Activities of Luisa REGIMENTI related to 2022/0066(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council Combating violence against women and domestic violence
Amendments (35)
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Due to their vulnerability, children who witness violence against women or domestic violence suffer a direct emotional harm, which impacts their development. Therefore, such children should be considered victims and benefit from targeted protection measur. Such “Witnessed violence”, i.e. 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, has very serious consequences on the psychological and emotional development of the child, and can generate traumas that are sometimes permanent on the ability to interact socially during childhood and adulthood. Therefore, such children should be considered victims and benefit from targeted protection measures. It is essential to give due attention to this type of violence in separations and parental custody arrangements, taking into account the best interest of the child, in particular in order to determine custody and visitation rights in separation cases.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) Victims are often still unable to fully exercise their rights in the EU and access to support services is critical to women exposed violence. Victims often face difficulties in obtaining justice due to lack of information and insufficient support and protection and often face secondary victimisation and when claiming compensation. In light of the specificities related to these types of crime it is necessary to lay down a comprehensive set of rules, which addresses the persisting problem of violence against women and domestic violence in a targeted manner and caters to the specific needs of victims of such violence. The existing provisions at Union and national levels have proven to be insufficient to effectively combat and prevent violence against women and domestic violence. In particular, Directives 2011/36/EU and 2011/93/EU concentrate on specific forms of such violence, while Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council38 lays down the general framework for victims of crime. While providing some safeguards for victims of violence against women and domestic violence, it is not set out to address their specific needs. _________________ 38 Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (OJ L 315, 14.11.2012, p. 57).
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Gender-based violence against women have been amplified or facilitated by technology, in particular the technology used in online and digital environments. It is necessary to provide for harmonised definitions of offences and penalties regarding certain forms of cyber violence. Cyber violence particularly targets and impacts women politicians, journalists and human rights defenders. It can have the effect of silencing women and hindering their societal participation on an equal footing with men. Cyber violence also disproportionately affects women and girls in educational settings, such as schools and universities, with detrimental consequences to their further education and to their mental health, which may, in extreme cases, lead to suicide.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The use of information and communication technologies bears the risk of easy, fast and wide-spread amplification of certain forms of cyber violence with the effect of creating or enhancing profound and long-lasting harm for the victim. Cyber violence has severe implications for women’s participatory rights online. The hateful abuse to which women are subjected in online environments causes many women to withdraw from participating online, including from expressing their views on online platforms. Violence against women in the digital sphere thus silences their voices and reduces their perspectives in public debate. The potential for such amplification, which is a pre-requisite for the perpetration of several offences of cyber violence defined under this Directive, should be reflected by the element of making certain material accessible, through information and communication technologies, to a ‘multitude’ of end-users. The term ‘multitude’ should be understood as referring to reaching a significant number of end-users of the technologies in question, thus allowing for significant access to, and potential further distribution of that material. That term should be interpreted and applied having regard to the relevant circumstances, including the technologies used to make that material accessible and the means these technologies offer for amplification.
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) In order to tackle underreporting in the cases when the victim is a child, safe and child-friendly reporting procedures should be established. This can include questioning by competent authorities in simple and accessible language. Participation in court proceedings should take place in a comfortable environment so as not to cause additional trauma or stress for the child and to minimise the psychological and emotional impact of such circumstances, and be appropriate for the age, maturity and language skills of the child in terms of language and content.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Delays in processing complaints of violence against women and domestic violence can bear particular risks to victims thereof, given that they might still be in immediate danger given that offenders might often be close family members or spouses. Therefore, the competent authorities should have the sufficient expertise and effective investigative tools to investigate and prosecute such crimes. Member States should make sufficient resources available to ensure that proceedings involving children are handled with utmost compliance with the standards of child-friendly justice, with appropriate respect for child’s emotional and physical integrity, and without undue delay. Member States should ensure that child and family courts function as an essential service, continuing to hold emergency hearings and executing court orders for the care and protection of children who are at an immediate risk of neglect or abuse.
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27 a (new)
Recital 27 a (new)
(27 a) In many cases the close connection between criminal, civil and other legal proceedings need to be recognized in order to coordinate the judicial and other legal responses to child and intimate partner violence. Member States should adopt measures to link criminal and civil cases involving an individual family and children in order ot effectively prevent any discrepancies between judicial and other legal decisions that are harmful to children. The best interests of the child should always be the primary consideration in all decisions concerning children.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 50
Recital 50
(50) The traumatic nature of sexual violence, including rape, requires a particularly sensitive response by trained and specialised staff. Victims of this type of violence need immediate medical care, services operated by gynaecologists and obstetricians where needed, and trauma support combined with immediate forensic examinations to collect the evidence needed for prosecution. Rape crisis centres or sexual violence referral centres should be available in sufficient numbers and adequately spread over the territory of each Member State. Similarly, victims of female genital mutilation, who are often girls, typically are in need of targeted support. Therefore, Member States should ensure they provide dedicated support tailored to these victims.
