Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on 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"(1)

(1999/C 169/13)

On 23 April 1999, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 8 April 1999. The rapporteur was Ms Wahrolin.

At its 363rd plenary session (meeting of 28 April 1999) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 50 votes to three, with eight abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Commission has concluded that the appropriate legal base for the DAPHNE Programme - "a Community action programme (2000-2004) to prevent violence against children, young persons and women" - is Article 129 of the EC Treaty (Public Health), which will shortly be replaced by Article 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty.

1.2. The proposal has therefore been referred back to the Economic and Social Committee. In addition to the amendment to the legal base, the text of the amended proposal contains a number of changes of wording. At its 357th plenary session on 9 September 1998, the Committee unanimously adopted its opinion(2) on the previous Commission proposal (COM(1998) 335 final).

2. General comments

2.1. First of all, the Committee would like to point out that whilst some parts of the amended proposal are now clearer and more structured, others are weaker.

2.2. In changing the legal base to Article 129, the Committee feels there is a risk of downgrading the issue to a public health problem. Violence against children, young persons and women, and sexual exploitation are major problems for society and do not just concern individuals and families (even though the family situation is, of course, in many ways, crucial). Neither is it merely a question of personal injury. As the Committee stressed in its previous opinion on the Daphne Programme, it should be remembered that certain groups are particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse, e.g. people with disabilities and older people.

2.3. The Committee feels that "public health" must be interpreted in the broad sense, in accordance with the WHO definition (i.e. including physical, mental and social well-being).

2.4. As the Committee pointed out in its earlier opinion, violence against children, young persons and women is a very complex issue, and both causes and symptoms need to be addressed. There are no easy solutions, either for investigating the causes or for dealing with the resulting damage.

3. Specific comments

3.1. Article 1 of the programme includes a reference to the fact that it "further aims to increase knowledge and expertise at Community level in methods and techniques designed to prevent and mitigate the effects of violence against children, young persons and women." The Committee welcomes what it feels is a more forceful wording than that of the previous version.

3.2. The Committee believes that greater emphasis should be placed on the perpetrators of violence, and on any initiatives which might be triggered. In this respect, aspects relating to the balance of power between men and women must also be addressed, as advocated by the Committee in point 2.2 of its September 1998 opinion.

3.3. The Committee endorses the proposal under Article 1 to set up multidisciplinary networks, and expresses its support for their declared objectives.

3.4. In its earlier opinion, the Committee highlighted the importance of stepping up cooperation between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the authorities. The Committee is pleased to note that this has been provided for in Article 2 of the amended proposal.

3.5. The Committee feels that the objective has been narrowed in the Annex on actions aimed at raising public awareness and the exchange of best practice. The previous version also included the need to address sexual exploitation and other forms of sexual abuse. The Committee calls for a return to the previous wording of the objective in this Annex.

3.6. The wording of the objective now includes a reference to research programmes, which the Committee endorses. The Committee calls for project resources to be made available for research into positive ways of dealing with abusers.

3.7. The Committee feels that the scope for international cooperation provided for under Article 7.2 of the Commission's proposal is far too restricted in terms of which countries may participate.

4. Conclusion

4.1. In conclusion, the Committee would stress that, subject to the above reservations, it welcomes the programme as a whole. However, it would also point out that the scope of the amended version is more restrictive. Clearly, there is an urgent need to put into place measures to combat all mistreatment such as violence, abuse and sexual exploitation; however, we must not ignore the need to tackle the causes of violence. A shortcoming of the programme is also its failure to regard violence, abuse and sexual exploitation as infringements of human rights.

Brussels, 28 April 1999.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

(1) OJ C 89, 30.3.1999, p. 42.

(2) OJ C 407, 28.12.1998.