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(2004/C 84 E/0680)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0489/04

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(23 February 2004)

Subject:   Gender violence in the EU: need for European legislation

According to data provided by the state network of feminist organisations against gender violence, the number of cases of ill-treatment in Spain increased in the period 1999-2003, and there were 315 deaths caused by gender violence.

Other data show that 98 % of victims of violence in the EU are women, and one in five women has been the victim of physical violence from a family member.

The Commission has been undertaking initiatives addressed to the Member States with the aim of resolving this problem since 1996 (European campaign to raise awareness of violence against women in the EU; Community framework strategy on gender equality, adopted on 7 June 2000, whose objectives include action to strengthen and support the fight against and prevention of violence against women; the Daphne and other initiatives), but it is clear that many states are failing to take adequate action, and the Commission is not responsible for the adoption of legislation on protecting women against all forms of ill-treatment.

In view of the passive attitude of certain states such as Spain in the face of a serious problem with a major impact on public opinion, does the Commission intend to draw up proposals for legislation aimed at combating and drastically reducing gender violence at European level?

Answer given by Mr Dimas on behalf of the Commission

(13 April 2004)

Combating violence against women is one of the fundamental issues on the European social agenda. Especially domestic violence exists in all countries and across all social classes.

The Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 included among its strategic objectives the fight to eradicate violence against women, covering in particular physical, sexual and psychological violence within the family. The European Union and its Member States have established policies to respond to this call and to fight violence against women through various types of actions.

In response to a series of resolutions adopted by the Parliament, the Commission ran the European awareness-raising campaign on violence against women ‘Zero Tolerance Campaign’ in 1999/2000, with particular emphasis on domestic violence.

Various measures have been taken by the Member States in the last years, partly an impact also of the 1999/2000 European campaign: most of the countries have created 24 hour ‘helplines’ and emergency centres, in addition to existing services like women's shelters. Others have organised national awareness campaigns as well as training measures for professionals dealing with incidents of domestic violence. There were also a number of improvements in law or law enforcement in the Member States, in particular regarding cautionary and police measures, including restraining orders, but also concerning criminal proceedings.

As for the Commission, it does not intend to draw up proposals for legislation aimed at combating and drastically reducing gender violence at European level given the absence of an appropriate legal basis in the Treaty. It should be noted, however, that on the basis of Article 152 of the Treaty relating to public health, a number of actions have been undertaken, in particular the Daphne Programme, which is the most important preventive action programme to fight violence against children, young people and women in the Community.

Daphne is based on the recognition of violence as a crime. It tackles this phenomenon by funding actions for the prevention and the protection of victims. Violence is understood in the widest possible sense, from sexual abuse to domestic violence, from commercial exploitation to bullying in schools, from trafficking to discrimination-based violence against handicapped, minority, migrant or other vulnerable people.

Since 1997, 303 projects have been funded, of which 61 % are dealing with violence against women. Details of all those projects can be found in the database posted on-line on the Daphne website: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/funding/daphne/funding_daphne_en.htm).

Also, on this website, more information such as statistics and analysis of the achieved results and their impacts is available.

More recently, in the context of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, seven indicators on domestic violence were adopted by the Council in December 2002, which can be used as an on-going basis to regularly review the progress achieved in the Member States in combating domestic violence.

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