“Violence against women is a poison in the bloodstream of our societies”, insisted the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, at the High-Level Forum on Women’s Rights, held on Wednesday 26 February at the plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
The meeting was held ahead of the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), which takes place in March, and the 30th anniversary of the ‘Beijing Declaration’.
At a time when the EU is making competitiveness its top priority, the Commissioner reiterated the urgent need to take action against violence against women, highlighting the economic impact of this: “Violence against women costs the EU €290 billion each year. If we want to be more competitive, why not start here?”
Hadja Lahbib noted the legislative advances that have been made within the EU, including the implementation of the directive on combating gender-based and domestic violence, which was adopted in 2024 (see EUROPE 13431/33).
“The EU must follow the high standards of the Istanbul Convention – in judicial cooperation (...) asylum and victim protection. The Directive even goes beyond the Istanbul Convention to address gender-based cyberviolence”, she stressed.
She also announced that starting this spring, a number of workshops with Member States will be organised in order to ensure the effective implementation of this directive by June 2027.
The previous day, the European Institute for Gender Equality had published its latest ‘Gender Equality Index 2024’ (see EUROPE 13587/15), which shows that “gender-based violence remains prevalent, severe and under-reported across the EU”, while also reporting that in 2022, 2,300 women were killed by their partner or a family member. What’s more, 31% of European women report that they have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence after the age of 15.
Commissioner Lahbib called for a collective commitment: “The rights and freedoms of women must never be up for debate. They must be a reality. Together, we can make our future brighter and more equal for everyone”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)