Activities of Karen MELCHIOR related to 2019/2166(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The impact of intimate partner violence and custody rights on women and children (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the impact of intimate partner violence and custody rights on women and children
Amendments (32)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— Having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the need for a dedicated Council configuration on gender equality;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas gender equality is a fundamental valuecore value of the EU; whereas the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination is a fundamental right enshrined in the Treaties and ain objective of the EUthe Charter of fundamental rights, and should be fully respected; whereas gender-based violence is an extreme form of discrimination against women and one of the biggest obstacles to achieving gender equality;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the lockdown and social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with an exponential increase in the prevalence and intensity of intimate partner violence cases in many Member States, resulting from forced confinement within the home and making it difficult for women to access effective protection and support; whereas in spite of the prevalence of the phenomenon, intimate partner violence against women remains under-reported in the EU, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a significant lack of comprehensive data;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas, globally, 35 % of women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, or sexual violence by a non-partner; whereas a dramatic rise in intimate partner violence has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in what the UN terms ‘the shadow pandemic’, with a 60 % increase in emergency calls from women subjected to violence by their intimate partner reported among World Health Organization Europe Member States;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. Whereas some Member states have implemented specific measures to provide timely and accessible assistance to victims since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, including setting up emergency texting systems or creating contact points to seek help in pharmacies and supermarkets ; whereas best practices should be shared and exchanged to inspire other Member states across Europe;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas children maywho suffer ‘witnessed violence’ in the family environment, through experiencing any form of ill-treatment, carried out through acts of physical, verbal, psychological, sexual and economic violence against reference figures or other affectively significant figures have to be considered victims as they suffer directly these forms of violence; whereas such violence has very serious consequences for the psychological and emotional development of the child, and whereas it is therefore essential to pay due attention to this type of violence in separations and parental custody arrangements, taking the best interests of the child into account, in particular in order to determine custody and visitation rights in separation cases;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas children may suffer ‘witnessed violence’ in the family environment, through experiencing any form of ill- treatment, carried out through acts of physical, verbal, psychological, sexual and economic violence against reference figures or other affectively significant figures; whereas such violence has very serious consequences for the psychological and emotional development of the child, and whereas it is therefore essential to pay due attention to this type of violence in separations and parental custody arrangements, taking the best interests of the child into account, in particular in order to determine custody and visitation rights in separation cases;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas in some Member States intimate partner violence against women is often neglected and the default rule of joint custody appears to prevail in cases of child custody, access, contact and visitation arrangements and decisions; whereas disregarding such violence can lead to dire consequences for women and children, which may escalate into femicide and/or infanticide; whereas victims of intimate partner violence need special protection measures; whereas the victims’ situation is likely toconsiderably worsens if they are economically or socially dependent on the perpetrator;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. Whereas during confinement, national platforms and helplines reported a sharp increase in domestic violence reports and complaints, and according to the WHO, emergency services across Europe have recorded an increase in calls of up to 60% from victims of domestic violence ; whereas this phenomenon is dubbed “The Shadow Pandemic”;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas it is preferable to avoid all mediationmediation should be avoided in cases of violence against women, either before or during the judicial process, where the safety of the victim needs to be the primary consideration;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas eight years since its adoption, the Istanbul Convention has not yet been ratified by 6 EU Member States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia Lithuania, Slovakia), or by the EU; whereas the Istanbul Convention is the most important existing international framework to prevent and combat gender- based violence;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the Istanbul Convention requires the Parties to adopt legislative or other necessary measures to ensure that incidents of domestic violence are taken into account when determining custody and visitation rights in relation to children, and that the exercise of any visitation or custody rights does not jeopardise the rights and safety of the victim or their children; whereas the Istanbul convention has still not been ratified by all Members States;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Calls for ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention at a national and EU level; calls on the Member States to take all the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that, in the determination of custody and visitation rights of children, incidents of intimate partner violence are taken into account and that the exercise of any visitation or custody rights does not jeopardise the rights and safety of the victim or children; commends all campaigns advocating the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention and strongly condemns all attempts to discredit it;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment in the Gender Equality Strategy to fighting gender-based violence,
