thank you very much mrs svensson for your very moving introduction on this extremely important subject
combating violence against women is a very high priority for the commission as is shown by the gender equality strategy
there is still as you show a very big problem of violence against women in europe and for that reason we are working on focused actions to address this issue
we will develop a clear and coherent policy response to tackle this problem in europe
i welcome your report mrs svensson and i welcome this important initiative it provides the possibility to cooperate exchange views and create synergies between what the commission is doing and what the european parliament is doing in order to define future action in this area
a number of points that you raise in the report are actually covered by ongoing and planned actions of the commission on combating violence against women
to maximise our impact we are focusing on concrete actions in an area where we have a clear legal basis to act in the lisbon treaty
in the forthcoming victims rights package we will notably address the protection of particularly vulnerable victims such as women but also children
this package will be presented next month
every victim of crime needs assistance in the aftermath of a crime and to cope with any proceedings that follow
women are of course particularly vulnerable if they have suffered violence in their home rape or sexual abuse stalking or other kinds of gender-based violence
they need to be treated with respect and knowledge when they come into contact with people and the justice system
these women also need specialised support and protection and should be given access to justice and compensation
the current legal framework in the eu does not provide for a minimum level of treatment for victims throughout the eu irrespective of where they have been victimised and that is why the commission intends to act to strengthen the position of victims in europe
we are thus presenting as a first step a package of legislative measures on the rights protection and support of victims of crime and the mutual recognition of protection measures
specific focus in this will be given to vulnerable victims such as victims of sexual and domestic violence
the commission will also provide for the mutual recognition of protection measures which will benefit especially victims suffering repeated violence from a spouse partner or member of their close family
with this package the commission will make sure that in europe no woman crossing the borders and benefiting from a protection measure be it of an administrative civil or criminal nature is left behind
our package will set out a general framework which would then be completed in the course of this mandate by other instruments focusing on the specific needs of certain types of victims
for instance the commission is concerning taking stronger action to combat female genital mutilation as you also mention in your report
in parallel with our actions in the criminal justice area we will work for the empowerment of women awareness-raising and the collection and analysis of statistics on violence against women
the commission will draw on the work by the european institute for gender equality which will collect and analyse data and statistics on this subject
to conclude i would like to underline that the commission is currently providing important financial support to prevent and combat violence against women particularly through the daphne iii programme the work of european ngos and public authorities
