The Commission for Equal Opportunities of the European Parliament held a public audition in Brussels last week to review the situation relating to acts of violence committed against women in Europe. The figures in the possession of the European Union though incomplete and relating to the 15-member EU alone, with the almost total absence of information on the phenomenon provided by the new member states were described as “horrible”: it is calculated that one woman out of three has suffered violence of physical type (not necessarily sexual), and that approximately two women out of three have been the victims of violence of psychological type at least once in their life. Seventy million women suffered some form of violence in 2004 (80% of the cases within the home). Another finding that emerged from the audition is the difficulty of any clear definition of types of violence and their degree of illegality, so much so that too often the legal codes of the member states still give a negative reply to the question “is any kind of violence an offence?” The Commission and the EU countries are processing a series of data provided by the courts and by the police forces with the aim of harmonizing the matter, also at the penal level. In spite of opposition, the Commission has confirmed for the period 2005-2008 a growth of the budget of the Daphne programme (from 20 to 50 million euros), aimed at the prevention of violence, the exchange of information and the creation of networks for the support of women who have been the victims of violence. See further info: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/funding/daphne/funding_daphne_en.htm
