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 (September 2021): After thousands of us pushed for a directive to address and end gender-based violence, the European Parliament has voted to make gender-based violence an EU crime and called for the Commission to put forward such a directive. Commission President von der Leyen promised it by the end of the year. But they need to know a robust directive must be a priority! Add your name.