IPPF EN welcomes the political agreement on the revised EU Victims’ Rights Directive reached between Parliament and Council on 10 December, which represents a significant step forward for survivors of sexual violence and for sexual and reproductive rights across the EU.
Crucially, the Directive explicitly recognises that survivors of sexual violence must have access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. For the first time ever in EU legislation, it specifies the services that must be available, in accordance with national law, including emergency contraception, post-exposure prophylaxis treatment, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and access to abortion. This clear recognition marks a historic milestone, embedding survivors’ healthcare needs directly into EU law.
The revised Directive builds on the progress made in recent EU legislation on combating violence against women and domestic violence, further consolidating a legal framework that recognises sexual and reproductive health as integral to victims’ rights.
By spelling out these obligations, the Directive strengthens legal protections for survivors across all Member States and helps guarantee access to essential care. Sexual and reproductive healthcare is not optional support: it is a fundamental component of recovery for survivors of sexual violence and must be available without delay, stigma, or additional barriers.
Forcing someone to continue a pregnancy resulting from rape inflicts further physical and psychological harm, deepens trauma, and strips survivors of their bodily autonomy and dignity. Denying survivors of sexual violence access to abortion care constitutes a serious form of gender-based violence amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
IPPF EN now calls on the European Parliament and the Council to swiftly adopt the Directive formally and on Member States to ensure strong, rights-based implementation at national level. Survivors across the EU must see these legal commitments translated into real, timely, and accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare in practice.
However, IPPF EN regrets that once again, EU legislation fails to adequately protect undocumented victims of violence, leaving some of the most marginalised people at risk of detention and deportation. Read more on how the deal fails to protect undocumented victims of crime via PICUM.
Illustration by Judit Canela
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