EWL press coverage

Full protection

The European protection order is an important step towards the protection
of female victims of male violence, writes Rosa Fernández Sansa.

Last year, the Spanish EU council presidency put
forward a ground-breaking policy initiative which
for the first time offered a European legal dimension
to the fight against the gender violence that
affects some 45 per cent of women in Europe. The
European protection order (EPO) is designed to
protect victims of violence across the EU, including female
victims of male violence, as well as to prevent discrimination
and ensure freedom of movement between member states.

At present, the protection of victims of violence, including
the estimated one in five female victims of domestic violence,
is effectively limited by national jurisdictions. If properly
implemented, the EPO, issued by the country of origin and
transmitted to the host country, will guarantee a consistent
level of protection for victims of violence when they move
within the EU. According to the Spanish EU council presidency,
an estimated 100,000 EPOs will be issued every year,
most of them for women who are victims of male violence.

The EPO does not, however, guarantee the same level of
protection for all victims. As a measure of mutual recognition
of national protection orders, it offers no harmonisation
or minimum standards to which all member states must
adhere. Many EU member states do not even provide protection
orders for female victims of
violence in intimate partnerships.

These differing levels of protection
need to be addressed.
Freedom of movement is a highly
laudable aspect of the EU, but protection
from violence is a basic human
right, as is equality between women
and men. The EPO is to be warmly
welcomed as the first proposal of a
legally binding EU instrument on violence
against women. Unfortunately,
a proposal is what it remains at this
stage. Having received an initial
endorsement by the majority of EU
member states in June 2010 and the
approval of MEPs in December 2010,
the political will to get the measure through seems to have dissipated. For human rights organisations
such as the European Women’s Lobby and its Spanish
coordination, CELEM, there is no time to waste in moving
forward towards a comprehensive EU approach guaranteeing
women’s basic rights. The EPO, as part of an EU strategy
on violence against women as envisioned by the European
parliament and council (see conclusions of 8 March 2010),
represents a step in the right direction. We trust that all of
the EU member states will give this measure their unreserved
support and that together we can progress towards a Europe
free of violence against women.

Download the article in PDF format or the full issue of the Parliament Magazine.

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EWL event "Progress towards a Europe free from all forms of male violence" to mark the 10th aniversary of the Istanbul Convention, 12 May 2021.

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