The European Parliament has made a historic decision to combat violence against women and domestic violence. According to a report published on the website of the European Parliament, the new law was supported by 522 votes, with a confrontation of 27 MEPs, while 72 abstained.
The new rules are aimed at preventing the female genital injury, forced marriages and identifying the mechanisms of protection against offenses occurring in online environment, such as the disclosure of private information and cyberflesing. The law also provides for an extension of the list of circumstances that complicate crimes that can lead to more severe punishments, in particular crimes against public figures, journalists or human rights activists.
Among the innovations of the legislation also includes the "intention to punish the victim" on the basis of its gender, sexual orientation, skin color, religion, social origin or political beliefs, as well as the restoration of "honor".
According to the decision, the new rules will come into force 20 days after their publication in the official journal of the European Union. Member States have three years to implement these provisions.
The adoption of this Law is important taking into account the statistics of the European Commission, according to which every third woman in 27 EU countries faces violence, often by intimate partners. In addition, according to the European Network of End FGM organizations, 600,000 women in Europe live with the consequences of female genital injury. Even in EU member states, where such types of violence are considered crimes and injury to the female genital organs are illegal, there are gaps in legislation and differences in legal norms.
