Why was rape regulation omitted from the first EU Directive on violence against women?

In May 2024, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the first-ever European Union (EU) Directive specifically aimed at combating violence against women and domestic violence. While recent years have seen a growing momentum in addressing these issues at both European and national levels, existing measures remain insufficient to effectively prevent such violence and protect its victims. To address these shortcomings, the EU-27 have established minimum standards for defining and sanctioning certain criminal offenses related to gender-based violence. This Directive comes at a critical moment, as women across Europe continue to face a wide range of gender-based violence in both public and private spheres. Nevertheless, rape is notably absent from the list of crimes addressed by the Directive. This exclusion results from a complex negotiation process in which several Member States opposed the inclusion of an EU-wide definition and regulation of rape. This article explores the reasons behind this omission in the final version of the legislative act, arguing that a combination of legal, political, social, and even economic factors contributed to the outcome. It concludes by outlining potential medium-term scenarios and discussing the most effective pathways toward the future criminalization of rape at the EU level.