Page 4 - BPW-UK - E-news - Edition 119 - February 2024 with Registration Flyer

Letter addressed

to

Anu Viks
Executive Member of BPW International

Regional Coordinator BPW Europe
2021 - 2024

by

Miette Dechelle, European Women’s Lobby (EWL) Board Member

on behalf of BPW Europe

Dear Anu and ECC,

URGENT: Read Now and Share! European Women Lobby’s statement on the Di-
rective on Violence against Women and Girls

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is urgently appealing to the European Parlia-
ment to support the proposed Directive on combating violence against women and domestic
violence before the EU elections.

The EWL expresses outrage at the blocking tactics of France and Germany, prevent-
ing the inclusion of a consent-based definition of rape, based on the Istanbul Convention
standards. The EWL also deeply regrets the exclusion of the definition of sexual harassment
at the workplace and forced sterilization in the Directive. Due to this blockage, the Belgium
Presidency did not include the article on rape back in the compromise proposal and now the
European Parliament needs to take a position before the last trialogue of the year (first
week of February, date still to be decided). Unfortunately, the timing makes it impossible to
keep the deadline and be able to adopt the Directive in time before the end of the mandate.
The risks of having a Directive stagnated are very high taking
into account the next incoming presidencies and the uncertain composition of the next Euro-
pean Parliament; and there are no realistic alternatives.

The Directive, the first of its kind at the EU level and the first step in the right direc-
tion, aims to harmonise definitions of at least seven forms of violence against women
(including a legal framework of definitions of five forms of cyber-violence against women). It
offers a package of rights to protection and support for all victims of all forms of violence
against women and domestic violence (as per national definitions). The EWL calls on the
Council, under the Belgian Presidency, to adopt a compromise text aligned with the de-
mands of the European Parliament and for Member States to adopt the Directive that lives
up to the standards of the Istanbul Convention. It is time to make violence against women
and girls a political priority!
To read more about the EWL’s statement on the Directive, and share it across your
networks, click here [1].

2024 EU Elections EWL’s Manifesto Available Now!

As the countdown to the European elections in June begins, it is crucial to recognize
the significance of this electoral process in shaping policies that directly impact women's
rights across the continent. The EWL has just published a new resource for the 2024 EU
elections campaign.

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