The Istanbul Convention saves lives of women and girls
Today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of what UN Women has labelled the gold standard convention for tackling violence against women. I am referring to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention after the city in which it opened for signature on 11 May 2011.
Back then, I was working in the Asia-Pacific region. I remember how impressed I was by the Istanbul Convention’s strengths – its all-encompassing provisions, its emphasis on preventing violence before it happens, its recognition of the life cycle and the intergenerational impact of violence against women, its confronting of stereotypes regarding men’s and women’s behaviour. I was excited by the precedent this convention was setting for other regional processes.
It is no coincidence that the Istanbul Convention is named in OSCE Ministerial Council Decision 7/2014, in which participating States are called upon to “give consideration to the signature and ratification of relevant regional and international instruments”. The convention is ground-breaking in its comprehensive understanding of the problem, its victim centred approach, government obligations and accountability.
The gold standard
First, the Istanbul Convention is a key tool to implement the unfinished agenda of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Like no agreement before it, it recognizes and defines the whole range of forms of violence against women and girls, including psychological violence, stalking, physical violence sexual violence, forced marriage, and sexual harassment.
Second, the Istanbul Convention provides all-encompassing guidance for tackling this problem, in four distinct and equally important areas, often summarized as the four P’s: preventing violence against women, protecting victims, prosecuting perpetrators, and implementing policies. In each of these areas, it provides legal and practical measures aimed to trigger concrete changes in national responses to violence against women and domestic violence.
Third, putting the rights and needs of the victim at the core of prevention and protection work is at the heart of the Istanbul Convention. It ensures that every woman, regardless of age, disability, marital status, association with a national minority, migrant or refugee status, gender identity or sexual orientation, has access to protection and assistance. This is essential to ending violence against all women, since some groups of women face specific barriers and multiple discrimination.
Finally, an important feature of the Istanbul Convention is the monitoring mechanism attached to it, done by an independent Group of Experts (GREVIO), providing States with a clear picture of the success of their measures to protect women and girls.
A driver for legislative and policy reform
The Istanbul Convention has been ratified by 33 OSCE participating States and signed by 11. In many of these countries, it has proven to be an important driver to improve legislation and policies aligning national law and practice with its provisions
Let me name one recent encouraging example. In North Macedonia, which ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2018, a new law on ending violence against women received support from all political parties. The law defines all forms of violence against women and affirms the responsibility of the state to exercise due diligence in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting it. It makes provisions for SOS helplines, psycho-social counselling, free legal aid, temporary shelters for different types of violence, special protection, and support and long-term treatment for women who suffered from sexual violence and rape. It also regulates the socio-economic integration of survivors through assistance tailored to each woman’s needs, including temporary housing, psychotherapy and mentorship, financial aid, education and measures for employment. Furthermore, steps are underway to reform the country’s criminal code in line with the Convention.
The OSCE-led Survey on the Wellbeing and Safety of Women
The OSCE-led survey on violence against women published in 2019, based its questions on the definitions established in the Istanbul Convention. The survey provided an innovative new data set on violence against women in seven OSCE participating States. Another example of OSCE work based on the Istanbul Convention is the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit’s project on effective criminal justice systems to combat gender-based violence.
The OSCE – and I personally as Senior Gender Advisor – are ready to provide the expertise and resources at our disposal to assist participating States in implementing the provisions of the Istanbul Convention. Every country that has not joined it risks not having the tools at its disposal to combat violence against women, especially domestic violence. Every country can save the lives of women and girls. This is why, on this 10th anniversary, I would like to encourage every government that has not done so to consider signing and ratifying the Istanbul Convention and every country that has ratified it to redouble its efforts to ensure and promote its full implementation. Because it works. It saves lives.