London, (Parliament Politics Magazine) – While Covid-19 is still leaving its marks on peoples’ lives there is another pandemic that the EU should be particularly cautious about, that of Domestic Violence and femicides. Of course, it can be more coveted or not in a political system mostly represented by male ministers and deputies.
In recent years, the EU has made significant steps towards womens’ equity and gender-based discrimination. We now have women heading the commission, the parliament, and the European Central Bank. We have a gender-balanced college of commissioners, and compulsory quotas for women on boards.
Every day seven women die in the EU as victims of gender-based violence, most often killed by their partners.
“Violence against women should be considered alongside human trafficking and sexual exploitation,” suggested Iratxe García Pérez, president of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. For years, the Socialists and Democrats have been calling for a European strategy against gender-based violence, including a binding instrument.
Recently the Commission decided to present today on the 8th of March, marking International Woman’s Day, a directive to prevent and fight violence against women and domestic violence. Due to the opposition of some governments in the council, we have not been able to include gender-based violence as a crime in Article 83 of the treaty. The new directive will pay special attention to prevention, support, and protective measures. It should also oblige member states to ensure that violence by an intimate partner is a decisive factor when examining custody cases.
It is the European Union’s duty to support and shelter the women that have been discriminated against and put in danger by their partners. However, at this time our hearts and thoughts are mostly with the women in the war zone.