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 53
Recital 53
(53) Shelters play a vital role in protecting victims from acts of violence. Beyond providing a safe place to stay, shelters should provide the necessary support concerning interlocking problems related to victims’ health, financial situation and the well-being of their children, ultimately preparing victims for an autonomous life. Member States should guarantee support for women and their children who are victims of violence by means of community, educational and financial support, in order to ensure these women have the necessary means to care for their children. Victims of violence should have access to psychological support and counselling at every stage of their legal procedures.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 54
Recital 54
(54) Growing up in a violent domestic environment has very negative implications for the child’s physical, emotional and social development and subsequent behaviour as an adult. Exposure to violence as a child, either through experiencing maltreatment and/or witnessing partner violence, constitutes a risk factor for becoming vulnerable to victimisation, committing violence as an adult or experiencing behavioural, physical or mental health problems. To effectively address negative consequences for child victims, support measures to children should include age- appropriate psychological counselling, together with paediatric care where necessary, and be provided as soon as competent authorities have reasonable grounds to believe that children might have been victims, including child witnesses of violence. In the provision of support to child victims, the rights of the child, as laid down in Article 24 of the Charter, should be a primary consideration. Cooperation between competent authorities and venues the child visits frequently, such as school, should be ensured, both to support the child and provide due support for other children and parents.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 60
Recital 60
(60) In order to ensure victims of violence against women and domestic violence are identified and receive appropriate support, Member States should ensure that professionals likely to come into contact with victims receiveof violence, child abuse and, in general, all forms of violence and its mechanisms, including manipulation, psychological violence and coercive control, receive mandatory specific and continuous training and targeted information. Trainings should cover the risk and prevention of intimidation, repeat and secondary victimisation and the availability of protection and support measures for victims, and should therefore be intended for the judiciary, law enforcement officers, specialised legal practitioners, forensic medical personnel, healthcare professionals, including gynaecologists and obstetricians, social workers, teachers and child carers, as well as public servants working in these fields. The training should be conducted by primarily focusing on the needs and concerns of victims as a priority. To prevent and appropriately address instances of sexual harassment at work, persons with supervisory functions should also receive training. These trainings should also cover assessments regarding sexual harassment at work and associated psychosocial safety and health risks as referred to under Directive 89/391/EEC of the European Parliament and of the Council45 . Training activities should also cover the risk of third party violence. Third party violence refers to violence which staff may suffer at the workplace, not at the hands of a co-worker, and includes cases, such as nurses sexually harassed by a patient. _________________ 45 Council Directive 89/391/EEC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1).
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 65
Recital 65
(65) In order to address the issue of the eradication of gender-based violence, it is necessary to rely on consistent and comparable administrative data, based on a robust and coordinated framework for data collection. Member States should ensure that the data collected are limited to what is strictly necessary in relation to supporting the monitoring of the prevalence and trends of violence against women and domestic violence and design new policy strategies in this field. When sharing the data collected, no personal data should be included.
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) “victim” means any person, regardless of sex or, gender, or age, unless specified otherwise, who has suffered harm, which was directly caused by acts of violence covered under this Directive, including child witnesses of such violence;
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
(ja) "witnessed violence" means the experience by a child of one of the forms of abuse through acts of violence referred to in points (a) and (b) against reference figures or other figures of significance in the household;
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 4
Article 16 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to encourage and simplify the possibility for minors to report to the competent authorities. Where children report criminal offences of violence against women or domestic violence, Member States shall ensure that the reporting procedures are safe, confidential, designed and accessible in a child-friendly manner and language, in accordance with their age and maturity. Such reporting procedures must be conducted by trained professionals, such as doctors or psychologists, including professionals qualified in child neuropsychiatry, in order to take into account of the harmonious development of the child and to avoid deepening their trauma and victimisation. If the offence involves the holder of parental responsibility, Member States should ensure reporting is not conditional upon this person’s consent.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 4
Article 17 – paragraph 4
4. The competent authorities shall promptly refer victims to relevant health care professionals or support services referred to in Articles 27, 28 and 29 to assist in securing evidence, in particular in cases of sexual violence, where the victim wishes to bring charges and make use of such services. Professionals dealing with such cases should be trained in a targeted way to be able to approach all forms of violence and its mechanisms, focusing on the needs and concerns of victims as a priority.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 2
2. This individual assessment shall be initiated upon the first contact of the victim with the competent authorities also in order to ensure the safety and protection of victims. The competent judicial authorities shall verify at the latest at the initiation of criminal proceedings whether an assessment has been conducted. If this has not been the case, they shall remedy the situation by undertaking an assessment as soon as possible.