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls on the Commission to add gender-based violence to the list of EU areas of crime under Article 83(1) TFEU, taking into account the special need to combat this crime on a common basis; calls on the Commission to use this as a legal basis to propose binding measures and a holistic EU framework directive to prevent and combat all forms of gender- based violence, including the impact of intimate partner violence on women and children, and contain uniform standards and due diligence obligation to collect data, to prevent, to investigate, to protect the victims and the witnesses, and to prosecute and punish the perpetrators; recalls that such new legislative measures should in any case be coherent with the rights and obligations of the Istanbul Convention and should be complementary to its ratification; recommends that the Istanbul Convention should be seen as a minimum standard and aspire to make further progress to eradicate gender- based and domestic violence;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the Commission to develop a European Union Protocol on gender-based violence in times of crisis and to include protection services for victims, such as helplines, safe accommodation and health services as ‘essential services’ in the Member States, in order to prevent gender-based violence and support women and children victims of domestic violence during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Commission to facilitate and coordinate those type of trainings especially for cross-border cases;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the importance of action at both EU and national level to reach agreement on common legal definitions, as this type of witnessed violence is not recognised in many legal systems and children witnessing violence in their family environment are not recognised as victims of violence, which has a direct impact on data collection in the police and judicial sectors, and on cross- border cooperation;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Recalls the need for measures to ensure the unrestricted and barrier-free provision of sexual and reproductive health and rights services (SRHR); Recalls that the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the need to remove outdated administrative barriers, modernise and improve efficiency in this area, such as investing in telemedicine possibilities to guarantee continuity of provision of healthcare services;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Calls on Member states to implement specific measures to tackle economic violence, aiming to ensure empowerment, financial safety and economic independence of victims of gender-based violence, allowing them to take control over their lives;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Stresses that in the best interest of the child, parental authority of the perpetrating parent should be systematically suspended in case of voluntary homicide of the other parent ; further emphasizes that descendants should be exempted from maintenance obligations towards a parent who has been condemned for perpetrating voluntary homicide of the other parent ;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Welcomes Commission’s commitment to present a comprehensive strategy to protect vulnerable children and foster a child-friendly justice;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Urges the EU to ratify the Istanbul Convention and to advocate for its ratification by Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and for its effective and practical application by all the Member States, in order to fight against gender-based violence;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Urges Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia to ratify the Istanbul Convention; Calls on its effective and practical application by all the Member States in order to fight against gender-based violence; Recalls its strong condemnation of the recent decision by the Polish Minister of Justice to officially start Poland’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, which would be a serious setback with regard to gender equality, women’s rights and the fight against gender-based violence;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10 c. Welcomes the upcoming Commission’s proposal for an EU strategy on the rights of the child (2021- 24), which provides the framework for EU action to better promote and protect children’s rights ;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Welcomes the initiative on extending the areas of crime to encompass specific forms of gender-based violence in accordance with Article 83(1) of the TFEU, and calls on the Commission to come up with a proposal for a holistic, victim-centred EU framework Directive to prevent and combat all forms of gender-based violence; recalls that such new legislative measures are complementary to the ratification of the Istanbul Convention;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to take concrete measures to end child sexual abuse by investing in preventive measures, identifying specific programmes for potential offenders and more effective support for victims; Calls on the Member States to enhance cooperation between law enforcement authorities and civil society organisations to combat child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Underlines the importance of the exchange of information between courts, the central authorities of Member States and police bodies, especially in relation to cross-border custody cases; hopesis of the opinion that the revised rules under Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction7 will enhance the cooperation between judicial systems to effectively determine the best interests of the child; regrets however that the scope of the Regulation does not include registered partnerships; calls, in this context, on the Commission and the Member States to implement the Brussels IIa Regulation effectively; _________________ 7OJ L 178, 2.7.2019, p. 1.
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Recalls that united action is essential in order to upwardly converge and harmonise women’s rights in Europe through a strong pact between Member States, by sharing and implementing the most ambitious Union legislation and the implementation of best practices currently in force in the EU; Calls therefore for the creation of a Council configuration on gender equality within the European Council in order for Member states representatives to regularly meet, legislate, and exchange best practises;