With the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention in February 2018, Germany has committed itself at all levels of government to do everything in its power to combat violence against women, to offer protection and support to those affected, and to prevent violence. In order to fulfill this obligation, a legal entitlement to protection and assistance under federal law must be established by law. This will give women affected by violence a legal basis on which they can claim protection, advice and support in the event of violence and, if necessary, sue for it. It gives concrete form to the state's general duty to protect life and physical integrity, which is enshrined in the Basic Law. With this legal entitlement, the state fulfills its responsibility to protect women and to combat violence against women. In addition, this legal claim recognizes the wrongfulness of violence for people affected by violence. Gender-based violence is recognized as a problem for society as a whole and not as a private problem. The legal entitlement gives women's shelters and specialized counseling centers greater financial and planning security. They are no longer dependent on voluntary state benefits or budgetary situations in the municipalities and states. If compensation agreements fail, they can appeal to arbitration boards. The German government's reservation against Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention, which grants refugee or migrant women affected by violence an independent right of residence, must be withdrawn so that all women in Germany are protected from violence. Another important step in the fight against violence against women is the rapid ratification of the ILO K-190 Convention, which addresses ending sexual violence in the workplace. The convention establishes for the first time a globally valid definition of sexual harassment and violence and does not refer solely to the workplace, but to the world of work in general. Germany should sign the convention and thus set an example in the fight against violence against women. In Spain, there is already a specific criminal offense of violence against women, which gives a special legal right to protection and help for women affected by violence and offers protection for victims of gender-based violence. This is also necessary in Germany.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.frauenhauskoordinierung.de/arbeitsfelder/rechtsanspruch-auf-schutz/

In Germany, so-called "catcalling", i.e. (non)verbal sexual harassment in public, is not punishable as such. Only if offensive words are used in this context can the harassment be punished as an insult. A ban on catcalling should therefore be enshrined in law. This would be possible by amending Section 184i of the Criminal Code, which regulates the criminal offense of physical sexual harassment. Verbal sexual harassment should be added here. At the same time, more comprehensive rules should be introduced for any forms of "imposed sexuality" that interfere with one's sexual self-determination. Although it may be difficult to prove, the adoption of such a law can draw attention to the problem and make it clear that such behavior is unwelcome or prohibited by the state. In various European countries (France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium), verbal sexual harassment has been punishable for years and can be sanctioned with fines of up to 750 euros. In Finland, a corresponding law is also planned.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/es-ist-2020-catcalling-sollte-strafbar-sein

Abortions are part of basic medical care and must be regulated outside the criminal code. The existing criminalization with mandatory counseling and waiting periods patronizes unwanted pregnant women and deprives them of their right to physical and sexual self-determination. In the GDR, abortions up to the twelfth week were already possible without further preconditions; with the so-called compromise in 1995, pregnant women were deprived of their right to physical and sexual self-determination. For doctors who perform abortions and want to inform about it, there is still no legal certainty despite the new regulation of paragraph 219a. In order to support and protect unintentionally pregnant women and doctors in the best possible way, abortion must be decriminalized, and Sections 218/219 must therefore be deleted from the Criminal Code. There is also a need for a right to competent, sufficient and local medical care and a legal regulation according to which the statutory health insurance companies assume the costs for an abortion as they do for other standardized medical services.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.sexuelle-selbstbestimmung.de/15923/pressemitteilung-25-jahre-reformierter-paragraf-218-zeit-fuer-die-streichung-aus-dem-strafgesetzbuch/

Since 2020, companies in Spain have been required by law to pay women and men the same for the same work. This is ensured by transparent salary scales broken down by gender and severe penalties of up to 187,000 euros for violations. New principles will be provided to measure the equivalence of work. New Zealand also unanimously passed an Equal Pay Act in 2018 to ensure equal pay regardless of gender. Both laws can serve as a model for Germany. Here, the only law in place so far is the 2017 Pay Transparency Act, but the Federal Statistical Office's survey shows that the gender pay gap was still 20 percent in 2019. Under the Pay Transparency Act, information about the pay of colleagues is only provided to people who work in companies with more than 200 employees. Two-thirds of employed women work in small and medium-sized companies. Moreover, the Pay Transparency Act does not prohibit different levels of pay, but merely discloses them. Companies therefore do not have to expect any sanctions.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.fpi-lab.org/aktuell/fair-pay-neuseeland/

https://www.lw.com/thoughtLeadership/lw-new-spanish-employment-law-imposes-equal-opportunity-regs

https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/gender-pay-gap-spanien-erlaesst-neues-gesetz

https://www.bmfsfj.de/resource/blob/137224/79c7431772c314367059abc8a3242a55/bericht-der-br-foerderung-entgelttransparenz-data.pdf

In order to achieve actual gender equality, gender budgeting evaluates the concrete effects of budget processes in terms of gender. The different effects of fiscal policy measures on men and women are to be made visible in order to identify possible starting points for change. Austria included gender budgeting in its federal constitution in 2009 (Art. 13, para.3; Art. 51, para.8) and has been committed to implementing gender-equitable budgeting since 2013. The Berlin Senate, among others, also included corresponding approaches in its principles.

For further reading and discussion:

https://www.imag-gmb.at/gender-budgeting/rechtsgrundlagen-zu-gb.html