Over 850,000 women, equivalent to the population of Amsterdam, die due to gender based violence every 10 years.
That comes from MEP Frances Fitzgerald who is calling for agreement on a new EU law which aims to protect women.
The legislation would see all violence against women, including physical, emotional and cohersive control, criminalised across all EU states.
Frances says the punishment needs to match the seriousness of the crime:
"I think we have to get serious about the kinds of sentencing that we're seeing for these dreadful, intimate crimes against women. I often feel that the sentences really should be stronger. And I think this directive is going to ensure that we take these crimes far more seriously than some member states do".
