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opinion parliamentary committee draft, 5 June 2023

On extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime

Document FEMM-PA-749280 · (2023/2068(INI))

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality · Rapporteur: Vera Tax

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The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality sets out suggestions for the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to include in its resolution on extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime. It calls on the Council to add hate speech and hate crimes to the areas of crime under Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and on the Commission to define gender-based hate speech and hate crimes explicitly in future legislation. It welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, including minimum rules on online hatred and cyber-violence, and asks that this directive serve as a minimum standard for legislation on online hate speech and hate crimes. It also asks the Commission to research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements, their strategies and funding.

Position. The committee calls on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to incorporate its suggestions into its motion for a resolution, namely to extend EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime, define gender-based offences, use the violence against women directive as a minimum standard, and report on anti-gender movements.

Key points

  1. Gender-based hate speech and hate crimes disproportionately affect women, especially young women and women in the public sphere, and women facing intersectional discrimination.
  2. Patriarchal societal structures, unequal power relations and gender stereotyping fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women.
  3. Anti-gender movements are internationally connected and spread rhetoric against anyone outside heteronormative, patriarchal norms.
  4. Hate speech often starts as bias and can lead to motivated violence, with severe psychological and physical effects on women and harm to society.
  5. The Council should conclude a decision adding hate speech and hate crimes to the areas of crime under Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as soon as possible.
  6. The Commission should include an explicit definition of gender-based hate speech and hate crimes when proposing legislation.
  7. The Commission proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, with minimum rules on online hatred and cyber-violence, is welcomed and should serve as a minimum standard for legislation on online hate speech and hate crimes.
  8. The Commission should actively research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements, including their strategies and funding.

Who is affected

  • Women, particularly young women and women in the public sphere, who face gender-based hate speech and hate crimes.
  • Women facing intersectional discrimination, who experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes.
  • The Council, which is asked to add hate speech and hate crimes to EU areas of crime.
  • The Commission, which is asked to define gender-based hate speech and hate crimes and to report on anti-gender movements.

Legal basis. Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

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Full text

Suggestions 9 paragraphs

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

A.whereas gender-based hate speech and hate crimes disproportionately affect women; whereas young women and women in the public sphere are targeted by hate speech in particular; whereas women facing intersectional discrimination experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes;

B.whereas multiple factors, such as patriarchal societal structures, unequal power relations and gender stereotyping, fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women;

C.whereas anti-gender movements are internationally connected and spread rhetoric against anyone who does not fall under the norms of the heteronormative, patriarchal society;

D.whereas hate speech often starts as an act of bias, which can then lead to motivated violence; whereas hate speech and hate crimes have an enormous psychological and physical impact on individual women and a detrimental impact on society as a whole;

1.Calls on the Council to conclude a Council decision including hate speech and hate crimes as an area of crime within the meaning of Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as soon as possible;

2.Calls on the Commission to include an explicit definition of gender-based hate speech and hate crimes when legislation is proposed;

3.Welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the inclusion of minimum rules for the definition of the offence of hatred online and cyber-violence; calls on the Commission to ensure that this directive serves as a minimum standard when it comes to legislation tackling online hate speech and hate crimes;

4.Calls on the Commission to actively research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements, including their strategies and funding.