon Treaty addresses the equality between men and women in the EU. According to the Treaty, all Member States should take all necessary steps to fight domestic violence and support the victims. However not all Member States have introduced effective laws protecting women against violence. In some countries, a formal complaint must be submitted by the victim before legal action can be taken. This is inefficient as most crimes go unreported because the victims feel afraid or ashamed. For this reason, Iratxe García Pérez of the FEMM called on the Commission, the Parliament and the Council to give the EU the power to combat gender-based violence, by introducing legislation for all Member States.