EU lawmakers said they were disappointed the law would not include a consent-based definition of rape. The law seeks to protect women in the 27-nation European Union from gender-based violence, forced marriages, female genital mutilation and online harassment. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, first proposed the major legislation on March 8, 2022, to mark International Women's Day. "It's a clear message across the union that we take violence against women seriously," EU lawmaker Frances Fitzgerald told reporters in Strasbourg after the announcement. The text criminalises cyberstalking, cyberharassment and cyber incitement to hatred or violence across the European Union.

Source: Daily Nation February 07, 2024 01:03 UTC