The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organization.
It comprises 46 member states, including all the countries that are part of the European Union. Every member state of the Council of Europe is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in member states.
The Council’s drafting of such a treaty highlights what has been, and continues to be, the need to provide member states (and others) with a legal framework within which to define conduct to be criminalized, in order to prevent and eradicate, at an international level, violent behavior against women.
Violence against women was defined, during the United Nations International Conference on Human Rights – which concluded with the drafting of the 1993 Vienna Declaration – as a violation of women’s fundamental rights and classified as a human rights violation.
The Istanbul Convention, or Council of Europe Convention, has the force of a treaty and can be regarded as the most comprehensive of the binding instruments for preventing violence against women and domestic violence. It represents the most important and far-reaching international instrument for tackling this serious form of human rights violation.
The aim of the Istanbul Convention is to urge all signatory states to eliminate stereotypes and eradicate this deeply entrenched phenomenon in contemporary society. Zero tolerance towards this type of violence.
The Istanbul Convention represents a further significant step towards raising awareness of this issue and making life safer for women both within and beyond Europe’s borders.
Violence against women is a phenomenon that knows no geographical or temporal boundaries, as it affects all states and consists of restricting women’s ability to exercise their most basic human rights.
Its emergence in the international debate – at both the legal and social – cultural levels – has become increasingly prominent over the last two decades.
The objectives – namely, to prevent violence, protect victims, and prosecute and punish their perpetrators – form the cornerstones of the Convention.
The text of the Convention also aims to change people’s hearts and minds, urging all members of society, and in particular men and boys, to change their attitudes.
In essence, it represents a renewed call to promote greater equality between women and men, as violence against women has deep roots in gender inequality within society and is perpetuated by a culture that tolerates and justifies gender-based violence and refuses to recognize it as a problem.
The Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – better known as the Istanbul Convention – adopted by the Council of Europe on 11 May 2011, entered into force on 1 August 2014, following the achievement of the required number of ten ratifications. Italy played an important role in this process, having been among the first European countries to adopt the Convention, ratifying it through Law No. 77 of 27 June 2013.
To date, the Convention, which has been initialled by 44 member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union (which signed it on 13 June 2017), has been ratified by 27 states (Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Norway).
The Istanbul Convention is the first legally binding international instrument aimed at creating a comprehensive legal framework to protect women against all forms of violence.
It is also the first international treaty to contain a definition of gender that distinguishes between men and women not solely on the basis of their biological differences, but also according to socially constructed categories that assign distinct roles and behaviors to the two sexes.
Of particular significance is the explicit recognition of violence against women as a violation of human rights, as well as a form of discrimination against women (Article 3 of the Convention); it also clearly establishes that violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights and a form of
discrimination. The Convention also establishes a clear link between the objective of gender equality and that of eliminating violence against women.
The Istanbul Convention was created in response to the need to provide European states with a concrete tool to tackle one of the most serious forms of gender-based violence, as violence against women has long been a structural problem, rooted in gender inequalities and cultural stereotypes.
The Convention aims not only to provide adequate legal protection for victims of gender – based violence, but also to promote a culture of respect for human rights and gender equality, encouraging Member States to adopt more inclusive and coordinated policies in this regard.
The text of the Istanbul Convention consists of 81 articles and is divided into 12 chapters. The articles and measures set out therein can be divided into four categories, which form the four main pillars:
PREVENTION: The prevention of gender-based violence is the Convention’s primary and fundamental objective. It requires States to promote awareness-raising campaigns, educational programmers and training initiatives to combat gender stereotypes and reduce social tolerance of violence against women.
In this context, raising awareness among society and institutions plays a crucial role.
PROTECTION: Signatory states must ensure effective protection for victims of violence. This entails the adoption of laws that facilitate access to protective measures such as restraining orders and immediate removal of perpetrators, as well as support services such as shelters, legal aid and psychological support.
