The chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) described violence against women as a “particularly worrying topical issue” at a hearing on Monday 18 November. A week before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence, Evelyn Regner (S&D, Germany) reported an “alarming” situation.
Around the world, “one in three girls has suffered physical or sexual violence in her life, one in two women are murdered by a partner or family member, and 71% of victims of human trafficking are women”, she said.
According to Marceline Naudi, the President of GREVIO, the implementing body of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women (Istanbul Convention), much progress remains to be made. Very few Member States monitor victims who have been placed under protection, too few public authorities guarantee long-term sources of funding, and data collection systems still need to be improved, she said, among other things.
Genoveva Tisheva of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Joanna Maycock, Secretary-General of the European Women's Lobby, joined Ms Naudi and Ms Regner in calling for all EU Member States to implement the Istanbul Convention. “We cannot talk about peace in the EU if women are afraid when in their workplaces and in their homes. There is no European country where equality has really been achieved”, said Joanna Maycock.
Last April, the European Parliament deplored the delay in the EU's ratification process of the Istanbul Convention (see EUROPE 12228/4). It then announced its intention to refer the matter to the European Union Court of Justice so that it could invalidate the arguments of those Member States behind the blockage. Parliament has since submitted a request for an opinion. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki, intern)