There is currently no shared EU definition of rape due to disagreements among member states.
A Midlands MEP says the European Parliament is a step closer to agreeing a common consent based definition of rape after its Gender Equality and Justice Committees backed the proposal.
Seventy five MEPs voted in favour, with 27 against and three abstentions, urging the European Commission to introduce legislation establishing an EU-wide definition based on freely given, informed and revocable consent.
There is currently no shared EU definition of rape due to disagreements among member states, leading to varying levels of protection and access to justice across the bloc.
Maria Walsh is calling for gender-based violence to be recognised as an EU crime and for an EU-wide ban on the disclosure of counselling notes in sexual assault trials to prevent retraumatisation.
She says it's a stain on Europe that agreement is not yet reached:
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