Aquest matí he participat en un panel de discussió a la Comissió Europea sobre ‘Dignity, integrity and an end to gender-based violence’, en el marc de la conferència interinstitucional ‘Equality between women and men, 19-20 September’ organitzada per la DG Justicia de la CE.
Podeu veure la meva intervenció (i les de les meves acompanyants a la taula) aquí.
Hi he parlat en nom del Parlament Europeu, com a membre de la Comissió de Drets de les Dones i Igualtat (FEMM).
Entre d’altres, he recollit diversos dels aspectes que vàrem aprovar en la Resolució del Parlament Europeu el passat 5 d’abril intitulada: On priorities and outline of a new EU policy framework to fight violence against women (2010/2209(INI)‘
En destaco alguns dels apartats que he tractat específicament durant la meva intervenció:
A. whereas no single intervention will eliminate gender-based violence, but a combination of infrastructural, legal, judicial, enforcement, educational, health, and other service-related actions can significantly reduce it and its consequences,
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H. whereas gender-based violence, predominantly by men against women, is a structural and widespread problem throughout Europe and the world, is a phenomenon that involves victims and perpetrators of all ages, educational backgrounds, incomes and social positions and is linked to the unequal distribution of power between women and men in our society,
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M. whereas, according to the existing studies concerning Council of Europe member states, the annual cost of violence against women is estimated to be in the region of EUR 33 billion(7) ,
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O. whereas the European Union, with the Lisbon Treaty, has a broader competence in the area of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, including on criminal procedural law and substantive criminal law, as well as in the area of police cooperation,
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1. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission in its Action Plan implementing the Stockholm Programme to present in 2011-2012 a ‘Communication on a strategy to combat violence against women, domestic violence and female genital mutilation, to be followed up by an EU action plan’(8) ;
2. Proposes a new comprehensive policy approach against gender-based violence including:
SEGUEIX…
– a criminal-law instrument in the form of a directive against gender-based violence,
– measures to address the ‘six-P’ framework on violence against women (policy, prevention, protection, prosecution, provision, and partnership),
– demands on Member States to ensure that perpetrators are punished in accordance with the gravity of the crime,
– demands on Member States to ensure training for officials likely to come into contact with cases of violence against women – including law enforcement, social welfare, child welfare, healthcare and emergency centre staff – in order to detect, identify and properly deal with such cases, with a special focus on the needs and rights of victims,
– requirements for Member States to demonstrate due diligence and to record and investigate all forms of gender-based violence crimes in order to initiate public prosecution,
– plans to develop specific investigative routines for police and health sector professionals in order to secure evidence of gender-based violence,
– the creation of partnerships with higher education institutions with a view to providing training courses on gender-based violence for professionals in the relevant fields, especially judges, criminal police officials, health and education professionals and victim support staff,
– policy proposals to help victims rebuild their lives, addressing the specific needs of different groups of victims such as minority women, in addition to ensuring their safety and re-establishing their physical and psychological health, and measures encouraging the exchange of information and best practices on dealing with survivors of violence against women,
– the integration of specific identification and diagnosis mechanisms within hospital emergency services and the primary care network, with a view to consolidating a more efficient access and monitoring system for the victims concerned,
– demands on Member States to provide shelters for victims of gender-based violence in cooperation with relevant NGOs,
– minimum requirements as to the number of victim support structures per 10 000 inhabitants for victims of gender-based violence in the form of centres with specific expertise to help victims,
– the establishment of a European charter setting out a minimum level of assistance services to be offered to victims of violence against women, including: the right to legal aid; the creation of shelters to meet victims’ needs for protection and temporary accommodation; urgent psychological aid services to be provided free of charge by specialists on a decentralised and accessible basis; and financial aid arrangements aimed at promoting victims’ independence and facilitating their return to normal life and the world of work,
– minimum standards to ensure that victims have professional support in the form of advice from a legal practitioner irrespective of their role in the criminal proceedings,
– mechanisms to facilitate access to legal aid enabling victims to assert their rights throughout the Union,
– plans to develop methodological guidelines and undertake new data collection efforts to obtain comparable statistical data on gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation, in order to identify the extent of the problem and to provide a basis for a change in action towards the problem,
– the establishment, in the next five years, of a European Year Against Violence Against Women with the aim of raising awareness among European citizens,
– demands on the Commission and Member States to take appropriate measures on prevention, including awareness-raising campaigns, where relevant in cooperation with NGOs,
– the implementation of measures in wage agreements and greater coordination between employers, trade unions and enterprises, as well as between their respective management bodies, in order to furnish victims with relevant information on their employment rights,
– an increased number of courts specifically handling gender-based violence; more resources and training materials on gender-based violence for judges, public prosecutors and lawyers; and improvements to the specialist units in law enforcement bodies, by increasing their staff numbers and improving their training and equipment;
3. Urges the Member States to recognise rape and sexual violence against women, particularly within marriage and intimate informal relationships and/or where committed by male relatives, as a crime in cases where the victim did not give consent, to ensure that such offences result in automatic prosecution, and to reject any reference to cultural, traditional or religious practices as a mitigating factor in cases of violence against women, including so-called ‘crimes of honour’ and female genital mutilation;
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7. Highlights that migrant women, including undocumented migrant women, and women asylum-seekers form two subcategories of women that are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence;
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12. Calls on the Commission to continue its efforts to combat gender-based violence through Community programmes, especially the Daphne programme that has already been successful in combating violence against women;
13. Notes that the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) will survey a representative sample of women from all Member States regarding their experiences of violence, and asks that the focus be placed on examining the responses women receive from the various authorities and support services when reporting;
14. Urges Member States, in their national statistics, to show clearly the magnitude of gender-based violence and to take steps to ensure that data are collected on gender-based violence, inter alia on the sex of the victims, the sex of the perpetrators, their relationship, age, crime scene, and injuries;
15. Calls on the Commission to submit a study on the financial impact of violence against women, building on research using methodologies that can financially quantify the impact of this form of violence on health services, welfare systems and the labour market;
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29. Reiterates its view that the European Union, within the new legal framework established by the Treaty of Lisbon, should become a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its optional protocol(9) ;
30. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address violence against women and the gender-related dimension of human rights violations internationally, in particular in the context of bilateral association and international trade agreements in force and those under negotiation;
