B4-0233/99

Resolution on violence against women and the Daphne Programme

The European Parliament,

- having regard to International Women's Day on 8 March 1999,

- having regard to the 1999 European Campaign against Violence,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on violence and violations of human rights of women, young persons and children based on reports by the Committee on Women's Rights,

- having regard to the United Nations Convention of 1979 on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the United Nations Convention of 1989 on the Rights of the Child, the Vienna Declaration of 1993 on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development of 1994 and the Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the IV Conference on Women held in Beijing on 15 September 1995,

- having regard to its written declaration 4/98 on designating 1999 as the European Year of action to combat violence against women, signed by 360 of its Members ((OJ C 138, 4.5.1998, p. 184.)),

- having regard to the amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting a programme of Community action (the DAPHNE Programme) (2000-2004) on measures aimed to prevent violence against children, young persons and women (COM(99)0082),

A. whereas serious violations of women's fundamental rights and freedoms are constantly occurring throughout the world;

B. whereas the Beijing UN platform for action defined violence against women as 'any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty',

C. whereas violence against young and adult women is taking place within the family, at the work-place or in society and includes, inter alia, ill-treatment, battering, genital and sexual mutilation, incest, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, trafficking in women and rape,

D. whereas all forms of gender-based violence falling within the scope of the CEDAW definition should be considered criminal offences,

E. recalling the essential role which it has played in launching the DAPHNE programme, in particular by adopting a special budget line (B3-4109) to fund measures for combating violence against women, young persons and children,

F. having regard to the proposal for a Council Decision on the DAPHNE programme (2000-2004) based on Article 235 (future Article 308) of the EC Treaty (COM(98)0335) and the change of legal basis to Article 129 (future Article 152) (health) proposed very belatedly by the Commission,

G. whereas the Daphne Programme should contribute towards protecting against acts of violence children, young persons and women who are victims or potential victims of violence, and towards increased knowledge and expertise at Community level to prevent and mitigate the effects of violence against children, young persons and women,

H. noting that the amended proposal has incorporated some of the amendments contained in the draft report of its competent committee,

1. Strongly reaffirms the principle that women's rights form an inalienable and integral part of universal human rights, as acknowledged in the Vienna Conference on Human Rights of 1993;

2. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work in the UN towards converting the Beijing Declaration into a Convention which is binding on all signatories;

3. Requests the Member States to cooperate closely in combating the activities of organized international crime rings in the field of trafficking in women and young persons for sexual exploitation;

4. Urges the Member States to work towards achieving an efficient strategy in accordance with European Parliament and Council Decision 276/1999/EC adopting a multiannual Community action plan on promoting safer use of the Internet by combating illegal and harmful content on global networks and the draft joint action plan to combat child pornography on the Internet (13673/98);

5. Calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to raise public awareness of the endemic violence in our societies and to take all necessary action against offenders;

6. Calls on the Member States immediately and actively to provide support and funding for independent services for the survivors of violence, including refuges and shelters, and to establish bodies to ensure inter-agency cooperation in supporting women and any dependent children in rebuilding their lives;

7. Recalls with concern that legal procedures in many Member States often deter women from pursuing cases against their attackers; calls on the Member States to review the administration of legal procedures and take action to remove barriers which prevent women from obtaining legal protection;

8. Stresses the importance of a coordinated approach to tackling the problems of violence against women and children at national level and therefore welcomes the steps taken in some Member States to introduce a strategy covering various government departments to prevent violence and deal with the consequences;

9. Stresses the indispensable role of non-governmental organisations in combating violence against women and children, and therefore urges Member States actively to support their development and to establish an adequate financial framework for their development;

10. Condemns the practice of sexual mutilation and welcomes the efforts of some Member States to take legal action against offenders;

11. Is severely disappointed that the Commission gave in to opposition from a few Member States by changing at a very untimely stage in the procedure the legal basis of the Daphne programme from Article 235 (future Article 308) to Article 129 (future Article 152) of the Treaty;

12. Takes the view that the DAPHNE Programme is an important step towards combating violence and will provide added value to the local, regional and national action developed Community-wide;

13. Insists that the measures laid down in the current programme, including those relating to trafficking in women, sexual abuse and the disappearance of children, must be incorporated in the Commission's amended proposal, which involves interpreting the concept of health more widely to mean a state of physical, mental and social well-being, as defined by the WHO;

14. Calls on the Council and the Commission to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Daphne Programme can effectively start on 1 January 2000;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States and of the applicant countries and the Secretary-General of the UN.