A first-ever EU-wide instrument agreed upon by the Council and European Parliament addresses all forms of violence against women, including cyberviolence.
“This is a big step forward to better protect women and girls from violence, whether at home, at work, on our streets, off-line or on-line. The directive has a strong chapter on prevention to act against underlying patterns of coercion, power and control (…).”, stated Marie-Colline Leroy, Belgian Secretary of State for Gender Equality.
Amongst several other offenses, this new law would criminalise cybercrime-related ones, including non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyber stalking, cyber harassment, and online incitement to hatred or violence. Reporting acts of online violence, and submitting evidence, would be facilitated by the setting up of user-friendly channels.
Today, this informal agreement is pending approval by the representatives of EU member states at the Council.