Activities of Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN related to 2016/0062R(NLE)
Plenary speeches (1)
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence: EU accession (continuation of debate)
Amendments (45)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
— having regard to the Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7
Citation 7
— having regard to Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services4 , which defines and condemns harassment and sexual harassment, _________________ 4 OJ L 373, 21.12.2004, p. 37.
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
— having regard to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 195030, and in particular to Articles 2, 3, 8, 14, and the Protocol No. 12 to the Convention,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 b (new)
Citation 11 b (new)
— having regard to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, and to the subsequent monitoring reports adopted at the United Nations Beijing + 5(2000), Beijing + 10 (2005), Beijing + 15 (2010), Beijing + 20 (2015) and2020 UN Women Report ‘Gender equality: women’s rights in review 25 years after Beijing’,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard to the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Optional Protocol,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
— having regard to the 1993 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 c (new)
Citation 16 c (new)
— having regard to the CEDW Committee General Recommendations 12, 19 and 35 on violence against women,
Amendment 35 #
— having regard to the United Nations General Assembly 2020 Resolution entitled ‘Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls,
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 a (new)
Citation 30 a (new)
— having regard to the Gender Equality Index Reports of the European Institute for Gender Equality published since 2013,
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 b (new)
Citation 30 b (new)
— having regard to the 2021 report of the European Institutefor Gender Equality entitled ‘The costs of gender- based violence in the European Union’,
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 c (new)
Citation 30 c (new)
— having regard to the Council of Europe report entitled ‘Overview of studies on the costs of violence against women and domestic violence’,
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 d (new)
Citation 30 d (new)
30 d having regard to the European Commission proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on combating violence against women and domestic violence,
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas “violence against women” is understood as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life, as per the definition of the Istanbul Convention; whereas the Istanbul Convention defines ‘gender-based violence’ as ‘violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately’;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas gender-based violence shall be understood in its complete and broad definition laid down above, including economic and structural violence, and whereas liberty means the full possibilities to fulfil one’s own potential;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas gender-based violence against women and girls is a severe form of gender inequality and discrimination; is a violation of women’s human rights, and is a serious obstacle to the participation of women in social, public and political life and in the labour market and make them unable to fully enjoy their rights and fundamental freedoms;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas gender-based violence against women and girls is a severe form of gender inequality and discrimination and is a violation of women’s human rights;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas gender-based violence against women and girls is a structural and widespread problem throughout Europe and the world, and is a phenomenon that involves victims and perpetrators irrespective of their age, education, income, social status, cultural backgrounds and is linked to the unequal and unfair distribution of power between women and men in our societies; and whereas anyone can be a victim of potential gender-based violence, women are disproportionately affected by all forms of such violence, including domestic violence, due to structural gender discrimination and unequal distribution of power and resources between women and men in public and private spheres;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas gender-based violence against women and girls can affect many fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter; which include the right to human dignity (Article 1), the right to life (Article 2), the right to the integrity of the person (Article 3), the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 4), the right to liberty and security (Article 6), the right to freedom from discrimination, including on the grounds of sex (Article 21), and the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas gender-based violence against women may take the form of offences such as sexual violence, including rape, female genital mutilation, trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, ‘honour crimes’ and forced marriages, femicide, stalking and various forms of cyberviolence;
Amendment 102 #
E a. whereas gender-based violence, in particular sexual violence, directly and indirectly affects its victims and has long- lasting negative impact on their physical, emotional and mental well-being and whereas gender-based violence affects one third of women and girls in the EU and whereas a new survey by the Fundamental Rights Agency is being conducted to update this data;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas differences in Member States’ laws and policies create differences in protection against gender based violence;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
F b. whereas the 1993 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Beijing UN Platform for Action defined violence against as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas the Victims’ Rights Directive defines gender-based violence as violence that is directed against a person because of that person’s gender, gender identity or gender expression or that affects persons of a particular gender disproportionately, and it may result in physical, sexual, emotional or psychological harm or economic loss to the victim;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
G b. whereas gender-based violence against women and girls has been recognized by the international community as a violation of human rights which should be addressed comprehensively, and despite all the efforts which have been made by the international organizations, civil society, and state authorities to eradicate gender- based violence against women and girls, it remains pervasive and manifests in new forms such as cyber violence, cyber harassment, cyber stalking and non- consensual distribution of intimate material (photos and videos) through social media;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
