After the deal reached between the Parliament and the Council, MEPs debate on Tuesday and vote on Wednesday on the first EU rules on combating violence against women and domestic violence. The new directive will prohibit forced marriage and female genital mutilation and have specific rules on cybercrimes, such as cyber-flashing and cyber-stalking. Victims will have improved access to justice and to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive services, while the legislation will include provisions to prevent rape. Opening statements by by Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteurs, Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT (EPP, ES), EMPL Committee, Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Alexandra GEESE (Greens/EFA, DE), BUDG Committee, and by Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), JURI Committee. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

plenary session

violence against women (T)

FITZGERALD, Frances (EPP, IE)

INCIR, Evin (S&D, SE)

AUBRY, Manon (The Left, FR)

GEESE, Alexandra (Greens/EFA, DE)

DALLI, Helena (MT, EC)

EP Plenary session - Combating violence against women and domestic violence: Opening statements by Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteurs, Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT, Helena DALLI, Alexandra GEESE, Manon AUBRY

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&amp;D, SE), Rapporteur, Colleagues, after more than three decades of dedicated and continuous fight for women's rights, the European women we are on the brink of achieving a new milestone in the history of women in Europe. The journey has been challenging, but every moment of anger and every tear shed along the way have been worthwhile. While the negotiation process has taken over two years, the battle for our rights and demands has been ongoing for much, much longer. The pleas from women and girls resonate throughout our Union, spanning all our member States and reaching across the globe. Though their voices may vary, their message remains consistent. A call for freedom, safety, security and the protection of women's human rights.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Rapporteur, No corner in our society is immune to the threat of gender based violence, whether it is in homes, schools, workplaces, public squares, streets or online platforms. Women and girls are continually subjected to violence and abuse at the hands of men. It has occurred throughout history and in all parts of society, whether during a time of war or during a time of peace. Close to one out of every three women have experienced physical and/ or sexual violence since the age of 15. Approximately 5% of women in EU countries have been raped since the age of 15.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Rapporteur, 'Shockingly, only 0.5% of rapes result in convictions. This is unacceptable. We must put an end to this impunity. Globally, intimate partners are responsible for up to 38% of all murders of women. Between 45% and 55% of women in the EU have encountered sexual harassment since the age of 15. However, this issue extends beyond personal relationship and infiltrates various settings, including online platforms. Online violence against women and girls has surged in recent years, presenting significant threats to their safety and well-being. For example, 73% of female journalists have faced online violence in the course of their work.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Rapporteur, As I eagerly anticipate to finally being able to transitioning from words to action to save the lives of women and girls, I am also disheartened by certain leaders in some of our member States, particularly the trio of men who hindered the inclusion of legislation based on consent to address rape. The actions of the Liberal President Macron in France, the Liberal Minister of Justice Buschmann in Germany, who disregarded the pleas of his ministerial counterparts from the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party to incorporate legislation based on consent to address rape. And the Prime Minister, the illiberal Prime Minister, Viktor Orban of Hungary, are deeply disappointing.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Rapporteur, 'Your betrayal and obstruction of the opportunity to implement consent-based legislation will not be overlooked and will not be forgotten. Nevertheless, despite the resistance from these three individuals and others, we succeeded in incorporating for the first time in EU legislation the requirement for Member States to promote a cultural-based on consent in sexual relationships to define non-consensual sex as criminal offence. While this may not seem groundbreaking at first glance, the challenges faced during negotiations have revealed its truly strong and revolutionary nature.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Rapporteur, Colleagues, let's pay attention to the request of the various European and national women's organisations. It's time to finalise through adopting the agreement and embrace this historical and groundbreaking first directive aimed at in a comprehensive way, combating violence against women and domestic violence. At this point, any indecision would be a betrayal of the collective efforts, aspirations and dedication of generations of women and girls. Remember: the rights of women and girls are human rights. Let's now go from words to actions for a more secure Europe for women and girls. For a feminist Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteur, 'There can be no equality without the eradication of violence against women and domestic violence. That is clear. This week we have the opportunity to live up to one of our founding European ideals. Equality between women and men. Equality across the European Union is floundering in some places. Hateful LGBTIQ+ zones created to bully people into conformity and brutal rollback of abortion care and the ever thundering train of domestic violence, that never gets quieter, it seems. But actually, as we've seen through COVID 19 pandemic only gets louder. And why are women targeted? Because there is, sadly, just beneath the surface, the belief that women are lesser.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteur, Every year, gender based violence costs the European Union a staggering €366 billion, a cost that we cannot afford economically. But one we cannot afford socially, because behind these numbers we find fractured families, traumatised children and devastated women living in fear every single day. So he opportunity that presents itself here to us today is to make a stand for the women of Europe, to adopt the directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence. This will send a strong message across the European Union to all 27 Member states and 450 million citizens will not stand for violence. We have to build on the accession of the Istanbul Convention. We are creating a robust framework.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteur, So the goal should be that Europe would be the first continent in the world to eradicate violence against women. But the adoption tomorrow is not enough. We need a robust monitoring framework and a genuine commitment across all levels of government to ensure that this is really implemented. That we tackle this with the right resources and supports. And I would say to ministers for justice across the European Union, we saw ambivalence from some of them. Do your absolute utmost. Learn from your colleagues across Europe what works well, exchange best practice, fight for that extra bit of budget, invest in resources and make a successful tackling of this crime your legacy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteur, We do not want to cut corners on the implementation of this legislation. Don't try and minimise it. Build on it. To Prime ministers and presidents: work with your governments to make sure that this is implemented, that you build on the very best practice. So you build a society that's fit for the women and girls of today and tomorrow. And obviously the European Commission and congratulations to them, to the commissioner here and Ursula Von Der Leyen, a bit clinical in your examination of the transposition of this directive, because this really matters. And do tell us when the time comes what has been achieved. I know we will have more to do because as I have said, this is the beginning. We have come far with this directive. We should have gone further. But there was huge resistance, as my colleague Evin Incir has said.