The European Union’s Actions in the Domain of Combating Gender-Based Violence

When thinking about combating gender-based violence, the European Union (EU) rarely comes to one's mind as a key player in the domain. I argue that, despite its lack of fundamental rights pedigree, the EU has slowly but surely become a serious actor in this area. It plays a proactive and consistent role in soft law and external actions. However, its interventions in hard law (primary, secondary, and case law) have been scattered and lack gender-sensitivity. The EU’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention tempers some of these inconsistencies and shortcomings, but legal and political obstacles indicate that the current patchwork approach will remain unchanged.