Frances Fitzgerald, MEP for Dublin, has today rcently called for the European Union to take more action in tackling violence against women. Following a recent vote on EU accession to the Istanbul Convention during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, Mrs Fitzgerald noted; “The EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention cannot come quickly enough. Committing to taking action against violence against women and domestic violence is one that all Member States and the EU as a whole should be enthusiastically committing to. Although we are currently waiting for the European Court of Justice to hand down its opinion on the convention, this should not be a barrier to making progress in the interim, through such actions as making violence against women an EU crime, as proposed by Commission President elect Ursula von der Leyen.”
“While traditional forms of violence persist, such as physical and sexual violence and coercive control, new forms of violence against women are also emerging, such as cyber violence. To tackle all forms of violence against women, the scale of the problem must first be understood. To that end, this week I wrote to Commissioners elect Reynders and Dalli to urge them to commission new studies on violence against women across the EU. Only by understanding the problem can we then take effective action to tackle it.” “I urge all EU Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention. The convention is about one thing and one thing only: tackling violence against women. All 28 EU Member States should work together towards the goal, and together eradicate violence against women in all its forms.”