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
3. The individual assessment shall focus on the risk emanating from the offender or suspect, including the risk of repeated violence, the risk of bodily harm, the use of weapons, the offender or suspect living with the victimlikelihood of the victim returning to the offender or suspect, the degree of control exercised by the offender or suspect on the victim and its potential effect on the evidence, the risk of bodily harm, the use of weapons, the offender or suspect living with the victim, the involvement of children, the economic dependence of the victim on the offender or suspect, an offender or suspect’s drug or alcohol misuse, child abuse, mental health issues or behaviour of stalking.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6
Article 18 – paragraph 6
6. The individual assessment shall be undertaken in collaboration with all relevant competent authorities depending on the stage of the proceedings, and relevant support services, such as victim protection centres and women’s and children’s specialised services, shelters, social services and healthcare professionals. Psychophysical support must be provided to the victim, particularly during and after questioning procedures, taking into account the emotional tensions associated with the circumstances, and designed to prevent risk factors which could lead to further violent offences.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 23 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) how to adopt the best measures for a child who witnessed violence;
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) publish independent reports and make recommendations on any issue relating to such forms of violence, including identifying existing best practices;
Amendment 192 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) referrals to medical and psychological expertise, and medical forensic examinations;
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 27 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) the additional specific support needed when a child witnessed the violence;
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 27 – paragraph 3
Article 27 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure sufficient human and financial resources to provide the services referred to in paragraph 1, especially those referred to in point (b) and (c) of that paragraph, including where such services are provided by non- governmental organisations.
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 27 – paragraph 5
Article 27 – paragraph 5
5. Member States shall issue guidelines and protocols for healthcare and social service professionals, drawn from a set of data and best practices at EU level, on identifying and providing appropriate support to victims of all forms of violence against women and domestic violence, including on referring victims to the relevant support services. Such guidelines and protocols shall also indicate how to address the specific needs of victims who are at an increased risk of such violence as a result of their experiencing discrimination based on a combination of sex and other grounds of discrimination.
Amendment 201 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Article 28 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall provide for appropriately equipped, easily accessible rape crisis or sexual violence referral centres to ensure effective support to victims of sexual violence, including assisting in the preservation and documentation of evidence. These centres should have adequate human and financial resources and shall provide for medical and forensic examinations, trauma support and psychological counselling, after the offence has been perpetrated and for as long as necessary thereafter. Where the victim is a child, such services shall be provided in a child-friendly manner.
Amendment 206 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 31 – paragraph 1
Article 31 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall set up state- wide round-the-clock (24/7) telephone helplines, free of charge, to provide advice for victims of violence against women and domestic violence. Such helplines should be able to direct the victim to the necessary medical, legal, and security services. Advice shall be provided confidentially or with due regard for their anonymity. Member States shall ensure the provision of such service also through other information and communication technologies, including online applications.
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 31 – paragraph 2
Article 31 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure the accessibility of services referred to in paragraph 1 for children and end-users with disabilities, including providing support in easy to understand language. Those services shall be accessible in line with the accessibility requirements for electronic communications services set in Annex I to Directive 2019/882/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council52 . _________________ 52 Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services, OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70–115.
Amendment 217 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 32 – paragraph 1
Article 32 – paragraph 1
1. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodations as provided for in Article 9(3), point (a), of Directive 2012/29/EU shall address the specific needs of women victims of domestic violence and sexual violence. They shall assist them in their recovery, providing adequate and appropriate living conditions with a view on a return to independent living. Shelters should be able to direct victims to all necessary services, such as medical or legal assistance.
Amendment 225 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 33 – paragraph 2
Article 33 – paragraph 2
2. Child victims, including victims of witnessed violence, shall be provided with age-appropriate medical care, emotional, psychosocial, psychological and educational support, as well as any other appropriate support tailored in particular to situations of domestic violence.
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 33 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 33 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Member States should ensure that the best interests of the child are always the primary consideration in all decisions concerning children, in particular in order to determine custody and visitation rights in separation cases concerning violence.
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 34 – paragraph 1
Article 34 – paragraph 1
Member States shall establish and maintain safe places which allow a safe contact between a child and a holder of parental responsibilities who is an offender or suspect of violence against women or domestic violence, to the extent that the latter has rights of access, this right of access may be curtailed or adapted in the best interests of the child. Member States shall ensure supervision by trained professionals, as appropriate, and in the best interests of the child.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 36 – paragraph 2
Article 36 – paragraph 2
2. Preventive measures shall include awareness-raising campaigns targeting all ages, research and education programmes, where appropriate developed in cooperation with relevant civil society organisations, social partners, impacted communities and other stakeholders.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 36 – paragraph 5
Article 36 – paragraph 5
5. Preventive measures shall in particular aim at challenging harmful gender stereotypes, promoting equality between women and men, encouraging all, including men and boys, to act as positive role models to support corresponding behaviour changes across society as a whole in line with the objectives of this directive. Preventive measures shall also aim at remove, as far as possible, any economic barriers that might induce a woman not to report the violence she has suffered.
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 37 – paragraph 1
Article 37 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that professionals likely to come into contact with victims, including law enforcement authorities, court staff, judges and prosecutors, lawyers, providers of victim support and restorative justice services, child and healthcare professionals, social serviceforensic doctors, social services, as well as volunteer workers, civil society organisations working with and for children and victims, educational and other relevant staff, receive both general and specialist training which is mandatory and continuous and targeted information to a level appropriate to their contacts with victims, to enable them to identify, prevent and address instances of violence against women or all forms of domestic violence and its mechanisms, including manipulation, psychological violence and coercive control, and to treat victims in a trauma-, gender- and child- sensitive manner.