Debate: Fighting sexualised violence - The importance of the Istanbul Convention and a comprehensive proposal for a directive against gender-based violence
Date: WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2022
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

The scale of sexualised violence and violence against women in Europe is very high. One in three women in the European Union has experienced physical and or sexual violence, and one in twenty women has been raped. Reports and personal accounts indicate that rape and sexualised violence are being used as weapons of war in Ukraine. About one in five Europeans hold victim—blaming views, claiming that women make up or exaggerate claims and that violence against women is often provoked by the victim. We cannot, of course, tolerate this and must take a stance and end victim—blaming and rape culture. Excusing aggressive behaviour and shaming those who speak out about their experience has desensitised society to the horrors of rape and sexual assault. In the EU, 27% of people think that sexual intercourse without consent could be justified under certain circumstances, such as when the victim is drunk or when the victim does not clearly say no, or when the victim does not physically fight back. But these can never be considered as consent. This is why the Commission put forward a legislative proposal on combating violence against women and domestic violence. The proposal contains a host of measures to ensure that we protect victims from sexualised violence and prevent it from happening in the first place. It also proposes the introduction of a harmonised definition of rape based on the lack of consent. Only a yes is yes. Immediate specialised support is particularly important in cases of sexualised violence. The proposal would ensure that victims have immediate access to rape, crisis or sexual violence centres. Victims of sexualised violence are often confronted with insensitive or gender—stereotypical treatment during law enforcement proceedings. This can have serious consequences in terms of secondary victimisation and ultimately denies these victims the right to justice. Training sessions for law enforcement officials and judges are therefore of the utmost importance. The Commission’s proposal further seeks to prohibit judges from asking unnecessary and possibly traumatising questions about the victim’s sexual history. The proposal further seeks to prevent gender-based violence, including sexualised violence, by ensuring that awareness—raising campaigns aim to dispel harmful gender stereotypes. The measures I just mentioned are only a selection of those included in this comprehensive proposal, which covers the criminalisation of certain offences amounting to violence against women, the protection, support and access to justice for victims of violence against women and domestic violence, and the prevention of such forms of violence. Parliament’s full support is needed as a co-legislator to make sure we now introduce harmonised and comprehensive provisions and take a united stand against gender-based violence. The proposal is modelled on the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, which has proven to be a comprehensive legal instrument to prevent and combat gender-based and domestic violence and protect the victims. So I stress here again, as already stated in the Commission’s gender equality strategy, that we remain committed to the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention. The Istanbul Convention is our international standard and engagement to which the EU wants to live up, just as we do to other international texts, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. We are counting on the Council to make sure that the EU now finalises accession to the convention, following the EU’s signature in 2017.