Written question No. 683 to the Committee of Ministers | Doc. 13768 | 23 April 2015
Combating violence against women through the Istanbul Convention
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has recently released a report revealing that in Europe one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 and 33% have childhood experiences of physical or sexual violence at the hands of an adult. Another remarkable finding of the survey is that 55% of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment, while 43% have experienced some form of psychological violence by a partner.
The survey, like many similar ones, including those conducted in Turkey, puts forward that prompt action needs to be taken by stakeholders in order to combat violence against women.
Answering such an urgent need, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”) aims to ensure better protection for women as victims of gender-based violence. To date, 16 countries have ratified the convention and 21 countries have signed but not yet ratified it. There are still 10 member States of the Council of Europe which have yet to sign the convention.
Ms Erkal Kara,
To ask the Committee of Ministers,
What steps are being taken by the Committee of Ministers to encourage further ratification of the Istanbul Convention across Europe, as well as to support the future work of the Group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence (GREVIO) with a view to contributing to the effective implementation of the convention?