THE DUBLIN RAPE Crisis Centre has called on the government to campaign for the inclusion of a definition of rape in a new EU directive.

The directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence aims to harmonise the approaches to and definitions of these crimes among member states.

The European Parliament and Council of EU member states are negotiating what should be in the finalised law.

Individual countries would transpose it into national law, if passed.

The directive covers areas such as sexual violence, online violence, stalking, female genital mutilation, among others.

A key component of this is the criminalisation of rape based on lack of consent, which has proved divisive. Some countries have taken issue with this definition, as under existing laws the use of force or threats is required in 18 countries rather than solely a lack of consent.

Legal competency

Other governments in countries like Germany and France have argued that this is not something the EU can legislate on because it overreaches EU legal competency.

The Irish government is currently undecided, based legal advice regarding the EU institutions’ remit rather than opposition to the definition of rape. A consent-based definition of rape already exists in Ireland under the Sexual Offences Act 2017.

Fine Gael MEP Frances Fitzgerald, one of the lead negotiators on the directive and who has called for the directive to be approved, highlighted that areas such as sexual exploitation, trafficking, and child sex abuse are already legislated for in a similar way by the EU.

“I’m quite shocked by it really, to think that in this day and age we don’t have agreement on including the crime of rape in a directive,” she told RTÉ Radio 1′s Today With Claire Byrne.

Fitzgerald said she hopes that under the new Belgian presidency of the European Union a definition – potentially with some added reference to national law – can be found that reaches the required majority.

“I’m not convinced we’re going to get there, but we’re certainly working towards that,” Fitzgerald added, highlighting that more conservative governments like Hungary and Poland are next in line to take the EU presidency and may not be as willing to move the directive forward.

She believes it would be unlikely to pass in parliament if the rape definition is removed, despite the other areas that directive would cover:

I’ve been very disappointed myself to see the resistance to including this crime at European level. And I do think it gives us an insight into attitudes still in relation to equality and in relation to women, particularly in relation to the consent issue.

In a statement today, the chief executive of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre called on the government here to use Ireland’s standing as a country with “relatively progressive laws on sexual violence” to convince other EU leaders of the benefits of including rape in the directive.

The organisation said it would be writing to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.

“We believe that legal opinions have been used as a rationale to suggest removing important wording related to rape, but we strongly urge member states to show courage and conviction in the face of any objections to progress on tackling sexual violence,” Rachel Morrogh said.

As a structure that prizes equality and security for all, the EU must find a solution that does not dilute the definition of rape as a serious crime based on lack of consent.

Morrogh added that by not including a definition of rape “we will be failing the huge number of people in Europe harmed by sexual violence, especially women and children as those most vulnerable and most impacted”.

A 2014 EU survey found that “one in 10 women has experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 15, and one in 20 has been raped”.

The Department of Justice said in a statement that Ireland “fully supports the agreement of an ambitious measure at European level to combat all forms of violence against women and has played an active and constructive role in the negotiations to date, including in the discussions which focused on the inclusion of the offence of rape under the legal basis of the proposal”.

The statement added: “While to date it has not been possible to reach the required Qualified Majority to have this included, due to issues being identified by a number of Member States, it remains an important proposal overall and Ireland will continue to work constructively with Member States to find a path forward and reach an agreement that is legally sound and not open to challenge.”