Local and regional authorities need the right tools to be a part of the solution to end gender-based violence, argues rapporteur Donatella Porzi.

Across Europe, gender-based violence still occurs, and it is much more widespread than people realize. One third of all women in Europe have experienced physical or sexual acts of violence at least once during their adult lives, 20% of young women have experienced online sexual harassment, one in five women have been stalked, one in twenty women raped and more than one in ten having suffered sexual violence involving lack of consent or the use of force.

Donatella Porzi identified prevention, education for long-term societal change and immediate protection to victims when prevention and education fails as the core components of a successful strategy for stopping gender-based violence.

Porzi: “Local and regional authorities can be a part of the solution in stopping gender-based violence. But they need the right tools – clear data (collection of data is not homogeneous in all countries and often even within the same territory), concrete measures to create safe offline and online public spaces, and long term, educational measures that create social change”.

“I want the European Committee of the Regions to raise cities and regions’ voices because when it comes to ending gender-based violence, we can really make a meaningful difference and change”.