Deal reached on 1st EU law on violence against women

BRUSSELS (AA) - The EU’s Belgian presidency and European Parliament reached an agreement late Tuesday on the bloc’s first-ever EU law on violence against women and domestic violence.

According to the new law, it will lay down minimum rules concerning the definition of specific criminal offenses and penalties to address this form of violence. It also sets out the rights of victims of all forms of violence against women or domestic violence and provides for their protection.

The new law will criminalize female genital mutilation, forced marriage, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyberstalking, cyber harassment, and cyber incitement to hatred or violence.

According to a statement by the EU presidency, when the new law is adopted, common rules will be established on the definition of these offenses and the related penalties.

The directive will also introduce aggravating circumstances such as the repeated exercise of violence against women, committing an act of violence against a vulnerable person or a child, and using extreme levels of violence.

The agreement will have to be approved by the representatives of EU member states at the Council. The final law is also pending adoption in the Council and European Parliament.

- ‘We must put an end to this’

Belgian Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt said: “For many women in Europe, sexual violence, domestic violence, street harassment or online abuse are daily threats. Moreover, women all too often pay with their lives for relationship breakups. Even forced marriages and genital mutilation have not been completely eradicated from our society. We must put an end to this. With the new directive, the member states are taking important steps to collectively stand up against these severe crimes, both through an emphasis on prevention and consistent punishment.”

Belgian Secretary of State for Gender Equality Marie-Colline Leroy said: “This is a big step forward to better protect women and girls from violence, whether at home, at work, on our streets, off-line or online. The directive has a strong chapter on prevention to act against underlying patterns of coercion, power, and control and takes specific rape prevention measures member states are sending a strong message: we no longer accept that if you are a woman you are more at risk than if you are a man.”

*Writing by Zeynep Cetin in Istanbul