Consultation- Combating gender-based violence- protecting victims and punish offenders
Equality: Commission opens public consultation on tackling violence against women and domestic violence
Today, the European Commission is launching a public consultation on best ways to tackle gender-based and domestic violence. The views gathered in the consultation will feed into a legislative initiative, announced in the Gender Equality Strategy, and expected at the end of this year. President Ursula von der Leyen has placed fight against gender-based violence among her key political priorities and reiterated her commitment to the legislative initiative in her letter of intent accompanying the 2020 State of the Union Address. Violence against women and girls is one of the most persistent forms of gender-based discrimination and a human rights violation in Europe. In the EU, 33% of women were subject to physical and/or sexual violence. Domestic violence – against women and other victims such as children, men and the elderly – has increased due to lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The public consultation will gather views from a wide range of stakeholders – such as members of the general public, academics, representatives of businesses and employees, NGOs, media organisations and public authorities. Those interested in participating in the public consultation can fill out a questionnaire, which is available here. More information can be found online about the Commission’s work on ending gender-based violence.