Breaking the silence: France and Germany are failing women [Promoted content]

Shame on German and French governments for letting down all women and girls in Europe! The European Women’s Lobby appeals to the Governments of France and Germany to reconsider their disgraceful decision to reject – once again – the proposal of including a consent-based definition of rape in the Directive on violence against women and domestic violence. Their decision to reject the Spanish Presidency’s compromise proposal based on the wording of the Istanbul Convention is blocking the negotiations and putting the whole Directive at stake. 

Irene Rosales is Policy and Campaigns Officer in The European Women’s Lobby.

With this blockage, the next trialogue meeting on 13 December, the last one of the year under the Spanish Presidency, is doomed to failure. This puts at risk the opportunities of victims of violence against women to receive adequate protection and reparation no matter where they live in the EU. 

What is it that the Ministries of Justice of Germany and France – both from liberal parties – fear when they say NO to have the same definition of rape in the Directive as it is in the Istanbul Convention? How can two Europeanists who claim to be committed to women’s rights, namely Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, back up this decision? 

Feminists in the EU won’t accept the fate these men are trying to impose on us.

Women’s rights organisations all across the EU including the members of the European Women’s Lobby and WeMove Europe are outraged to see the hypocritical blockage posed by the Governments of France and Germany.  But, there is still an opportunity to retract their decision.

A decision that is not acceptable as the Istanbul Convention has been in force in the EU since October 2023 and countries including France, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Netherlands, Malta, Poland and Romania are all parties to this Convention and therefore already bound by its provisions.

The consent-based definition of the crime of rape is a key piece of the Directive that will bring extraordinary added value all across the EU as 11 EU Member states still hold inadequate definitions of rape based on force, threat or coercion as the main constituent elements of the crime, jeopardising the effective protection of the individual’s sexual autonomy, as per the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights.

However, it seems that EU Member States are more worried about protecting their supposed national autonomy than working to ensure there is an ambitious instrument to adequately address violence against women at the EU level. This is especially tragic in times when violence against women and girls and femicide are at the highest increase globally in two decades. 2.300 women were killed last year at the hands of their partners or ex-partners according to UNDOC estimates, and cases like the horrible murder of Giulia Cecchettin are sparking international outcries for legal changes and better protection mechanisms for women. 

Rape is one of the most pervasive and brutal forms of violence against women and girls systematically used to silence women across Europe, but there is no common approach in the EU.  The culture of impunity prevails: in countries like France, statistical data reveal that only 12% of women victims of rape or attempted rape report the violence, and the number of convictions represents only 1% of the estimated number of rape cases. 99% of victims do not access justice or reparation! Sadly, France is not an isolated case.

This is what Member States should be working on relentlessly: ensuring an adequate common approach to rape to put an end to the disgraceful culture of impunity that prevails in Europe and to ensure that survivors feel safe to seek for justice and reparation.

More than 130 legal experts, lawyers and jurists across the EU have signed this open letter providing the legal arguments that prove that action at EU Level is not only possible but necessary to ensure that the EU fulfils its obligations.

More than 400.000 European citizens in total have signed two petitions (WeMove Europe and Avaaz) calling EU decision-makers to ensure that Europe is a safe place for all women and girls and that the sexual autonomy of women is well protected. Citizens’ engagement together with women’s organisations’ advocacy actions all across the EU are leading to a positive trend that brings us hope, with several Member States vocalising their support of women’s rights.

Nothing is lost yet. We call on the Governments of France and Germany to stop betraying women and support the swift adoption of a strong Directive to combat violence against women. We appeal to them to be on the right side of Herstory to ensure that all women and girls have equal protection rights no matter where they live in Europe.

Stand for women’s rights both with words and actions. There is no time to waste!