Jointly, LIBE (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) and FEMM (Women’s Rights and Gender Equality) Committees vote on EU legislation to fight violence against women and domestic violence. MEPs want a uniform criminal definition of rape based on the absence of consent, for cyber violence to be a crime under EU law (including non-consensual sharing of intimate material), and safer and gender-sensitive procedures for reporting incidents.

Brussels

statement

vote

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Juan Fernando (S&D, ES)

violence against women (T)

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

FITZGERALD, Frances (EPP, IE)

INCIR, Evin (S&D, SE)

Delivery EE2024 (T)

Combating violence against women and domestic violence: extracts from the vote, statements by Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE) and Evin INCIR (S&D, SE), Co-rapporteurs, Joint meeting of LIBE and FEMM Committees

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/71176849/1687940160277_I243074Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

LIBE Chair LOPEZ AGUILAR announcing the final vote and the resuts of the vote: 71 in favour, 5 against, 7 abstentions, 2 shots

Vote on entering into negotiations: 72 in favour, 6 against, 5 abstentions.   

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Co-rapporteur, We want to see rape included as an offence in this directive. Unfortunately, many of the member states are not supporting this. They're not supporting the principle of consent being included in the offence. That's a red line for the Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Co-rapporteur, We're going to fight it in the trialogues to make sure that rape is included. With consent being central to the definition and central to the offence.

SOUNDBITE (English), Frances FITZGERALD (EPP, IE), Co-rapporteur, If this legislation and this directive is passed before the end of term, then within the next two years we would see this directive being implemented across Europe and that would make a difference because it's about preventing violence. It's about protecting the victims and prosecuting those who commit the crimes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&amp;D, SE), Co-rapporteur, First of all, this is a historic decision that we have seen here in the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and Equality Committee on preventing gender based violence, on protecting the survivors and acting against the perpetrators.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&amp;D, SE), Co-rapporteur, Unfortunately, we see that there are a couple of people here, even in the committees, thank god there are just a few on the far right side who are doing everything they can to try to be against the this directive as well as we see in the Council, the European Council, that has watered down their proposal. So we are looking ahead of to unfortunately tough negotiations. But the stand of the European Parliament is clear. We will not accept any watering down of the Directive.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&amp;D, SE), Co-rapporteur, The biggest issue is the consent paragraph to include making rape as an offence in the whole European Union. This shouldn't be a controversial issue, but it is. It is unacceptable that the Member States have taken it out from their proposal.

SOUNDBITE (English), Evin INCIR (S&amp;D, SE), Co-rapporteur, 50 women per week are being killed as a consequence of domestic violence and every third woman in the EU is a survivor of sexual or physical violence. So as soon as the trialogues are concluded, it will take up to a week, less than one month for it to be getting into force. And then the member states have up to two years maximum to implement it.