For the first time in history, the European Parliament adopted rules to directly combat violence against women.
The most important provisions refer to the prevention of rape, that is, emphasizing the importance of consent in sexual relations and providing specialized support to victims.
Forced marriages and female genital mutilation will now be criminal offences, as well as disclosure of private information on the Internet, such as revenge pornography and cyberbullying.
"Today, Parliament took steps to make Europe the first continent to end violence against women.
"A wide range of rules will prevent violence against women, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators, to ensure a comprehensive approach to dealing with these horrific crimes," she said. Francis Fitzgerald, from the Committee for Women's Rights and Gender Equality.
Women's organizations across Europe welcome the "big step", says Tanja Ignjatović, a lawyer at the Autonomous Women's Center, for the BBC in Serbian.
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The directive enters into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU, and member states have three years to implement the provisions.
Orientation for countries on the way to the EU
While the directive will be mandatory for the members of the European Union, countries on the way to membership, such as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro - "it is an orientation", says Ignjatović.
"We don't have to harmonize the legislation, we don't apply it directly, but if one day we become a member, then it will be an obligation," she says.
The directive is currently much more significant for women in the European Union, because there are still countries that have not ratified the Istanbul Convention, which dealt with the same topics.
Compared to the previous one, the biggest novelty of this directive is that it contains four criminal acts of cyber violence, such as sending explicit photos or belittling on the Internet, which is happening more and more often.
While the Istanbul Convention stipulates that any form of sexual violence is any sex without consent, not just rape, this wording was not included in the new EU directive, which is the biggest complaint, adds Ignjatović.
"It's the likely result of a compromise."
For rape to be characterized as a crime, in most European countries the laws still state coercion, the use and threat of force or the impossibility of defense.
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What are the penalties for the crime of rape in the Balkans?
- In January 2021, in Serbia was the first time a life sentence was imposed for rape, which is the maximum sentence for the rape of a minor. For other criminal acts of rape, according to the previous one The Criminal Code, two to 15 years in prison is foreseen.
- Criminal law Kosova foresees prison sentences of two to 10 years for rape without consent, and five to 20 years for rape of minors.
- U Montenegro a prison sentence of one to 15 years is prescribed, and consent is also included in the definition of rape.
- According to the criminal laws of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina i Republika Srpska, two entities Of Bosnia and Herzegovina, rape is defined as forcing a person to have sexual intercourse using force or threat. In the Federation, it is prescribed from one to 15 years, and in the Republika Srpska, from two to 15 years, except in the case of the death of a minor, when a life sentence can be awarded.
After the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 1992 to 1995, rape and sexual abuse was "recognized in international law as an instrument of war and a means of terrorizing the local population". he explained David Phillips, director of the Institute for Peacebuilding and Human Rights Studies at Columbia University in the United States of America for the BBC in Serbian.
Between 12.000 and 50.000 women were raped and sexually abused during the war, estimates are of the United Nations.
Women in BiH testified about atrocities, and the horrors they survived became evidence before the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia. Sexual violence in war the first time is then declared a crime against humanity.
- Northern Macedonia foresees a life sentence for the rape of a minor, which is the maximum sentence in the event that the victim is seriously injured. The minimum stipulated sentence is six months.
- Croatia is the first country in the region to include consent in the definition of rape. Minimum prescribed penalty Criminal law is 12 months, with a maximum of 10 years, and for minor victims, up to 15 years in prison.
Directive continuation of the Istanbul Convention
Convention of the Council of Europe on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was adopted in Istanbul in 2011, but since then there has been great resistance to its adoption in all EU member states.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia have not yet done so.
Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as members of the Council of Europe, were among the first ten countries that adopted it, while the process in Croatia, a member of the EU, caused numerous controversies.
The only country that revoked it, at the suggestion of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is Turkey, although the Convention is called the Istanbul Convention, reminds Ignjatović.
This was also contributed to by the spread of the counter-movement, which sees the so-called "gender ideology, which opposes family values" in the fight against violence against women.
"The growing anti-gender movement, which is the most dominant in the USA, then swam across the Atlantic Ocean and swept across Europe, rather surprised us all, due to the unexpected coalition between conservative groups, political parties, churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, especially the Russian Orthodox Church, and the oligarchs who richly finance.
"They misinterpret the convention," says the lawyer.
However, not all countries that have adopted the Convention fully respect it.
Although it adopted the Istanbul Convention in 2013, Serbia ignores the provision that children who witness violence are recognized as victims, which women's organizations have drawn attention to many times.
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Disturbing data
Violence against women affects half of humanity and happens both in real life and on the Internet.
It includes various forms - from blows to sexual violence, but also psychological and economic abuse and exploitation.
Every third woman in the EU and the world experiences physical or sexual violence at least once in her life, according to the data of the European Commission.
At least two women a week are killed by a partner or family member in the EU.
In total, 3.000 women are killed every year, and who knows how many are injured or harassed.
Victims from Serbia can also request psychological, legal and medical help by calling:
- SOS lines for victims of violence - 0800 222 003
- SOS telephone number of the Autonomous Women's Center - 0800 100 007
- SOS telephone number of the Center for Women's Support - Unique SOS telephone number for Vojvodina - 0800 101010
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