What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Removed:Article 29 – title: Specialist support for victims of female and intersex genital mutilation

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure effective, age-appropriate, accessible support to victims of female and intersex genital mutilation, including by providing gynaecological, sexological, psychological and trauma care and counselling tailored to the specific needs of such victims, after the offence has been perpetrated and for as long as necessary thereafter. This shall also include the provision of information on units in public hospitals that perform genital and clitoral reconstructive surgery in the case of female genital mutilation, and access to treatment and medications needed as a consequence of intersex genital mutilation. Such support may be provided by the referral centres referred to in Article 28 or any dedicated health centre;

Removed:Article 29 – paragraph 2: 2. Article 27 and Article 28(2) shall apply to the provision of support for victims of female and intersex genital mutilation as referred to in Articles 6 and 6a, respectively;

Removed:Article 29 a (new): Article 29a / Specialist support for victims of forced sterilisation / 1. Member States shall ensure that victims of forced sterilisation are provided with age-appropriate effective support, including gynaecological, psychological and trauma care tailored to the specific needs of such victims, after the offence has been committed and for as long as necessary thereafter; / 2. Article 27 and Article 28(2) shall apply to the provision of support to victims of forced sterilisation as referred to in Article 6b.

Removed:Article 29 b (new): Article 29b / Specialist support for victims of cyber violence / 1. Member States shall provide for appropriately equipped and easily accessible services to ensure effective support to victims of cyber violence, including psychological support, legal counselling and assistance for obtaining judicial orders for the removal of, or disabling access to, certain online material as referred to in Article 25, assisting in the communication with relevant online intermediary service providers and, where relevant, assisting in the preservation and documentation of evidence; / 2. Article 27 shall apply to the provision of support for victims of cyber violence.

Removed:Article 30 – title: Specialist support to address sexual harassment in the world of work;

Removed:Article 30 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall, in consultation with the social partners, ensure guidelines on procedures for tackling violence at work and sexual harassment in the world of work. Such guidelines shall include reporting procedures and appropriate and effective remedies. Member States shall ensure that undertakings, groups of undertakings or franchises establish, where applicable through collective bargaining with trade unions, training programmes and policies to prevent and tackle sexual harassment in the world of work and cyber violence and third-party violence at work and provide accessible and effective complaint mechanisms for victims of such harassment or violence.

Removed:Article 30 – paragraph 2 (new): 2. Member States shall ensure that victims of sexual harassment in the world of work have access, free of charge, to specialist support services and safe, confidential and effective complaint mechanisms, including external counselling and advice on adequately preventing and addressing instances of violence at work and sexual harassment in world of work. Trade union representatives shall be able to support workers in relevant proceedings. Victims of sexual harassment in the world of work shall be protected from further victimisation pursuant to Council Directive 2000/78/EC1a. Member States shall ensure that the identity of victims of sexual harassment in the world of work is treated confidentially or with due regard to their right to anonymity. / 1a Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16).

Removed:Article 30 – paragraph 3 (new): 3. Member States shall ensure that external counselling services are available to employers in cases of sexual harassment in the world of work, including guidance on legal remedies to remove the offender from the workplace and on the potential to provide early conciliation, if the victim so wishes.

Removed:Article 30 – paragraph 4 (new): 4. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that workers experiencing gender-based violence or domestic violence have the right to request short-term flexible working arrangements. Member States shall determine the duration of and detailed rules for such working arrangements.

Removed:Article 30 – paragraph 5 (new): 5. Member States shall ensure that the social partners are able to bargain collectively on workplace measures to prevent and address all forms of gender-based violence at work and to assist in identifying and supporting victims of such violence, in particular on the preventive measures referred to in Articles 36(8) and training and information for professionals as referred to in Article 37. Member States shall take measures to promote such collective bargaining, including through awareness-raising campaigns and training of the social partners and workplace health and safety representatives.

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall set up state-wide round-the-clock (24/7) telephone helplines with the support of women’s specialist support services, free of charge, to provide information and advice for victims of violence against women and domestic violence. Specialist support services, including women’s specialist support services, shall provide that advice confidentially or with due regard for victims’ anonymity. Member States shall ensure the provision of such service also through other secure and accessible information and communication technologies, including online applications;

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 1 a (new): 1a. Telephone helplines as referred to in paragraph 1 shall not replace other existing helplines specialised in violence against women or domestic violence in Member States, including those run by non-governmental organisations;

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure the accessibility of services referred to in paragraph 1 for end-users with disabilities, including providing support in easy to understand language. Those services shall be accessible in line with the accessibility requirements for electronic communications services set in Annex I to Directive 2019/882/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council18. Member States shall also ensure the provision of those services in a language that victims can understand, including by means of telephone interpreting. / 18 Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70).

