23
Nov
2023
Watch
International day for the elimination of violence against women (debate)
Mr President, I am glad that finally we have ratified the Istanbul Convention as a European Union. But I ask myself: why did it have to take so long when our values are so clearly enshrined in our Treaty? But the Istanbul Convention alone is not enough. This week in Malta, in my country, we remembered the murder of Bernice Cassar last year, murdered by her former husband. The Istanbul Convention alone did not save her. We need to change hearts and minds. We need to empower women and young girls in our schools. We need to give men and young boys a reality check. I urge all Member States – and I start from mine, Malta – to stop the resistance that we are currently finding in the Council in including a clearly defined rape in the directive on gender-based violence. Rape is a result of no consent, and this must be written down in the directive, and we need to do it now. So I start from my home country. We did it at home. Let’s do it now in the European Union.