Urmas Paet, a member of the European Parliament, stated in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the elimination of violence against women, that European Union must work harder towards eliminating violence against women with the aim of zero tolerance policy.
To begin with the European Parliament and all EU Member States must join the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention. “It´s the least we can do. Even this Convention has only been ratified by 8 EU Member States. In addition other legal measures must be adopted by the EU to help eliminate violence against women,” he said.
Paet added that any form of violence against women is a grave violation human rights and makes it impossible for women to enjoy their basic rights to life, security, freedom, dignity as well as physical and emotional immunities. “Violence against women takes many forms from domestic violence to systematic violence for political reasons. By no means can violence be justified by cultural peculiarities or traditions,” he said. According to Paet we must achieve zero tolerance in eliminating violence against women.