Violence against women, Pd and M5S vote against the EU directive –

Pd and M5s throw away their masks. At the Strasbourg Parliament they vote against the directive to combat violence against women, especially in the domestic sphere. The main elements of the text include the configuration of the crimes of female genital mutilation, forced marriage and cybercrime, protection of victims and safe reporting procedures, privacy of victims and right to compensation, helplines, anti-rape centers and prevention of rape. “Frankly, I find the vote against by the Pd and 5stelle on the directive to combat violence against women, especially in the domestic sphere, disconcerting.” This was stated in a note by MEP Nicola Procaccini of Fratelli d’Italia. “A senseless attitude. once we were all in agreement, from right to left, including the socialist rapporteur, the Pd and 5 Star MEPs chose to vote against almost alone, thus sending a message of distance and disinterest to Italian and European women to women to escape from fear and prescribes strict rules against violence but also adequate health and psychological assistance to victims. A provision that has gathered the consensus of practically the entire European Parliament except our “civil rights champions” and which has a great civil significance because it fights, among other things, genital mutations, forced marriages and sexual crimes linked to new technologies”.

The vote against by the Pd and M5s came despite the Italian Coordination of the European Women’s Lobby having sent an appeal to the MEPs: “Dear Honorable Member – we read in the letter sent to the MEPs – I take the liberty of contacting you again on behalf of the Italian Coordination of the European Women’s Lobby, representing Italy on the Board of Directors of the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) which, as you are already aware, is the largest organization of women’s associations in the European Union. On the eve of this week’s plenary session , the EWL and the Italian Coordination ask you to immediately vote in favor of the adoption of the directive on the fight against violence against women and domestic violence. Concretely, we ask you to: First of all, vote against the procedural motion of the provisional agreement on the directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence Why? The EWL fought hard for the inclusion of Article 5 in the Directive, which proposed a harmonized definition of rape based on the standards of the Istanbul Convention. However, at this point in the negotiations, it is impossible to include any amendment without setting aside the agreement reached by the European Parliament and thus jeopardizing the adoption of the directive indefinitely. It is essential, therefore, to seize this opportunity to adopt the first ever directive on combating violence against women, which will have a significant impact on their lives, both today and in the future. Once the directive is adopted, the EWL and its members will continue to fight tirelessly to extend its scope to all forms of sexual and reproductive exploitation, in particular rape, sexual harassment in the workplace and forced sterilization . We therefore urge you to ensure the immediate adoption of this directive. The 250 million women of the EU expect this from you.”