A historic step has been taken by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, with the adoption of the European Union Directive on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. 

The EU Directive represents a critical step toward safeguarding fundamental human rights by addressing gender-based violence in all its forms. It seeks to harmonize legal frameworks across member states, ensuring that victims receive the protection, support, and justice they deserve while reinforcing prevention measures and holding perpetrators accountable.

On 14 May 2024, the Directive entered into force. This article will review and analyse the key points of the Directive, its shortcomings and the mechanisms of functioning of the authorities under the Directive.

Equality between men and women is an integral part of human rights protection. These principles are fundamental rights protected by Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). However, violence against women and domestic violence threaten these core values, and impede women and girls from realizing their right to equality in all aspects of life.

A 2014 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that one-third of European women have experienced physical or sexual violence since age 15 - around 62 million women. Currently, Eurostat is conducting another EU-wide survey on violence against women and other interpersonal violence, with results expected in 2024.

The Directive is therefore extremely important in protecting women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence (GBV). 

However, it is important to understand what forms of GBV are covered by the Directive and what measures Member States must take to implement the provisions of the Directive. 

Key provisions of the Directive

One of the key points of the Directive is the criminalisation of the following offences:

female genital mutilation, forced marriage, the non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, cyber stalking, cyber harassment, cyber flashing and cyber incitement to violence or hatred, femicide, rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, stalking, early marriage, forced abortion, forced sterilisation and different forms of cyber violence, such as online sexual harassment and cyber bullying. 

The Directive protects women and girls from domestic violence, but uses the term ‘victim’ with specificity. In other words, measures taken under the Directive to protect victims of domestic violence are not only for women and girls, but for all victims, irrespective of gender.

In addition, the Directive's novelty is the criminalisation of cyber violence against women and girls, which is extremely important given the gender-sensitive aspect of this issue. In this respect, the legislation draws public attention to an important emerging issue: the problem of the fabrication of ‘deepfakes’, where the content closely mimics a real person, object, place, event, or entity, portrays someone's sexual activities, and could misleadingly appear genuine or truthful to others. 

Out of the roughly 85,000 deepfakes available online, 96% involve non-consensual, sexually explicit content targeting women. Victims who discover their media content has been deepfaked often experience significant psychological distress, reporting emotions such as humiliation, violation, fear, helplessness, and powerlessness.

The fabrication of “deepfakes” as a form of violence in the digital environment leads to a sense of insecurity and despair among women and girls, and may impact their lives in the real and virtual world. 

It is equally important that the Directive distinguishes, inter alia,  such forms of cyber harassment as cyberflashing and doxxing. Cyberflashing, according to the Directive, is the non-consensual sending of an image, video, or similar material showing genitals to another person. Doxing is the public sharing of victim's personal information online - without their consent - with the intent of encouraging others to cause physical or severe psychological harm to the victim.

It follows from the above that scientific and technological progress has not only brought benefits to humanity, making our lives much easier in various areas, but has also put women and girls at risk. The misuse of technology leads to situations in which women and girls have to find ways to defend their boundaries and ensure their safety.

It is also encouraging that the Directive includes a child-centered approach. 

It mentions the needs and rights of children as witnesses or victims of domestic violence, victims of crimes of forced marriage and female genital mutilation. According to the Directive, Member States must ensure a child-friendly reporting procedure. 

Finally, the Directive also takes an intersectional approach to protecting victims from discrimination. Thus, women with disabilities, women with dependent residence status or residence permits, homeless women, women from racial or ethnic minorities, women living in rural areas, LGBTQ+ persons, older women should receive targeted protection and support (paragraph 71).

In short, the Directive is a breath of fresh air in the EU's legal framework. After all, the equality between women and men must be promoted not only as a principle, but also in the tangible form of specific measures and steps to protect women and girls from all forms of violence. 

Drawbacks of the Directive

The Directive is undoubtedly aimed at protecting women and girls from all forms of violence, but it is not without shortcomings.

Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, points out that a significant drawback of the Directive is the lack of a common European definition of the terms ‘sexual assault’ and ‘rape’. After all, the consent-based definition of  ‘rape’  includes cases where the conditions for committing the crime of rape are coercive and such consent is recognised as meaningless. 

In addition, despite the fact that the Directive draws attention to the rights of migrant women to protect themselves from gender-based violence, the procedure is not sufficiently regulated.

The Directive pays attention to freedom of expression. The right to freedom of speech, opinion and expression in this context should be viewed through the prism of protecting victims of cyberviolence. In the worst case scenario, this will lead to the granting of freedom to private online groups that will be able to disseminate non-consensual photos and videos of women and girls without consent, relying on the principle of freedom of speech.

The rejection of an amendment requiring Member States to allocate sufficient, predictable, and sustainable funding for the Directive's implementation is also regrettable. 

It is widely recognized that no legal framework can function effectively without proper resources.

Implementation Deadline and Enforcement Mechanisms

An important aspect of the Directive is that Article 49 obliges all EU Member States to enact all laws, regulations and administrative provisions in accordance with the Directive by 14 June 2027. Thus, the legislature of each EU Member State should develop a number of measures to combat gender-based violence. 

In case if an EU Member State does not correctly implement a Directive, the European Commission can initiate a formal infringement procedure against that state. If the issue is not resolved, the Commission may escalate the case to the Court of Justice of the EU and request the Court to impose financial penalties.

A Major Step Forward

The adoption of the EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence is a major step towards promoting the principle of equality between men and women and protecting women and girls from gender-based violence. 

Given that children are exposed to gender roles from a very young age, which shape their self-image and impact their academic and career choices, as well as their expectations of their roles as men and women throughout life, it is essential to address gender stereotypes starting in early childhood education and care. The EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence represents a significant step forward in ensuring the safety and dignity of all individuals. 

Society's attention should be drawn to the gender-sensitive aspect of violence against women and girls. Ensuring that women and girls can feel safe in the real and virtual world is a basic need and a fundamental right. 

By breaking down the barriers that have long perpetuated injustice and inequality, the EU is leading the charge toward a future where everyone, regardless of gender, can live free from fear and violence.

References

1. EUR-LEX - 12016ME/TXT - EN - EUR-LEX. (n.d.). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12016ME%2FTXT
2. Crime, safety and victims’ rights – Fundamental Rights Survey. (2023, February 14). European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2021/fundamental-rights-survey crime
3. Violence | Observatory for Sociopolitical Developments in Europe. (n.d.). https://sociopolitical-observatory.eu/en/keytopics/violence
4. Laffier, J., & Rehman, A. (2023). Deepfakes and harm to women. Journal of Digital Life and Learning, 3(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.51357/jdll.v3i1.218
5. Directive - EU - 2024/1385 - EN - EUR-LEX. (n.d.). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024L1385
6. European Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence welcome but falls short of full potential, says UN expert. 13 May 2024. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/05/european-directive-combating-violence-against-women-and-domestic-violence
7. McQuigg, R. (2024, June 12). Queen’s policy engagement. Queen’s Policy Engagement. http://qpol.qub.ac.uk/the-new-eu-directive-on-combating-violence-against-women-and-domestic-violence/