Time for a European directive on gender-based violence!

Dear Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

Dear Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli,

Gender-based violence is a brutal expression of unequal power relations, affecting over a third of all Europeans.

Current lockdown measures have exacerbated the pre-existing problems by enabling an environment for coercive control. Cases of gender-based physical, psychological and sexual violence have increased across Europe under COVID19, in what the United Nations has called a “shadow pandemic”.

Despite this alarming development, the European Union still does not have a directive obliging its members to put an end to this systematic form of violence.

We support the European Commission’s commitments to step up the EU's response to gender-based violence, and call on the Commission to propose a comprehensive and inclusive directive to prevent, respond and end gender-based violence online and offline.

It’s time to move empty words to concrete action, before any more harm is done. #NoMoreEmptyWords

Update (March 2022): The European Commission has proposed a new directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence. The European Parliament and the Council now enter negotiations. If no agreement is reached before the European elections in June 2024, when Belgium will be chairing the Council, the future of the directive might be at stake. The second half of 2024 will fall under the leadership of Hungary, followed by Poland. Our fight for a European directive on gender-based violence is important than ever!