THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONVENTION ON
PREVENTING AND COMBATING VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
(ISTANBUL CONVENTION)
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AN OVERVIEW
WHY A CONVENTION…
… on violence against women
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and domestic violence?
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EUROPEAN CHALLENGES
 Male-oriented or gender-neutral laws not taking into
account the realities of women
 Different levels of protection and support
 Insufficient funding of services
 Lack of multi-agency co-operation
 Protection and support services not meeting the needs
of victims
 Negative and discriminatory attitudes towards women
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victims from the police, judiciary or social services.
WHO DOES THE
CONVENTION COVER?
 The Convention covers women and girls, from any
background, regardless of their age, race, religion,
social origin, association with a national minority,
migrant status or sexual orientation, etc.
 The Convention recognises that there are groups of
women and girls that are often at greater risk of
experiencing violence, and states need to ensure
that their specific needs are taken into account.
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 The Convention recognises that domestic violence
affects women disproportionately.
CURRENT PROGRESS
Ratifications: 22
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Malta,
Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
and Turkey
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova,
Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine and United Kingdom
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Signatories: 22
HOLISTIC APPROACH TO
COMBATING VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
INTEGRATED
PREVENTION
POLICIES
Istanbul Convention
PROTECTION
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PROSECUTION
INTEGRATED
POLICIES
 obligation to adopt and implement comprehensive
and co-ordinated policies to offer a holistic
response to violence against women
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 obligation to involve all relevant actors: government
agencies, judicial authorities, NGOs and civil
society, national human rights institutions, etc.
PREVENTION
 Regularly run awareness-raising campaigns
 Tackle attitudes, prejudices, gender roles and
stereotypes through teaching material
 Actively engage men and boys
 Work closely with NGOs, civil society organisations,
the private sector and the media
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➨ Address a culture where acts of
violence against women are
condoned or justified
PROTECTION AND
SUPPORT SERVICES
 set up shelters in sufficient numbers and in wide
geographical distribution
 ensure that general support services can support or
refer victims of all forms of violence against women
 introduce free-of-charge 24/7 telephone helplines
that ensure confidentiality
 ensure access to clear information in several
languages
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 set up rape crisis centres or sexual assault referral
centres
VICTIMS’ SAFETY
COMES FIRST
 Obligation to introduce emergency barring orders
 Obligation to introduce restraining and protection
orders
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 Obligation to take into consideration any known
incidents of violence against women (in particular
domestic violence) when deciding over custody or
visitation rights
PROSECUTION (1)
Criminalises the following forms of VAW:
 physical, sexual and psychological violence
 Sexual assault and rape
 Stalking
 Forced marriage
 Female genital mutilation
 Forced abortion and forced sterilisation
 Criminalises or otherwise sanctions sexual
harassment
Ex parte and ex officio proceedings
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Tackles crimes in the name of so-called “honour”
PROSECUTION (2)
 Empowering victims through judicial proceedings
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 Protecting their image and privacy
 Allowing counselors to accompany victims
 Separate waiting rooms
 Allow victims to testify without being present
 Free legal aid
 Prohibit mandatory conciliation and mediation
PROFESSIONALISM
AND AWARENESS
 Victim-centred approach: rights and needs of the
victims at the heart of all interventions
 Gender-based understanding of violence
 Risk assessment and management to keep the
victim safe
 Avoid secondary victimisation
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Time is important: Immediate response,
prevention and protection
IMPACT OF THE ISTANBUL
CONVENTION
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 The effects of the Istanbul Convention on
national policy and legislation can already
be seen:
 Trend towards criminalising more forms
of violence against women (stalking,
FGM, forced marriage)
 More countries setting up co-ordinating
bodies
 Large scale training initiatives
FIRST EVALUATION
PROCEDURE
State report
+ NGO and
other
information
GREVIO’s
baseline
questionnaire
Examination
by GREVIO
with state
representatives
Country
visit
GREVIO’s report and findings
Transmission
to Committee
of the Parties
Transmission
to national
parliament
Adoption of recommendations by Committee of the Parties?
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Transmission
to state party
SPECIAL INQUIRY PROCEDURE
Serious,
massive or
persistent
pattern of
violence
Special state
report
Inquiry by one or
more members of
GREVIO
Country
visit?
Transmission of
the findings
Examination
of the
findings by
GREVIO
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Committee of the
Parties and
Committee of
Ministers
FIRST EVALUATION
PROCEDURE
initiated in relation to
Austria
Monaco
State reports received on 1 September 2016
Next state parties to be monitored:
Albania
Denmark
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State reports to be received in January 2017
NGOS AND CIVIL SOCIETY:
GREVIO’S SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
What does the Convention say?
Article 68 (5): GREVIO may receive information on the
implementation of the Convention from non-governmental
organisations and civil society
What do GREVIO’s Rules of Procedure say?
Rule 35 (1):
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GREVIO may invite non-governmental organisations and other members
of civil society active in the areas of concern to GREVIO, in particular
women’s organisations, national coalitions of organisations and national
branches of international non-governmental organisations, to provide it
with information in relation to […] a questionnaire […].
HOW BEST TO BE HEARD BY
GREVIO?
Drawing-up of a shadow report following the examination of GREVIO’s
baseline questionnaire (made public in March 2016)
Provision of additional information following the examination of State
reports (published, as a rule, following reception)
co-ordination at European and national level
sharing resources, experiences and expertise
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N.B. check the web site for reporting deadlines but be assured that
we are happy to receive information at any time during the
monitoring procedure
HOW BEST TO BE HEARD BY
GREVIO? (2)
Country visits
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GREVIO delegation will seek to meet NGOs/civil society
representatives on the ground during country evaluation visits.
HOW BEST TO BE HEARD BY
GREVIO? (3)
- Be the first to warn GREVIO in case of serious violations of
the Convention
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- GREVIO may decide to evaluate the situation in a State
Party as a matter of priority;
- GREVIO may request a State Party to provide it with a
special report and may initiate an inquiry procedure.
THANK YOU!
For further information and
contacts:
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www.coe.int/conventionviolence
www.coe.int/web/istanbul-convention
[email protected]