The Convention therefore identifies a number of new types of offence, such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, forced abortion and forced sterilization, and signatory states will consequently have to introduce into their legal systems new and significant offences that were not previously covered by their legal frameworks.
PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT: The Convention requires States to introduce criminal penalties to effectively punish gender – based violence offences, including stalking, rape, female genital mutilation, forced marriage and other forms of abuse.
It also stipulates that such offences must not be subject to a complaint by the victim and that criminal proceedings may be initiated ex officio.
INTEGRATED POLICIES: To combat violence against women effectively, the Convention requires States to adopt coordinated and integrated policies, involving various sectors such as education, health, justice and social welfare.
States must cooperate with non-governmental organizations and other social actors to ensure synergistic action. The Convention encourages the participation and involvement of all relevant bodies and services, so that violence against women and domestic violence are addressed in a coordinated manner. It therefore calls on authorities and NGOs not to operate in isolation, but to draw up cooperation protocols. The text of the Istanbul Convention opens with the Preamble, which sets out its purpose, namely the creation of a Europe free from violence against women and domestic violence, thereby seeking to establish a link between the achievement of gender equality and the eradication of violence against women.
The Convention protects women and girls, regardless of their origin, age, race, religion, social background, migrant status or sexual orientation, to name but a few examples. It also recognizes that certain groups of women and girls are at greater risk of violence, and that states have an obligation to ensure that their specific protection needs are taken into account. States are also encouraged to apply the Convention to other victims of domestic violence, such as children, men and older people.
The objectives listed above are specific manifestations of the main objective, and to achieve this, States must commit to implementing:
- Measures to protect and support victims;
- International cooperation to eradicate violence;
- An integrated approach involving the various authorities and organizations dealing with violence.
The Istanbul Convention covers every aspect of the process of eliminating violence against women, from prevention to legislative, social and cultural measures. Furthermore, the Convention calls for close cooperation between all stakeholders, both institutional and non-institutional, and requires joint action through established programmers.
The Convention requires States Parties to treat the following acts as criminal offences or otherwise
punish them: - Domestic violence (physical, sexual, psychological or economic);
- Stalking;
- Sexual violence, including rape;
- Sexual harassment;
- Forced marriage;
- Female genital mutilation;
- Forced abortion and forced sterilization.
The Convention therefore sends a very clear message that violence against women and domestic violence must not be regarded as a private matter. On the contrary, to emphasise the particularly traumatic effect of offences committed within the family, a more severe sentence may be imposed on the perpetrator of acts of violence against a wife, partner or family member.
The Convention requires signatory states to adopt legislative and administrative measures to comply with its provisions. States must ensure that crimes of violence against women are effectively prosecuted, guaranteeing victims the right to access to justice and adequate protection measures. In particular, the following obligations are set out: - Amend national legislation to criminalize all forms of gender – based violence;
- Establish support services for victims, such as counter – violence centers,
safe refuges and helplines; - Provide specific training to all professionals involved in assisting victims, including law enforcement officers, judges and healthcare staff;
- Collect accurate statistical data on gender – based violence, in order to monitor the effectiveness of the measures adopted and improve prevention policies.
The Convention establishes a monitoring mechanism responsible for verifying the implementation of its provisions. This mechanism is based on the analyses carried out by the two bodies that form its cornerstones: the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, an independent body composed of experts, and the Committee of the Parties, a political body composed of official representatives of the States Parties to the Convention.
Their conclusions and recommendations will help to ensure that states comply with the Convention and that it remains effective in the long term.
The Istanbul Convention has faced criticism in some states for allegedly interfering with national laws and for promoting a broad definition of gender. However, public debate has highlighted that the main challenge lies in the effective implementation of its provisions. In particular, there are still shortcomings in financial support and in raising public awareness of gender-based violence, as well as cultural resistance that hinders change.
The images are courtesy of Pangea Onlus and the C.H.I.A.R.A. A.P.S. Anti – Violence Centre.