EU: Directive to protect women from violence omits rape

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The EU Parliament: MEPs have decided to criminalize forced marriage, stalking and bullying of women on the Internet across the EU

Photo: Ronald Wittek / EPA

Germany has prevailed with its blockade: the EU member states and parliament have, for the first time, agreed on an agreement against violence against women. However, contrary to what was proposed by the Commission and Parliament, the text does not cover the crime of rape due to resistance from member states such as Germany and France.

The EU Commission proposed the directive against violence against women for International Women's Day on March 8, 2022. Perpetrators should therefore be able to be prosecuted for rape across the EU, even if they did not hit or threaten the victim. To date, violence or threats are a prerequisite for criminal prosecution in 18 of the 27 Member States.

Women's rights activists hoped that the new regulation could ensure that the principle "Yes means Yes" applies across Europe. This already applies in Sweden and Spain, among others: women must expressly consent to sex for it to be considered consensual.

In Germany, however, the principle “no means no” has applied since sexual criminal law was reformed in 2016. Rape only occurs when women clearly refuse sex. Since the reform, they no longer necessarily have to defend themselves physically, but can also express this through words or gestures.

Recently, over 100 well-known women from politics, culture and business in Germany appealed in an open letter to Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) to move away from resistance to the directive in its entirety. “With this blockade stance, the protection of millions of women from violence in the EU is at stake,” it says. Climate activist Luisa Neubauer and former SPD Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht signed, for example.

Despite the compromises caused by the blockades, the EU member states and Parliament were able to reach an agreement on some points. With the agreement against violence against women, female genital mutilation is to be made a criminal offense throughout Europe. Forced marriage, stalking and bullying of women on the Internet should also be criminalized across the EU. The same applies to the malicious distribution of intimate recordings.

spr/AFP