Brussels, 16/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - A criminal law instrument in the form of an EU directive against gender-based violence should be put in place. Rape and other sexual violence against women should be recognised as a crime throughout the EU. Perpetrators should be prosecuted automatically. All reference to cultural, traditional or religious practices, including so-called “honour crimes” and female genital mutilation, as mitigating factors should be rejected. These are the main calls from the European Parliament (EP) women's rights and gender equality committee on Tuesday 15 March, as it adopted the report by Eva-Britt Svensson (GUE/NGL, Sweden) by 27 votes to none, with 2 abstentions.
The EP committee calls on member states to: - recognise rape and sexual violence against women as a crime, particularly within marriage and intimate informal relationships and/or where committed by male relatives; - consider stalking as a form of violence against women and treat it by means of a common legal framework in all member states; - develop age-appropriate psychosocial counselling to help child witnesses of all forms of violence to cope with their traumatic experiences; - provide at least one shelter per 10,000 people victims of gender-based violence.
To prevent exploitation, the EU and its member states should establish laws guaranteeing immigrant women the right to hold their own passports and residence permits. It should be made possible to hold a person criminally responsible for taking these documents away.
Context. Of all women in EUROPE 20-25% have experienced physical acts of violence at least once during their adult lives. More than one-tenth have suffered sexual violence involving the use of force.
Women do not have equal protection against male violence across the EU, because the relevant national laws and policies differ from one member state to the next. In several member states, violence by men against women in the form of rape is not treated as a state offence and does not result in automatic prosecution. (G.B./transl.rt)