G c. whereas often efforts to eradicate gender-based violence against women and girls are contested or weakened in the name of tradition, culture, religion or fundamentalist ideologies, and are categorised and undermined as a so- called ‘gender ideology’ which is depicted as a threat to defined traditional norms or values and so called traditional concept of the family;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
M a. whereas rape culture, as a complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women, is still a widespread problem throughout Europe and the world which manifests in normalising or trivialising sexual violence, rape or sexual harassment, is rooted in gender stereotypes, sexism, misogyny and the unequal distribution of power across genders;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Acknowledges the relevance and comprehensiveness of the Istanbul Convention’s definition on violence against women and calls for the EU and EU Member States to use this definition in the irrelevant legislation and in the interpretation of this legislation accordingly;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Strongly condemns all forms of gender-based violence and violations of women’s human rights, including the denial of access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, against women and girls and against LGBTIQ+ persons;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Reaffirms its commitment to pursue a comprehensive approach to gender-based violence against women and girls and LGBTIQ+ persons at EU level and to ensure a follow-up of its recommendations which have been proposed in a number of resolutions;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the advantages of the Istanbul Convention’s structure, which follows a holistic, comprehensive and coordinated methodology for addressing the issues of violence against women and girls and gender-based violence in its physical, sexual, psychological and economic forms, including domestic violence, based on a four pillar approach including all the aspects from the prevention, to the protection, prosecution and coordinated policies;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the Istanbul Convention benefits from 10 years of functioning and practice through its unique monitoring and implementation system through GREVIO; Stresses the importance of this interactive exchange and process between GREVIO and the participating members;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Recalls that, in order to ensure effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention, a two-pillar monitoring mechanism was established: GREVIO which conducts a country by country report and the Committee of the Parties;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Points out that also women with disabilities and mothers of children with disabilities encountered obstacles in reporting violence and gaining access to justice system, and as GREVIO reported it, including the inaccessibility of police premises, a lack of training and stereotypes of law enforcement officials as well as the lack of information in accessible formats about the assistance to victims of violence and available services;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for a constructive dialogue with the Council and Member States in cooperation with the Council of Europe to address Member States’ reservations, objections and concerns and clarify misleading interpretations of the Istanbul Convention in order to make progress in this area; Urges Member States to speed up negotiations on the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention and to strongly condemn all attempts to retract measures already taken in implementing the Istanbul Convention and in combating violence against women;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for a constructive dialogue with the Council and Member States in cooperation with the Council of Europe to address Member States’ reservations, objections and concerns and clarify misleading interpretations of the Istanbul Convention within many Member States in order to make progress in this area;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out that while all Member States have already signed the Istanbul Convention, six have not ratified it yet; underlines that the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention does not exempt Member States from national ratification and thus strongly encourages the remaining Member States Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia that have not already done so to ratify the Convention without delay;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Strongly condemns all initiatives that pursue to replace the Istanbul Convention with any alternative document which is not based on the same approach towards gender discrimination and gender power relations;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes with concern the growing opposition towards the Istanbul Convention in some Member States and the attempts to disparage the Convention and its positive impact on the eradication of gender-based violence; condemns all attempts to spread disinformation about the Istanbul Convention; and to evoke fears among societies about the allegedly destructive impact of the Convention on family and traditional gender roles;
Amendment 251 #
12. Calls on Member States to take into account the conclusions of the Mid-term Horizontal Review of GREVIO baseline evaluation reports24 ; and to improve their national frameworks for preventing and combating gender-based violence, including their national laws, in order to ensure proper implementation and enforcement of the Istanbul Convention; _________________ 24 https://rm.coe.int/prems-010522-gbr- grevio-mid-term-horizontal-review-rev- february-2022/1680a58499
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, which will be the first EU act comprehensively to address and combat gender-based violence, thus helping to harmonise Member States’ differing approaches towards violence against women and domestic violence and to lay down common minimum standards for the protection of victims and survivors of gender-based violence and for improving their access to justice;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Considering the extent and gravity of gender-based violence and sexual harassment in the workplace, calls on the Member States to ratify and implement ILO Violence and Harassment Convention No. 190;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Strongly affirms that the denial of sexual and reproductive health and rights services, including safe and legal abortion, is a form of violence against women and girls; reiterates that women and girls must have control over their bodies and sexualities; calls on all the Member States to guarantee comprehensive sexuality education, ready access for women to family planning, and the full range of reproductive and sexual health services, including modern contraceptive methods and safe and legal abortion. Notes thus with deep concern that in some Member States sexual and reproductive rights of women are on threat and that in fact Poland banned safe and legal abortion; calls on these Member States to withdraw from these initiatives and to ensure that women have full access to affordable reproductive and sexual health services;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Urges the Council to steppeed up procedures in order to ensure the EU’s swift ratification of the Istanbul Convention;