EU adopts first law tackling violence against women

European Union (EU) countries on Tuesday gave the green light to the bloc's first law devoted to combatting violence against women.

The sweeping new legislation aims to protect women in the EU from gender-based violence, forced marriages, female genital mutilation and cyber violence such as online stalking and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

It also makes it easier for victims of domestic abuse to report crimes, which, according to a new framework, will be punishable by jail sentences of up to five years.

Punishments for crimes against children, spouses, ex-spouses, politicians, journalists and human rights activists can be even more severe.

But a failure to reach a common definition of rape was a source of contention between several member states.

European politicians hail 'groundbreaking' law

"Violence against women and domestic violence is a persisting crime," said Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Paul Van Tigchelt. "This law will guarantee EU-wide that perpetrators will be strongly sanctioned and that its victims will receive all the support they need."

The European Parliament approved the new rules in April and the official adoption by member states on Tuesday was the final step before it becomes law. EU states now have three years to transpose the rules into national law.

"This is a groundbreaking moment in boosting women's rights," said Marie-Colline Leroy, Belgium's Secretary of State for Gender Equality. 

"Real equality can only happen when women can live without fear of being harassed, violently attacked or physically harmed. This law is an important step to make this happen."

No common EU definition of rape

However, while agreement on the necessity of the legislation has been unanimous, the text of the directive failed to settle on a common definition of rape, which was a source of contention during negotiations.

While countries such as Italy and Greece were in favor of inserting such a definition, Germany and France argued that the EU did not have competence in the matter.

Ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, the Spanish equality minister Ana Redondo said she would have preferred the legislation to be "a little more ambitious."

But she said the law was still a "good starting point."

mf/ab (AFP, KNA)