According to the UN, one woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes, a total of 140 women a day; and almost one in three has suffered physical or sexual violence in their lives. In Europe, the numbers are just as discouraging: one in three women has experienced gender-based violence. On the 25th of November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the S&Ds have raised their voices urging the European Commission to put forward a law recognising rape on the basis of the absence of consent as an EU crime.

During a debate in the plenary session, S&D president, Iratxe García, recalled that rape is already considered a form of gender violence by the Istanbul Convention and regretted that the European Union had not included it as a form of violence in the recently adopted Directive combatting violence against women. García remembered all those women who have been taken violently, and stands by those who suffer violence. She called all lawmakers to act and not be complicit in this barbarity.

Iratxe García, S&D Group President, said:

“Today is not a day for celebration, it is a day of sadness, for every woman and girl taken by violence, and for every family left with a pain that never ends.

“This is not a private problem; it is a European emergency. Too many women are questioned and not believed, and even asked to prove harm after surviving rape. The European Union must act with clarity and courage: recognise femicide; make 'only Yes means Yes' the law; and include rape as an EU crime.

“Europe must be the place for justice, where every woman can live free, safe and proud.

“Enough is enough.”