9 | - Número: 006 | 30 de Outubro de 2012

As a member of the Portuguese Parliament, first Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Equality and NonDiscrimination of the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe and General rapporteur on violence against women, I am convinced that more can be done.

The Istanbul Convention, a unique instrument More will be done once the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) enters into force.
The efforts of the Parliamentary Assembly are now concentrated around the promotion of the Convention, a unique instrument and the most advanced international legal instrument in this field. Promotion efforts go beyond the borders of Council of Europe, since it is open to non-member States of the Council of Europe. Allow me to highlight several groundbreaking features of the Istanbul Convention:

- It recognises violence against women as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination – stressing the responsibility of the states to prevent violence and to protect victims; - It is the first international treaty to contain a definition of gender (a socially constructed category of gender that assigns women and men their particular roles and behaviours); - It introduces criminal offences which are not yet included in all national legislative frameworks such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, psychological violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence including marital rape, forced abortion and forced sterilisation.

In addition, once the Convention enters into force, a strong independent mechanism will be set up to monitor its implementation at national level. It will be complemented by a parliamentary involvement. National parliaments will participate in monitoring the measures taken by the State parties to implement the Convention and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will be invited to regularly take stock of the Convention. The Convention aims to ensure that the needs and safety of victims are placed at the heart of all its measures. It is a landmark instrument establishing high standards in the field of prevention, protection and assistance for its victims, prosecutions of the perpetrators and requiring coordinated policies. It aims at preventing violence by changing attitudes and combating stereotypes. The protection of the victims is at its centre. When becoming parties, States engage to set up specialised support services that provide medical assistance as well as psychological and legal counseling to victims and their children. Prosecution is also foreseen in order to ensure that violence against women and domestic violence are criminalised and appropriately punished. Excuses on the grounds of culture, custom, religion or so-called “honour” are unacceptable for any act of violence. The Convention aims at ensuring that victims have access to special protection measures during investigation and judicial proceedings.
Last but not least, the Convention requires for its implementation the set up of comprehensive policies, with the involvement of all relevant actors, including relevant state agencies and services, as well as civil society organisations, so that violence against women and domestic violence are tackled in a coordinated way.

Promoting the ratification: a crucial role for parliamentarians The Convention opened for signature on 11 May 2011. To date, 24 countries have signed it, and only one, Turkey, has ratified it. It will enter into force once 10 countries have ratified it. We are 9 ratifications away from having an impact and making it a living instrument.
Parliamentarians play a crucial role in the promotion of the Convention. As legislators and policy makers, they can move forward the process leading to the signature and the ratification of the Convention. They can question their governments, organise debates at national level, especially within their parliaments, and initiate a public petition. As opinion-makers, parliamentarians are as well in a privileged position to contribute to the evolution of mentalities, by condemning publicly violence against women.

A General Rapporteur on violence against women Their role is also significant at the international level. I was appointed Rapporteur general on violence against women in early 2012 but my commitment to this cause at the international level dates back to 2006, when I took part in the Council of Europe campaign ‘Stop domestic violence against women’.