The European directive on combating violence against women. “A good step, but more work must be done”

The European Parliament voted on the first-ever EU directive on combating violence against women. The N-VA clearly voted in favour of the directive. MEP Assita Kanko participated in the negotiations. She welcomes the broad adoption of the directive, but also cautions: “The criminalisation of rape was not included in the directive. There is thus more work to be done.”

Assita Kanko sounded satisfied after the vote: “This was monumental work across party lines. I welcome the broad adoption of this directive. There is now finally a European directive that deals with violence against women.” However, she cautions not to be too proud and relax because this is just the beginning.

Just one step forward

“When we talk about women’s rights, we are talking about real women and girls who go through terrible experiences and all too often face injustice. The perpetrators feel free to continue the violence indoors as well as outside on the streets. We must never get used to this. Or be too proud of what we have achieved. Because this is just one step forward. And there is still so much to do.”

What can and must be better

“The agreement contains good elements such as criminalising female genital mutilation and help for victims of this criminal practice. But I am also disappointed that a majority of EU Member States have again succeeded in pushing the criminalisation of rape at the EU level out of the directive. There is thus still a lot of work to be done in the coming years to protect women and girls better permanently. They are more than worth it.”