Statement: Greens in the CoR call for concrete measures to combat violence against women and domestic violence
At the group meeting and in light of the upcoming Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence and the celebration of the International Women’s Day, the Greens in the CoR call for ambitious and binding actions, and support to local and regional authorities taking effective measures to contribute towards ending gender-based violence in Europe.
In light of the upcoming Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, the celebration of the International Women’s Day and the debate in the European Committee of the Regions on this occasion, the Greens in the CoR express their views on this important topic:
The EU and Member States need to be committed to take ambitious and binding actions, and to support local and regional authorities taking effective measures to contribute towards ending gender-based violence in Europe.
While the negotiations in the European Parliament and with the Council are still ongoing, the Greens in the CoR call:
- for an ambitious approach to gender-based violence which, as a minimum, complies with the standards of the Istanbul convention;
- on all local and regional authorities to prioritise and to invest more in public services and staff, which help to prevent acts of violence and protect victims of gender-based violence;
- on Member States and the EU decision makers to familiarise themselves with best practices from on the ground and take these into account when concluding on ambitious legislation;
- for local and regional authorities to be involved in a structured way in implementing awareness-raising and communication campaigns to be launched at EU level;
- for collaboration and strong support from Member States in terms of policing and prosecution. Too many perpetrators walk away without any form of punishment;
- for the necessary financial means to be made available to local and regional authorities to run prevention campaigns and to run support services for victims.for an intersectional approach at all levels of governance and to take into account factors such as class, race, ability, age, religion, gender expression, gender identity and sex characteristics that affect the level of risk and experience of gender-based violence;
- for appropriate measures to tackle digital violence against women in the same way as offline gender-based violence, as the distinction between digital and physical violence is becoming less pertinent.
Context
The EU institutions are currently negotiating new legislation on combating violence against women and domestic violence, which is absolutely necessary due to the fact that 31% of women in Europe have experienced physical violence.
Gender-based violence takes on many forms, for example intimate partner violence, sexual violence, femicide, restricted access to or forced abortion, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, child marriage, and online and digital violence.
Gender-based violence is rooted in inequality, abuse of power and harmful norms. Only by addressing the root causes, can perpetrators and acts of violence be prevented. Local and regional authorities are well placed to focus on the root causes in order to change social attitudes and behaviour, and end tolerance for gender-based violence through education, awareness-raising campaigns and community mobilisation interventions.
Effectively preventing perpetrators and helping victims of gender-based violence and domestic abuse requires cooperation between relevant government agencies, local and regional authorities, police, health and housing authorities, and civil society organisations. Special attention needs to be paid to gender-based cyberviolence and violence against elected women and their staff, which has increased over the last years.
Further actions to be taken by local and regional authorities:
- Sign and implement the European Charter for Equality: https://charter-equality.eu (article 22 on gender-based violence)
- Join the ‘SafePlace4Women campaign of PES Group in the CoR: https://pes.cor.europa.eu/campaign/safeplace4womenSign up to the Greens/EFA campaign:www.greens-efa.eu/en/campaigns/gender-based-violence