‘We don’t have time to waste on debates about gender theory,’ said right-wing MEP, Fabrice Leggeri.
Right wing MEPs are resisting involvement of a European Parliament committee for women’s rights in the process of determining new rules to combat child abuse claiming that it would slow down and introduce ‘ideological controversy’ the process.
Last week (4 September) European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson presented her proposal for a revised 2011 directive aimed at combating online child abuse to the European Parliament’s Justice and Home Affairs committee (LIBE).
MEP Fabrice Leggeri (France/Patriots for Europe) the former head of Frontex voiced his opposition to the involvement of the Parliament’s Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee (FEMM) in the legislative process.
“I was surprised to learn that colleagues from the FEMM committee wish to be associated with this procedure, which is clearly related to criminal law. We are concerned that their involvement could slow down the work of LIBE and, moreover, introduce ideological controversy into our efforts,” Leggeri remarked.
His position is shared by his group and members of other right-wing parties, told Leggeri to Euronews.
European Parliament rules allow other committees to participate in the process. While the LIBE Committee is responsible for the proposal, the FEMM Committee could either offer a non-binding opinion or become a joint committee, sharing equal negotiation power over the text.
Chair of the FEMM committee, Lina Gálvez (Spain/S&D), confirmed to Euronews the committee’s request for joint committee procedure for the Child Sexual Abuse Directive as “they considered that fits within FEMM’s remit and the file will be much improved if FEMM Committee is involved”.
Speaking to Euronews, Fabrice Leggeri revealed that a colleague had briefed him on the atmosphere within the FEMM Committee, claiming that there were “sometimes disconnected debates.” While emphasising his support for swift action against child abuse, Leggeri criticised what he saw as irrelevant distractions. “We don’t have time to waste on debates about gender theory,” he said, referring to his impressions of the FEMM committee’s workings. “These are fine discussions for university salons, but not for lawmaking.”
Emma Rafowicz (France/S&D), a member of both the FEMM and LIBE Committees, responded to Leggeri’s comments, telling Euronews that the two committees had successfully collaborated in the past, reaching significant compromises. She suggested that Leggeri’s remarks stemmed from a misunderstanding of FEMM’s role, adding, “[He] forgets that the fight against child abuse and domestic violence goes hand in hand with efforts to combat violence against women.”
In October, the Conference of Committee Chairs will decide which committees will be responsible for the legislation, with their decision subsequently confirmed by the Conference of Presidents.
The proposed directive aims to tackle new forms of digital crime, such as the live-streaming of child abuse, the use of AI to create deepfake images of minors, automated grooming, sextortion, and the operation of paedophile forums or distribution of “paedomanuals”—detailed guides on how to exploit children while avoiding detection.
