Debate: Eliminating violence against Women
Date: WEDNESDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2022
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

Yesterday in my home country, as you heard from the President earlier, Bernice Cassar was killed in broad daylight on her way to work as a result of three gunshots hitting her face and her chest. At this stage, the only suspect in this murder is her estranged husband. And we all know about tragedies like this one, as they are happening daily across Europe and around the world. Despite their frequency, however, they remain one of the least prosecuted forms of crime, and citizens can become desensitised unless we speak up and make sure that women stop being murdered in silence. Addressing this matter with due attention is a prerequisite to tackle gender—based discrimination, make progress on women’s rights and equality, and safeguard the common values of the Union, as well as to advance our democracy. I thank this House for being a strong ally in keeping the eradication of violence against women and girls high on the EU political agenda. Since the adoption of the gender equality strategy, we have been working to transform our political commitments into concrete and meaningful action. All our measures have been driven by the aim of making a difference in the lives of diverse women and girls, in particular of those facing gender—based violence and domestic violence. In March, the Commission adopted a legislative proposal to combat all forms of violence against women and domestic violence. The proposal covers the criminalisation of certain offences amounting to violence against women, the protection of support and access to justice for victims of violence against women and domestic violence and the prevention of such forms of violence. It is modelled on the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, which has proven to be a comprehensive legal instrument in this domain, but which sadly has not been ratified yet by the European Union. The proposal calls on strengthening the work of and support for the different services and practitioners who are devoting their professional lives to supporting victims. In this spirit, I will mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by standing together with victims and survivors while calling for a bigger push to end this violation of human rights. I will visit the care centre for sexual violence in Brussels, which addresses gender—based violence and provides services ranging from medical and psychological care to help from the judicial and police department, as well as support and follow—up brought together in one place. I will meet different stakeholders involved in the process, all of whom are specifically trained to work with and offer specialised support to victims. In the context of this day, the Commission is adopting and implementing a decision to set up a European uniform number for a dedicated helpline for victims of violence against women and domestic violence, as announced in the proposal. Looking further ahead and complementing our legislative proposal, we will present in the coming months a recommendation to prevent and combat harmful practices against women and girls. We will encourage Member States to take a number of actions to address in an effective way female genital mutilation, forced and child marriages, honour—related violence, forced abortion and forced sterilisation and other harmful practices that affect mainly women and girls. We cannot achieve the aim of eliminating violence against women alone. We are therefore also cooperating with key stakeholders beyond our borders. In the G7 setting, the EU contributed to the strengthening of the accountability of the leaders’ political commitment and to ensure gender—mainstreaming is a cross—sectoral principle in the G7 activities. We also continue to be fully engaged as co-leaders of the Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition on Gender—based Violence and UN Women. In this framework we are working with organisations from every part of society to catalyse progress, advocate for change and take action together. Let us continue to stay together to fight violence against women and domestic violence.