Raül Romeva i Rueda

Adjunto la intervenció que acabo de fer avui, en plenari, a Estrasburg, en relació a la diada commemorativa (que no festiva) del 25N, sobre la Violència contra les Dones.

Intervenció de Raül Romeva el dia 25 de noviembre, dia Internacional contra la Violència contra les dones

Violence against women is a structural and widespread problem throughout Europe. One in 5 women in the EU has been subjected to domestic violence. Large-scale prevalence studies in Sweden, Germany and Finland show that at least 30-50% of women between 16 and 67 have at one time been victims of physical or sexual violence, and if psychological violence is included the figures raise to between 45-50%.

The term ‘violence against women’ is to be understood as any act of gender-based violence, which results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

I welcome the demand on Council and Commission to establish a clear legal basis for combating all forms of violence against women – this has been a Greens/EFA request for years. I also urge Council and Commission to take a decision on the full communitarisation of a European policy.  None of the EU Member States are succeeding in successfully addressing this problem on their own. Zero tolerance towards all forms of violence against women must become a top priority of all institutions throughout Europe.

Parliament’s demand on Council and Commission for a targeted and a more coherent EU policy plan to combat all forms of violence against women is a step into the right direction, likewise the proposal by the forthcoming Spanish Presidency to set up an Observatory on Violence against Women to be established in the EU Gender Institute.

Furthermore, as the rapporteur on Feminicides, the EP report on the killing of women in Mexico and Latin America I am very pleased that the Parliament also followed my request in addressing violence against women and the gender-related dimension of human rights violations internationally, in particular in the context of the bilateral association and international trade agreements in force and those under negotiations.

Finally, I wish to inform you about the presence here in the Parliament of the Collectif des Femmes Congolaises pour la Paix et la Justice, that have been distributing flowers as a reminder of all the job that is needed to be done.

Finally 

Foto: La violació és sovint usada com a arma de guerra en conflictes armats, com al Congo. Font: PressTV