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 3: 3. Article 27(6) shall apply to the provision of helplines and support through information and communication technologies under this Article.

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall ensure that the service under paragraph 1 for victims of violence against women and domestic violence is operated under the harmonised number at EU level “116 016”.

Removed:Article 31 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. Member States shall ensure that the end-users are adequately informed of the existence and number of helplines, including through regular awareness-raising campaigns;

Removed:Article 31 a (new): Article 31a / Support in employment for victims of violence against women and domestic violence / 1. Member States shall, in consultation with the social partners, take measures to ensure that employers are prevented from discriminating or in any way disadvantaging workers who are victims of domestic violence or sexual violence, on the grounds of such violence; / 2. Member States shall, in consultation with the social partners, ensure that victims of violence against women and domestic violence have the right to paid leave of an appropriate duration in order to access support services and attend legal and judicial proceedings. Member States may determine the scope, duration and conditions of such leave in accordance with national law or practice.

Removed:Article 32 – paragraph 1: 1. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodations as provided for in Article 9(3), point (a), of Directive 2012/29/EU shall be provided for the sole purpose of addressing the specific needs of women who are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence or sexual exploitation, including by providing women-only shelters. They shall assist victims in their recovery by providing safe, accessible, adequate and appropriate living conditions with a view to a return to independent living and by providing necessary support services such as referral for further medical care;

Removed:Article 32 – paragraph 2: 2. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodations shall be equipped to accommodate the specific rights and needs of children, including child victims;

Removed:Article 32 – paragraph 3: 3. The shelters and other appropriate interim accommodation shall be available to victims, and their dependents, regardless of their nationality, citizenship, place of residence or residence status. Specialised women’s shelters shall be available in every region, with one family place per 10 000 inhabitants;

Removed:Article 32 – paragraph 4: 4. Article 27(6) and Article 28(2) and (3) shall apply to shelters and other appropriate interim accommodations;

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that children are provided specific adequate support as soon as the competent authorities have reasonable grounds to believe that the children might have been subject to, including having witnessed, violence against women or domestic violence and for as long as is necessary afterwards. Support to children shall be specialised and age-appropriate, respecting the best interests of the child;

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 2 a (new): 2a. Member States shall ensure that children of victims who have been killed due to violence against women or domestic violence and their relatives are provided with specific adequate support during relevant judicial proceedings;

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 3: 3. Where it is necessary to provide for interim accommodation, children, after having been heard, shall as a priority be placed together with other family members, in particular with a non-violent parent, and not be separated from siblings, in permanent or temporary housing, equipped with support services and tailored to the specific needs of the child victims. Placement in shelters shall be a last resort;

Removed:Article 33 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Article 27 (6) and Article 28(2) and (3) shall apply to support for child victims;

Removed:Article 34 – paragraph -1 (new): -1. Member States shall ensure that incidents of violence are taken into account in judicial decisions concerning the child and that the best interests of the child are always the primary consideration in all decisions concerning children and take precedence over the parental rights of an offender or suspect of violence against women or domestic violence. Member States shall ensure that the views of the child are taken into consideration in accordance with their age and maturity. Member States shall ensure the safety of non-abusive holders of parental responsibility during the proceedings;

Removed:Article 34 – paragraph 1: To the extent that an offender or suspect of violence against women or domestic violence has rights of access, Member States shall establish and maintain safe places which allow a safe contact between a child and a holder of parental responsibility. Member States shall ensure supervision by trained professionals, as appropriate, and in the best interests of the child.

