Scope:

Limited to the perspective of addressing violence against women and domestic violence, the gap analysis was based on the relevant provisions of the following instruments of EU law:

• Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime;

• Directive 2011/99/EU on the European protection order;

• Regulation (EU) No 606/2013 on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters;

• Council Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to crime victims;

• Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation;

• Council Directive 2004/113/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services;

• Directive 2010/41/EU on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity;

• Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims;

• Directive 2011/93/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography;

• Directive 2013/33/EU laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (recast);

• Directive 2013/32/EU on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (recast) asylum procedures directive;

• Returns Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals;

• Directive 2011/95/EU on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted.

Evaluation findings:

The gap analysis evaluated the role that the existing EU legislation had in preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence. It identified legislative gaps and analysed the need for further measures towards improved, coordinated protection against this persistent type of gender-based discrimination. The analysis showed that while EU legislation can apply to forms of violence against women and domestic violence, it could not be verified that the EU legislation had led to concrete measures having been taken by the Member States to prevent and combat such violence as a whole. Regulatory gaps were identified both at the level of EU and Member State measures, in all five problem areas.

Strengthening the prevention, protection, access to justice, victim support and coordination elements linked to such violence in one specific instrument was considered necessary to strengthen the protection of this group of crime victims. The initiative complements and reinforces the instruments of general application, such as the Victims' Rights Directive and the Gender Equality Directives, while ensuring that all Member States provide a consistent minimum level of measures in all those areas where action is needed to effectively tackle such violence.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The main objective of the proposed initiative is to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The initiative aims to incorporate targeted minimum rules on all forms of violence against women and domestic violence in the EU legislative framework, thus pursuing the objectives of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention within the area of EU competences. This is achieved by, first, by filling legislative gaps at the EU and national levels in a manner that is tailored to the needs of this group of crime victims, and second, by updating EU law by going further than the standards of the Istanbul Convention in the areas of gender-based cyber violence and sexual harassment at work.

The proposal aims to better safeguard the fundamental rights of victims of violence against women and domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence takes place online or offline, and in the long-term to decrease the prevalence of such violence across the EU. The proposal includes strengthened measures on data collection, which allow the EU to monitor the implementation of the measures and gather information on the prevalence of such violence.

Estimated savings and benefits

The legislative initiative will bring together, extend and strengthen the elements from existing EU law that are relevant to combatting violence against women and domestic violence. These are currently fragmented into various directives. It will not repeal the existing directives.

The reduced prevalence of violence against women and domestic violence, in particular, could have economic benefits of around EUR 53.1 billion, potentially reaching around EUR 82.7 billion in the long term. The greatest potential for economic benefits is due to the reduction of the cost of physical and emotional harm to victims (an estimated reduction ranging from EUR 32.2 billion to EUR 64.5 billion).

Social impacts would affect various stakeholders, namely victims, witnesses, offenders, companies, national authorities and the wider society. The proposal is estimated to improve victims’ health, safety and quality of life (especially due to the measures on protection and support). It would also increase victims and witnesses’ awareness of and access to information on protection and support services. Measures on intervention programmes for offenders are expected to have a positive impact on offenders’ attitudes and behavior. For employers, awareness and better understanding of and support to workers who are victims of sexual harassment at work would enable the development of a safe work environment and have a positive impact on productivity. National authorities would benefit from measures addressing legal uncertainties and data collection, allowing a better design of national policies to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. Increased recognition of harmful gender stereotypes and norms among the general public would have a positive impact on society as a whole.