Friends Of Europe Podcasts

Exactly two years ago, on International Women’s Day, the European Commission proposed a EU Directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence. This new initiative was groundbreaking because, for the first time, it was proposing a common definition of rape based on consent but, in the end, the justice ministers of France and Germany blocked the inclusion of this clause. The European Women’s Lobby has been advocating for a EU-wide legislation tackling violence against women for decades and finally, such legislation is in the final steps of approval. On International Women’s Day, host Catarina Vila Nova speaks with Irene Rosales, Policy and Campaigns Officer at the European Women’s Lobby, about the significance of this EU directive. Although not including the consent-based definition of rape is considered a “missed opportunity”, among other clauses that didn’t make it to the final version, Rosales still highlights how important this directive is, as the first comprehensive legal instrument at the