Removed:Article 35 – title: Targeted support for victims with intersectional needs and groups at risk;

Removed:Article 35 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure the provision of specific support to victims at an increased risk of violence against women or domestic violence by virtue of intersectional discrimination, such as women with disabilities, women living in rural areas, women with dependant residence status or a permit, undocumented migrant women, women applying for international protection, women fleeing from armed conflict, women affected by homelessness, women with a minority racial or ethnic background, LBTIQ+ women, women in prostitution, victims of so-called “honour crimes”, women detainees, women suffering from addiction, women who are pregnant or older women;

Removed:Article 35 – paragraph 3: 3. The support services shall be available for third-country nationals who are victims of violence against women and domestic violence, including for applicants for international protection, for undocumented persons and for persons who are the subject of return procedures in detention. Member States shall ensure that victims who request so may be kept in women- and children-only sections of detention facilities for third-country nationals subject of return procedures, or accommodated separately in reception centres for applicants for international protection;

Removed:Article 35 – paragraph 4: 4. Member States shall ensure that persons can report occurrences of violence against women or domestic violence in institutions and reception and detention centres to the relevant staff, and that protocols are in place to adequately and swiftly address such reports in accordance with the requirements in Article 18, 19 and 20;

Removed:Chapter 5 – title: PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall take appropriate actions to prevent violence against women and domestic violence by adopting a comprehensive multi-layered approach;

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 2: 2. Preventive measures shall include awareness-raising campaigns with the aim of increasing understanding among the general public of the different types of violence, through research and education programmes, including age-appropriate and comprehensive sexuality and relationship education and early intervention programmes, where appropriate developed in cooperation with relevant civil society organisations, specialist services, social partners, impacted communities, local and regional governments or authorities and other stakeholders;

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 3: 3. Member States shall make information on preventive measures, the rights of victims, access to justice and to a lawyer, and the available protection and support measures, including medical treatment, available and easily accessible to the general public via various information and communication technologies, in relevant languages and in different formats, including for persons with disabilities;

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 4: 4. Targeted action shall be addressed to groups at an increased risk of violence against women or domestic violence by virtue of intersectional discrimination such as those referred to in Article 35(1), children, according to their age and maturity, and persons with disabilities, taking into consideration language barriers and different levels of literacy and abilities. Information for children shall be formulated in a child-friendly way;

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 5: 5. Preventive measures shall in particular aim at to empower women and girls by increasing awareness of the concept of consent, to challenge harmful gender stereotypes, particularly for men and boys, to promote gender equality, to promote mutual respect, to promote the right to personal integrity, to encourage all, including men and boys, to act as positive role models to support corresponding behaviour changes across society as a whole in line with the objectives of this directive, and to increase awareness of the specific escalatory pattern of violence against women and domestic violence.

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 5 a (new): 5a. Preventive measures shall aim to target and reduce the demand for victims of sexual exploitation.

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 6: 6. Preventive measures shall develop or increase sensitivity about the harmful practice of female and intersex genital mutilation, forced marriage and forced sterilisation;

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 7: 7. Preventive measures shall also specifically address cyber violence. In particular, Member States shall ensure that education measures include the development of digital literacy skills, including critical engagement with the digital world and critical thinking to enable users to identify and address cases of cyber violence, to recognise its different forms, to seek support and to prevent its perpetration. Member States shall foster multidisciplinary and stakeholder cooperation, including intermediary services and competent authorities to develop and implement measures to tackle cyber violence;

Removed:Article 36 – paragraph 8: 8. Member States shall, in consultation with the social partners, ensure that sexual harassment in the world of work is addressed in relevant national policies. Those national policies shall identify and establish targeted actions as referred to in paragraph 2 for sectors where workers are most exposed. Member States shall ensure that employers take into account the potential for violence at work and sexual harassment in the world of work in their health and safety policies, adopted pursuant to Directive 89/391/EEC. Workers shall have the right to receive support from a trade union and from the health and safety representative at the workplace.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall ensure that professionals likely to come into contact with victims and perpetrators or offenders, including law enforcement authorities, forensic medical personnel, court staff, judges and prosecutors, lawyers, providers of victim support services, including specialist services, professionals working in offender programmes, providers of restorative justice services, healthcare professionals, social services, educational and other relevant staff, receive both general and specialist training and targeted information to a level appropriate to their contacts with victims and offenders, to enable them to identify, prevent and address instances of violence against women or domestic violence, to avoid revictimisation and to treat victims in a trauma, gender, disability, language and child-sensitive manner.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 2: 2. Relevant health professionals, including paediatricians, gynaecologists, obstetricians, midwives and psychological support staff, shall receive targeted training to identify and address, in a culturally- sensitive manner, the physical, psychological and sexual consequences of female and intersex genital mutilation, forced sterilisation, so-called “honour crimes” and other harmful practices .

