Subject matter and scope
1. This Directive lays down rules to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. It establishes minimum rules concerning:
(a)
the definition of criminal offences and penalties in the areas of sexual exploitation of women and children and computer crime;
(b)
the rights of victims of all forms of violence against women or domestic violence before, during and for an appropriate time after criminal proceedings;
(c)
protection and support for victims, prevention and early intervention.
2. Chapters 3 to 7 apply to all victims of offences of violence against women and domestic violence, regardless of their gender. Such victims are all the victims of acts criminalised under Chapter 2 and victims of any other acts of violence against women or domestic violence, as criminalised under other Union legal acts or under national law.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:
(a)
‘violence against women’ means all acts of gender-based violence directed against a woman or a girl because she is a woman or a girl or that affect women or girls disproportionately, that result in or are likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life;
(b)
‘domestic violence’ means all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit, irrespective of biological or legal family ties, or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the offender shares or has shared a residence with the victim;
(c)
‘victim’ means any person, regardless of their gender, who has suffered harm directly caused by violence against women or domestic violence, including children who have suffered harm because they have witnessed domestic violence;
(d)
‘hosting service provider’ means a provider of a hosting service as defined in Article 3, point (g)(iii), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;
(e)
‘intermediary service provider’ means a provider of an intermediary service as defined in Article 3, point (g), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;
(f)
‘child’ means any person below the age of 18 years;
(g)
‘dependant’ means a child of the victim or any person, other than the offender or suspect, who lives in the same household as the victim and for whom the victim provides care and support;
(h)
‘competent authority’ means any public authority designated under national law as competent to carry out a duty as provided for in this Directive.
