Victims of domestic abuse in Belgium will now be supported with a "starter pack" aiming to assist them when they leave their abusive partners.
The Inter-ministerial Conference on Women's Rights (CIM) approved the initiative on Wednesday. Overseen by CIM chairperson and State Secretary for Gender Equality Marie-Colline Leroy (Écolo), the Conference pledged to provide domestic abuse victims with legal and financial aid as well as medical, psychosocial and psychological support.
Individuals will receive emergency financial aid at the moment they decide to leave their abusive partner. The sum is intended to cover legal and living costs that occur during the initial separation period.
The initiative also stresses the importance of ensuring protective measures for victims, such as an unlisted address and security items.
"The measures proposed today are the result of a consensus and are based on the demands made by civil society organisations," Leroy told La Libre. "Everyone's ambition is to translate formal equal rights on paper into real equality in women's everyday lives."
Push for women's rights
The announcement coincides with other measures advocating for domestic abuse support and broader women's rights.
The Brussels-Capital Region has just inaugurated its first ever domestic abuse support centre, which centralises various resources in one place. Located in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, 'Olista' offers legal and social support to the "most problematic" cases and allows for the courts, police, social services and medical centres to refer their most challenging cases to the holistic network in place.
On the EU level, the European Parliament has just approved a "historic" directive to combat gender-related violence. The directive clamps down on cyberviolence and seeks to support rape victims as well as preventing rape from occurring in the first place. It also prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage.
"This is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that will prevent violence against women, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators, thereby ensuring a holistic approach to tackling these heinous crimes," stated rapporteur Frances Fitzgerald (EPP – Ireland).
🗳️Adopted ✅
Directive to combat Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. Final vote: ➕522 ➖27 ⭕️ 72 A huge success - an historic day for the women of Europe 🇪🇺 Now we need to make it a reality! pic.twitter.com/uqQ8P5nsCY — Frances Fitzgerald MEP (@FitzgeraldFrncs) April 24, 2024
Commenting on the vote, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) says the text does not sufficiently account for migrant women living precariously. The organisation takes particular issue with the failure to accommodate non-EU victims, who are often the most vulnerable group due to precarious legal situations.
"Who would report violence and abuse if they risked being locked up and deported instead of getting support and protection?" said PICUM Advocacy Officer Louise Bonneau. "This Directive exemplifies the EU’s fixation on migration control, at the cost of leaving out a whole group of women who are undocumented or have precarious residence status."