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 3: 3. Persons with supervisory functions in the workplace, including health and safety representatives and labour inspectors, in both the public and private sectors, shall receive training on how to recognise, prevent and address sexual harassment in the world of work, including on risk assessments concerning occupational safety and health risks, to provide support to victims affected thereby and respond in an adequate manner, in accordance with training provided pursuant to Directive 89/391/EEC. Those persons and employers shall receive information, about the effects of violence against women and domestic violence on work and the risk of third party violence and how to support victims of domestic violence at work.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 4: 4. The training activities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall include training on co-ordinated multi-agency and multi-disciplinary co-operation to allow for a comprehensive and appropriate handling of referrals in cases of violence against women or domestic violence.

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 6: 6. Member States shall ensure that the authorities competent for receiving reports of offences from victims are appropriately trained to facilitate and assist in the reporting of such crimes and to take into account the specific needs of victims;

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 7: 7. Training activities referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be regular and mandatory, including on cyber violence, and built on the specificities of violence against women and domestic violence. Such training activities shall include training on how to identify and address the specific protection and support needs of victims who face a heightened risk of violence due to their experiencing discrimination based on a combination of gender or sex and other grounds as referred to in Article 35(1);

Removed:Article 37 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7a. Member States shall put in place procedures to ensure that the outcome and practical application of training under this Article are periodically and independently monitored and evaluated.

Removed:Article 38 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that targeted and effective intervention programmes are established in coordination with specialist support services to prevent and minimise the risk of committing offences of violence against women or domestic violence, or reoffending.

Removed:Article 39 – paragraph 3: 3. That body shall coordinate the collection of data referred to in Article 44, analyse and disseminate its results and make recommendations and proposals to improve indicators and information and data collection systems.

Removed:Article 39 a (new): Article 39a / National action plans for the elimination of violence against women and domestic violence / 1. By ... [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive], Member States shall develop national action plans, in consultation with and with the participation of specialist support services and the Union coordinator, for combating gender-based violence (the ‘national action plans’). / 2. The national action plans shall set out the following: / (a) priorities and actions to combat violence against women and domestic violence; / (b) targets and monitoring mechanisms for the priorities and actions referred to in point (a); / (c) the resources necessary to achieve the priorities and actions referred to in point (a) and how they are to be allocated. / 3. Member States shall ensure that the national action plans are reviewed and updated every five years.

Removed:Article 40 – title: Multi-agency and multi-disciplinary coordination and cooperation

Removed:Article 40 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall put in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure effective, structured and regular coordination and cooperation, at the national level, among relevant authorities, agencies and bodies, including local and regional authorities, labour inspectorates, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, public prosecutors, support service providers as well as non-governmental organisations, in particular specialist support services, social services, including child protection or welfare authorities, education and healthcare providers, social partners, without prejudice to their autonomy, and other relevant organisations and entities.

Removed:Article 40 – paragraph 2: 2. Such mechanisms shall relate to all areas set out in this Directive, in particular the individual assessments under Articles 18 and 19, and the provision of protection and support measures under Article 21 and Chapter 4, the guidelines for law enforcement and judicial authorities under Article 23, and in the trainings for professionals as referred to in Article 37.

Removed:Article 41 – paragraph 1: Member States shall create sustainable structures for the consultation of and partnership with relevant civil society organisations, including non-governmental organisations working with victims of violence against women or domestic violence and women’s civil society organisations, in particular for the purpose of providing adequate support to victims and to those who work to rehabilitate offenders, for the purpose of designing and implementing policymaking initiatives, information and awareness-raising campaigns, research and education programmes, for the purposes of training, and for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the impact of measures to support and protect victims, including data collection.

Removed:Article 42 – paragraph 1: Member States shall facilitate the taking of self-regulatory measures by providers of intermediary services in connection with this Directive, in particular to reinforce internal mechanisms to tackle the online material referred to in Article 25(1). Member States shall facilitate technological solutions to detect, report and remove the material referred to in Article 25 and to improve the training of their employees concerned on preventing, assisting and supporting the victims of the offences referred to therein.

Removed:Article 43 – title: Union level cooperation and the Union coordinator

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. Member States shall take appropriate action to facilitate cooperation between each other and with the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to improve the implementation of this Directive. Such cooperation shall aim at least at:

Removed:Article 43 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) exchanging best practices in a regular and structured manner and consulting each other in individual cases, including through Eurojust and the European Judicial Network in criminal matters;