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Rapporteur, But I am confident that with this directive, our union would be a better place for its adoption. But again, the real work begins now. Let's make sure that that's done all over Europe. We need to go forward together. And there was great cooperation in this House when we were working on this directive. We need to go forward and achieve that secure European future that the women of Europe and the young girls of Europe deserve. I wholeheartedly urge every member of this House to vote in favour of this directive tomorrow. Do not be distracted. It can save and change countless lives of women right across Europe. This directive is very important. It has new offences. It has sections on prevention, on support, on protection and on prosecution. It really matters that we implement this directive after ten long years and indeed decades. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT (EPP, ES), EMPL Committee, 'Thank you. President, every 6 hours, a woman dies in Europe, and for the first time, we're looking at an EU level rule to combat violence against women and domestic violence. We are taking a historic step forward to make Europe the first continent in the world to eliminate violence against women. We are sending a clear message. It's not acceptable that just because you're a woman, you face greater risks than if you were a man across the EU. We will criminalise female genital mutilation in all its forms, forced marriage, cyber harassment, cyber attacks, incitation to hatred or violence online and non-consensual exchange of intimate images. These common rules are set out to make us stronger. But this is also about facilitating access to justice.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT (EPP, ES), EMPL Committee, 'We talk about protection and prevention. We were not able to include non-consensual relations, rape, and we do regret that some countries did not step up to join the right side of history on behalf of the People's Party. All of the countries where the People's Party is in power, there was a vote in favour of ensuring that rape was considered a crime and included. This was not the case for countries like Germany, where the socialists are in power, or France where there is a liberal president. And we will have to keep this in mind with the upcoming term in view. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, 'Thank you, President. Dear honourable Members, thank you for inviting me to today's debate. From the beginning of our mandate, the Commission emphasised its strong commitment to advance gender equality and to ensure freedom from gender based violence in its equality strategy. In this respect, the European Parliament has been very vocal and I really, really thank you for this in calling on the Commission to take legislative action to end violence against women. And again, I thank you for your perseverance and for your active support. In particular, I thank the co-rapporteurs and member of Parliament Fitzgerald and the member of Parliament Incir and your teams for your unrelenting commitment to this file and in making a difference and contributing to changing women's lives.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, The work exchanges and negotiations with stakeholders, civil society organisations, Member States and EU Swedish, Spanish and Belgian Presidency have been intense and sometimes difficult and challenging. But through our common efforts and common aim to have for the first time EU law to protect, prevent and support women against violence and domestic violence, we managed to reach a political agreement on this instrument earlier this year. The message is clear. No longer will we accept violence against women and domestic violence in Europe. The directive represents an important step towards promoting change in social and cultural patterns of behaviour and ultimately reducing the prevalence of all forms of violence against women and domestic violence in the EU. Victims of violence against women and domestic violence across the EU will now benefit from the same measures of protection, support and access to justice.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, 'The Directive builds upon and complements the general regime of the Victims Rights Directive by introducing provisions targeted to the specific needs of victims of violence against women and domestic violence. The Directive also provides for the EU wide criminalisation of the most widespread forms of cyber violence against women. Non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyberstalking, cyber harassment, misogynists, hate speech online and cyber flashing. It also criminalises female genital mutilation and forced marriage. As such, harmful practices are unacceptable. The directive will include a strong article on prevention measures related to rape and the central role of consent in sexual relationships to promote awareness and ultimately reduce the scourge of rape in the EU.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Member States have three years to implement the Directive. It will require every Member States commitment to correctly transpose the new law within that timeframe. The Commission will support Member States and closely monitor that process. I trust that this House, together with the Council, will adopt this directive in order to empower victims and help make Europe a safe place for us. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (German), Alexandra GEESE (Greens/EFA, DE), BUDG Committee, President. Madam Commissioner. Dear colleagues. Artificial intelligence generates naked pictures that you can always find on line. You can see Taylor Swift is a victim of this. But this can happen to anyone. And women are very disturbed by it. They suffer from depression. And so it's a huge success that this new directive fighting violence against women clearly states that the publishing of naked pictures is a crime. What is I find shocking is that the Council has made it such as raise such a high barrier to being able to prosecute this because the really serious damage is because of this. Ladies and gentlemen, every women knows that the publication of naked pictures against the one's own will is a serious damage. So why do you have what more needs to be defined? So this this form of violence against women has to end. Let's fight for a Europe where women can live free and safe. Thank you all.

SOUNDBITE (French) Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), JURI Committee, Colleagues. Every 7 minutes there is a rape in the European Union, 100,000 every year. And how many rapists are sentenced? Less than 1%. What would we say if only 1% of robbers or thieves were sentenced? We'd say that this was widespread impunity. This would constantly be in the headlines. But it's always different, isn't it, when it's about women's rights. So this text takes things in the right direction. But we're going to be voting on this text now. And I can't help but express my anger at Emmanuel Macron, who, along with his favourite ally, Viktor Orban, said no to an EU level definition of rape.

SOUNDBITE (French) Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR), JURI Committee, 'So let me say this again. Macron, the right and the far right. Let's be clear: non-consensual sex is rape, and that's how it ought to be defined under EU law. And we will say this over and over as long as it takes. Women's bodies don't belong to you. Our consent doesn't belong to you either.