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http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_9581_en.htm
EU-WIDE STRATEGY NEEDED TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Summary: 16
March 2010, Brussels - An EU-wide strategy is needed to combat violence against
women, which must be recognised as a crime, said participants in a European
Parliament public hearing with national parliaments and civil society
representatives, held on Tuesday to mark International Women's Day.
Participants also agreed on the need for EU-wide comparable data.
One in four
adult European women is a victim of physical violence, and one in ten of sexual
violence, at least once in her life, said European Parliament President Jerzy
Buzek, stressing that "gender-based violence is a crime committed not only
against its victims, but it means also the destruction of future
generations".
"Unfortunately, many women never seek help because of fear and
shame", he continued, noting that Europe suffers from the lack of a
"comprehensive exchange of data", so holding a public debate and
promoting information campaigns "can make a difference".
"We have to show that we can stop violence against women because this is
necessary to build an equal society", said Women's Rights and Gender
Equality Committee chair Eva-Britt Svensson (GUE/NGL, SE).
EU initiatives
Spanish Minister for Equality Bibiana Aído Almagro, reiterated initiatives by
the EU's Spanish Presidency's to tackle gender-based violence, including the
European Observatory, the EU-wide hotline to assist victims (116) and the
European Protection Order. "Violence against women is a common challenge
and this is only a starting point", she said.
European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane
Reding, outlined Commission initiatives, such as the gender equality strategy
for 2010-2015, a legislative proposal to combat human trafficking and a
specific conference on violence against women. These initiatives will
complement existing instruments, such as the Women's Charter and the Daphne
programme.
In discussion, Baroness Verma underlined that many victims of UK gender-based
violence come from third countries. She therefore proposed working closely with
the national parliaments of these states. MEP Emine Bozkurt (S-D, NL) backed
this idea and suggested co-operating with Turkey as a candidate country. A
representative of the Hungarian parliament stressed that "violence against
women is a criminal offence and we need to be clear about that". Ulrike
Lunacek (Greens/EFA, AT) asked the opinion of Aído Almagro and Viviane Reding
on the idea of a special hotline for victims of human trafficking.
Aído Almagro said that this was a good idea, but it must be part of a broader
strategy aimed at protecting victims, prosecuting mafias and raising awareness.
"Changing mentalities is more difficult than changing laws", she
concluded. Viviane Reding encouraged representatives of national parliaments to
lobby governments to implement hotlines properly.
Measures needed
Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency Morten Kjærum, said that 45% of
women in Europe suffer some kind of violence at least once in their lifetime
and estimated the total annual cost of gender-based violence at €12 bn to €20€
bn.
In Bulgaria "we do not talk about violence, we talk about survival",
said Bulgarian journalist Martin Karbovski, highlighting numerous cases of
women sprayed with acid. He also complained about the lack of penalties against
aggressors.
The problem of how to implement measures against gender-based violence still
exists, noted Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
Inés Alberdi, who stressed the lack of financial resources to set up
initiatives in this field. Nonetheless "the Beijing+15 political commitments
must be put into practice", she urged.
Vicious circle
"If the mental state of a family becomes weak, this can create more
violence", noted Lívia Járóka (EPP, HU). Portuguese MP Maria do Rosário
Carneiro stressed that gender-based violence is "barbarian behaviour",
which must be tackled, inter alia by stepping up specific training programmes
for the police.
Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL, PT) stressed the need to investigate the causes of
human trafficking.
Seminar for journalists
A European Parliament Press Service seminar for journalists on Monday looked at
ways in which Parliament can tackle gender-based violence and how the media can
contribute to open a public debate on this issue.
In the chair: Eva-Britt SVENSSON (GUE/NGL, SE)
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