Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) and Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteurs, hold a press conference on combating violence against women and domestic violence in Strasbourg. The transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please, check against delivery.

Strasbourg

press conference

violence against women (T)

FITZGERALD, Frances (EPP, IE)

INCIR, Evin (S&D, SE)

Press conference by Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) and Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteurs on combating violence against women and domestic violence

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&amp;D, SE), co-rapporteur Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished journalists and reporters and distinguished guests it is a big day for us all today, the directive here in the Parliament was passed without any kind of rejection. And this also confirms the big support from the side of the European Parliament in defense of women and girls all across our Union.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur While some of us are off on vacation in a few days, there is one thing that does not go on vacation, and that is men's violence against women and children and domestic violence. It even increases during the holidays. This heinous crime has existed all through history and in all parts of society, but also in schools, at workplaces, on squares and at home, online and offline.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur We can't call it anything else than a pandemic. But in contrary to other pandemic, this has not been combated with a joint strength of the whole society. Unfortunately, in some member states, domestic violence is seen as a family matter. Violence is violence regardless of how well a woman or a child knows the perpetrator.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur In these cases, there is not such a thing as a family matter. And allow us to briefly take you through the Parliament's position on the directive, after which we will make some comments in advance of tomorrow's trialogues in the afternoon. Finally, we will be happy to answer also, of course, any questions that you may have.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur As we usually do when speaking about this topic, We would like to begin by reminding us exactly what is we are talking about the scale of the problem. Every ten years, a city the size of Marseille, Zagreb or Amsterdam, disappears from the face of the earth as 850,000 women are murdered globally in what we call feminicide, killing a woman because she is a woman.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur In 2015, nine out of ten rape victims and eight out of ten sexual assault victims in the union were women. 99% of those who were in prison for such crimes were men. One in three women in the EU aged 15 or over has experienced some form of physical or sexual violence. I think that we can all agree that these are shocking figures and hence the action is required.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur We have been legislating on these issues for many years at Member State level, continuously developing to try to adequately tackle the problem as we gain greater understanding of its underlying root causes and dynamics. Yet the persisting gravity of the problem of violence against women and domestic violence in the Union can be clearly seen by the fact that the existing national legal acts and their implementation have proven to be insufficient.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur This crime is still present and in fact a growing reality, as we have seen just recently during the COVID 19 pandemic. This crime being amplified through its online dimension. We also see backlashes on women's rights in our union because of some political forces, we need to ensure progress instead. Therefore, the European Parliament strongly support and agree with the need for a directive combating violence against women and domestic violence. A call we have made to the European Commission for many years already.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur It is now time to go from words to actions. It will come as no surprise that the inclusion of Article five on rape is a red line from for the European Parliament, a directive combating violence against women and domestic violence that does not include the crime of rape would not fulfill its goal. This is an important message we will convey to the Council tomorrow, because only a yes is a yes.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur 1st of July this year marked five years ago when the consent law took effect in Sweden, the country that I am from. Since then, the charges has increased with 500 cases yearly and convictions have more than doubled. Legislation matters the same ratification must be guaranteed to all women and girls all across the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur Violence against women is not a crime  that is different corners of the European Union. Unfortunately, it is a serious crime and have the same effects wherever it appears. Therefore, unlike so many other pieces of EU legislation that require to take into account different national realities, this piece of legislation must seek to do the opposite to ensure that European values are upheld and

