The statistics are as damning as they are grim. In the EU, one in three women aged 15 or over has experienced physical or sexual violence – or both. More than half of all women in Europe have been sexually harassed. Only a fifth of women in the EU go to the police when an intimate partner assaults them. Meanwhile, EU member states have failed to agree on how to address the worst crimes against women. Several countries continue to resist calls by Brussels to define non-consensual sex as rape, punishable by a stiff jail sentence. Today, in 2023, there is no common set of rules in the EU to punish rape, to the growing dismay of many. As Europe prepares to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, we discuss the issue with two MEPs.

A night of torched vehicles and shop looting sparked in Dublin after a knife attack outside a school was of an “extraordinary” level of violence unseen in decades, police said Friday.

Protesters on Thursday fought running battles with police, torched vehicles and looted shops in Dublin, after three young children were injured in a knife attack outside a school.

IN THE PRESS – Thursday, November 23: We look at reactions in the Dutch papers after Geert Wilders’ party wins legislative elections and must now form a coalition to govern. Also: Italian lawmakers pass a law protecting victims of domestic violence, after the death of an Italian student garners front page news. Plus, a new study shows that astronauts may suffer from erectile dysfunction as a result of prolonged time spent in space.

The transport system in Paris will not be ready in time for the 2024 Olympic Games in the French capital, its mayor said, sparking anger Thursday from political opponents.

Italy is one of the main countries of arrival in Europe for thousands of minors crossing the Mediterranean on their own. Since the beginning of her mandate as prime minister, far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has prioritised the fight against illegal immigration. This fall, the Italian executive approved a decree targeting unaccompanied minor migrants. The text toughens their living conditions and imposes stricter measures on verifying their age. Our correspondents report from Palermo, on the island of Sicily.