Istanbul Convention is going to take effect on 1st August 2014

Istanbul Convention is going to take effect on 1st August 2014

With Andorra becoming the 10th country to ratify it,  The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence will enter into force on August 1, 2014.

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known informally as the Istanbul Convention, is the first European treaty specifically targeting violence against women and domestic violence.

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is based on the understanding that violence against women is a form of gender-based violence that is committed against women because they are women. It is the obligation of the state to fully address it in all its forms and to take measures to prevent violence against women, protect its victims and prosecute the perpetrators. Failure to do so would make it the responsibility of the state. The convention leaves no doubt: there can be no real equality between women and men if women experience gender-based violence on a large-scale and state agencies and institutions turn a blind eye.

The Istanbul Convention is the first legally-binding instrument in Europe in the field of violence against women and domestic violence and makes it clear that violence against women and domestic violence can no longer be considered as a private matter, but that states have an obligation to prevent violence, protect victims and punish the perpetrators. 

By accepting the Istanbul Convention, in fact, governments are obliged to change their laws, introduce practical measures and allocate resources to effectively prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence1.

The Convention was adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 7 April 2011 and it needs 10 ratifications to enter into force, eight of which must be member states of the Council of Europe. With Andorra becoming the 10th country to ratify the Convention, triggering its the entry into force, we are at a “defining moment” for women and girls across Europe.

1More information about the Convention:

A global tool to prevent and combat violence against women and girls

On the Convention

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