By Kirsten Lühmann, President of CESI’s Commission on Women’s Rights

“The last year has seen important progress for better gender equality and equal opportunities in Europe. Above all, after complicated negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council finally agreed on the EU to accede, for its areas of competences, to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, a step that entered into force on October 1 last year.

Moreover, the European Parliament the Council reached a political agreement on a new EU directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, complementary to the Istanbul Convention, with the aim to close gaps in protection and access to justice for women across the EU.

Both represent important milestones that we trade unions have campaigned for during many years. They represent positive outcomes of the current EU legislative term and, in advance of the EU elections in June, showcase for women across Europe the added value of the EU in the area of women’s rights and non-discrimination.

Notwithstanding all progress as a result of this, we regret however that an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape remains excluded from the directive. We also regret that there are still Member States that refuse to ratify the Istanbul Convention themselves for issues of national-level competence. In these countries, women are left unprotected for areas that are not covered by an EU accession to the Convention and the EU’s scope of competences under it.

Broader inequalities still persist, though – in social, employment-related and economic terms. Women still carry disproportionate shares of domestic care responsibilities. Pay and pension gaps still persist, and so do glass ceiling to access higher and managerial positions. For women’s rights, this leaves ample of work for the years ahead.”