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What Kind of Problematic Is Rape for the EU?

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Sexual Politics in Contemporary Europe

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Abstract

This chapter extends our analysis of European sexual politics in the context of rape vis-à-vis the EU’s desire for ‘ever closer union’ and Members States’ acceptance of or resistance to this political goal. The chapter does not focus on how the EU and its Member States regulate rape per se. But rather, it focuses on how rape has emerged as a problem of governance at the EU and Member State levels. Primarily, the chapter examines the tensions and conflicts surrounding the current ‘moment’ in feminist thinking around VAW generally, and around sexual violence in particular, at the EU level. Secondly, we analyse why and how rape have become implicated in the EU’s desire for ‘ever closer union’ and in national identity politics as a form of resistance to European immorality. And finally, we map the EU hard law and soft policies on rape.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Available: https://apps.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/violence_against_women_20130620/en/index.html. Accessed 5 September 2021.

  2. 2.

    Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html and https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories. Accessed 7 September 2021.

  3. 3.

    It is important to note that the Metoo moment predates its 2017 resurgence as #MeToo. Tarana Burke founded the Metoo movement in 2006 to demand support and recognition for young women of colour who have experienced sexual abuse. For an analysis of the classed and racialised orientation of orientation of #MeToo, see Gill and Orgad (2018).

  4. 4.

    Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/EPRS/PE2_AP_RP!FEMM.1984_A2-0044!860001EN.pdf. Accessed 24 April 2021.

  5. 5.

    Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/violenceagainstwomen.aspx. Accessed 24 April 2021.

  6. 6.

    Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/BeijingPlatformforAction.aspx. Accessed 24 April 2021.

  7. 7.

    Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/894ae31d-35dc-48cc-9bdc-cf6fbd7d94ff/language-en. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  8. 8.

    Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P5-TA-2000-0248+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  9. 9.

    Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-6-2006-0038_EN.html and https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-7-2009-0098_EN.html. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  10. 10.

    Available at: https://www.euromed-justice.eu/en/system/files/20090428174714_COM%282000%29335final.CommunityFrameworkStrategyonGenderEquality.pdf. Accessed 24 April 2021.

  11. 11.

    Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM%3Ac10404. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  12. 12.

    Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A52010DC0491. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  13. 13.

    Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/publications/eu-guidelines-violence-against-women-and-girls-and-combating-all-forms-discrimination_en. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  14. 14.

    Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/7347cefd-397e-4622-8820-f99c0a07b2a7/language-en. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  15. 15.

    The Council of Europe is autonomous from the EU and is a European political organisation currently with 47 member states. Its foundation is based on the principles of the European Convention in Human Rights (ECHR).

  16. 16.

    Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/istanbul-convention/text-of-the-convention.

  17. 17.

    For example, the UN Resolution on domestic violence available here: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N03/503/40/PDF/N0350340.pdf?OpenElement.

  18. 18.

    Recommendations Rec (2002) of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the protections of women and children against violence, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of 30 April 2002 at 794th meeting of the minsters’ deputies.

  19. 19.

    Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52016PC0109. Accessed 20 June 2021.

  20. 20.

    Available at: https://www.womenlobby.org/IMG/pdf/ewl_public_report_act_against_rape_20140425.pdf. Accessed 28 August 2021.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology & Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Sharron FitzGerald

  2. Department of Criminology & Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    May-Len Skilbrei

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  1. Sharron FitzGerald
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  2. May-Len Skilbrei
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Correspondence to Sharron FitzGerald .

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FitzGerald, S., Skilbrei, ML. (2022). What Kind of Problematic Is Rape for the EU?. In: Sexual Politics in Contemporary Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91174-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91174-4_4

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