To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola paid tribute at a plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday 10 March to the courage of those who denounce violence and work to change the law.
The president of the institution welcomed Irish activist Jackie Fox, who is campaigning against cyberbullying after the suicide of her daughter, Nicole, the victim of repeated abuse both online and offline.
“The courage of women who refuse to stay silent continues to shape our societies”, said Roberta Metsola, stressing that the European Parliament will “always stand with them - defending equality, combating all forms of abuse online and offline and removing the barriers that prevent women from participating fully in public life“.
Jackie Fox told MEPs about the harassment suffered by her daughter, which led her to take her own life. After this tragedy, she discovered that there was no legal framework to protect victims of cyberbullying, whether they were adults or minors. She campaigned for the adoption of ‘Coco’s Law’ in Ireland, which criminalises the sharing of intimate images without consent and certain forms of online abuse.
Jackie Fox called on European Parliament to draw inspiration from this legislation, which entered into force in 2021 and has already led to more than 200 prosecutions, in order to introduce European legislation against cyberbullying. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)