Violence against Women and Domestic Violence: The European Commission’s Directive Proposal

The Commission proposed to enshrine in the law of the European Union minimum standards to criminalise certain forms of violence against women; protect victims and improve access to justice; support victims and ensure coordination between relevant services; and prevent these types of crimes from happening in the first place. In particular, the Commission’s proposal would make it possible, on the one hand, to surmount the gaps existing in some Member States and, on the other hand, to standardise the various national legislations with a single discipline valid in all the countries of the European Union. This paper focuses on the contents of the European Commission’s proposal by highlighting and reflecting on the key points. Keywords: Violence against women; Domestic violence; Directive proposal; European Commission; Minimum standards