1. Stop Violence Against Women 

The last year has shown us that the fight for women’s rights is, at its core, a fight for women’s safety. With the growth in the #metoo movement, thousands of women spoke out about the physical and mental violence they face every day at home, at work, in public places and in our communities, and mobilised against it. The number of women affected who made their stories heard shows how urgently we need political action to ensure that all women can participate equally in all parts of society without fearing harassment and violence.

One in three women in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 151 . This demonstrates that we must combat all forms of violence that affect women, including domestic violence, sexual violence and rape, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, sexual harassment, forced marriage and so-called honour crimes. This includes tackling psychological violence, together with stalking, verbal abuse in public places and the internet as well as fighting pornographic objectification of women and their negative display in sexist advertisements. Moreover, decision-makers and society as a whole must find comprehensive solutions, not only to end the trivialisation of such acts through education programmes and awareness-raising, but also finally to end the impunity of perpetrators and to shift towards dissuasion and criminalisation through legislation and effective policies.

The PES and PES Women urge all EU Member States to ratify and implement the Istanbul Convention, which was introduced by the Council of Europe in 2011 to make Europe a safer place for all women by recognising multiple forms of gender-based violence, taking measures to prevent it, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators. Ratifying the Istanbul Convention and implementing it in national legislation is the only way forward for Europe to guarantee the protection and safety of all women, girls and vulnerable groups in Europe, including refugee women, migrants and LGBTI people arriving to Europe. The EU and its Member States need to step up their actions to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence, to eliminate the power imbalance between women and men, and to respect, advocate and implement women’s rights across policy fields.