In survey cited by the commission, 47 percent of European women in public life reported having received death threats or threats of rape or beatings (Photo: © European Union 2017 - European Parliament)

EU tables hate-crime rules to protect women

Rule of Law

by Eszter Zalan, Brussels,

The EU Commission has laid out plans for a legal basis to criminalise hate speech and hate crime at EU level, paving the way for Europe-wide sanctions on hate-motivated crimes.

The initiative, unveiled on Thursday (9 December), is particularly aimed at protecting women and the LGBTIQ community as EU member states are already required to criminalise crimes committed with a racist or xenophobic motivation.

The amendment to existing rules would enable the commission to put forward l...

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Rule of Law

Author Bio

Eszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.

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