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur demonstrated through the same standards in every corner of the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), co-rapporteur We need a feminist approach to this directive.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here to discuss this directive, which we're both delighted got the support of the committee, a very strong support and of the Parliament. So we now move on to the trialogue discussion tomorrow and we look forward to a very constructive discussion. We have some red lines that Evin has mentioned and we will be following those very seriously.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) So, I would begin by saying we must interrupt this epidemic of violence against women across Europe, indeed the world. But we're focusing on Europe today. This is a landmark day for women, undoubtedly across Europe, as we begin to take the pandemic of violence against women seriously across the EU. That's not to say that many member states, and indeed the EU, has tried in the past to do much, but to varying degrees. And that's why we need an EU directive.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) So that women can feel safe in every corner of Europe, knowing that these crimes of violence against women will be taken extremely seriously, will have proper sanctions, proper punishment will be interrupted, it will be prevented. It is a landmark day and it is heartening to see the support. I suppose many of you would say: isn't it very surprising that this is the first time that we've had an EU directive on violence against women? It really is. You would have expected it would have been earlier. And that tells its own story.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) So, this proposal aims to ensure that we focus on prevention. We absolutely have to prevent violence against women in the first instance. And we need to do lots in relation to that. We have to, of course, protect women who are attacked and we have to prosecute those who are carrying out these crimes. So these are kind of key pillars prevention, protection and prosecution. And each of them in the directive has a series of actions under them. So it is about preventive, is about protecting, and it is about prosecuting.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) I won't go into huge detail, but just to mention a number of points, there are five key elements: the same minimum standards for crimes, safe reporting and risk assessment. What you find very often is that when somebody has been subject to violence and they go to authorities, they don't all have the same assessments done to actually predict what's the level of violence they might suffer and therefore they don't get protected.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) So, we need very good assessment of the situation by members of the defense forces, for example, by hospitals wherever women go to get help by the NGOs working with them. We also have to have privacy in judicial proceedings, right to compensation. And we, of course, need help lines and crisis centers. We have many of these, but they need to be more persistent and consistent in the way that they deal with this issue. And common sentencing standards would send a very strong message, just to mention a few of the areas that are in this directive.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) Very importantly, of course, we have included rape, and I'm sorry to say that quite a number of member states want to take this out of the directive. Can you imagine a directive on violence against women that does not include rape? And the argument is a legal one. It says it's overreach by the EU. Now, we believe that the crime of rape is so insidious and so persistent right across Europe, it should be in this directive, and that's what we will be arguing.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) But we're also looking at other issues like forced marriage, forced sterilization, sexual harassment in the world of work. We know the MeToo movement exists in business and journalism, everywhere, and still needs to be taken extremely serious. So we deal with sexual harassment in the world of work, and we deal with specialist support for victims. And again, I won't go into huge detail, but that means proper shelters, safe accommodation, medical support, forensic data, much to do in this counseling, trauma care, legal advice.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) There is a continuum of support services that are needed if we are to give effective help to victims of violence. A very important area is cyber crimes and ahead of the European elections, I would say tackling cyber violence is essential to ensure that young people and indeed everyone can be safe in the place they frequent most, and that's online.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) Cyber violence is often where other types of violence begins germinates and then actually leads on to stalking and indeed can lead to to death or indeed suicide, as we've seen in Ireland, where we brought in a law to try and help young women and those who have been affected by sharing of intimate images. So we have to make sure that we have those standards right across Europe.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) A quick final point. I think this is a Democratic issue as well, because we know that very often it's those in public life that journalists who are threatened. So I think violence against women has to be seen as an attack on democracy as well, an attack on our societies. And we do want to end that culture of impunity that is there. We really have to make sure that people take action.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) Finally, we do need male champions. Male champions are very important. We need men in leadership positions speaking out about violence against women, taking action, making sure they have the right policies within their political parties, and indeed going forward in their manifestos at times of election. So those are the key points in this directive. And we are very pleased that this is going for trialogues tomorrow and we hope that it would be concluded during this term. Thank you very much indeed.

Q&A, focusing on how the so called "Consent Legislation", the blue print for this Law and based on the Swedish model, might be perceived and implemented in other member states.

Q&A, followup on the differences between the Swedish's "Consent Legislation" and the actual version presented by the Parliament at the upcoming trialogue.

Q&A, focusing on the topic of consent in the specific regards of disabled people.

Q&A, on the specific case of Ireland and on how the country meets the basic requirements that will be implemented by the law.

Q&A, on how mental health is going to be implemented within the legal framework of the proposal.

Q&A, two questions: one concerning the definition of "rape" and a second one focusing on the specifics of a recent Italian judiciary case.