II SÉRIE-D — NÚMERO 7

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6.1.2. co-operating with the European Union, in particular its Fundamental Rights Agency, with a view to

conducting a survey on violence against women for all the Council of Europe member States;

6.2. contribute to strengthening the national legal and policy frameworks in the

area of violence against women, in particular by:

6.2.1. providing legal advice and expertise on draft legislation;

6.2.2. supporting the organisation of training on the issue of violence against women for police officers,

judges, prosecutors and other legal professionals;

6.2.3. reinforcing knowledge of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the area of violence

against women and domestic violence;

6.2.4. stepping up project and co-operation work in the area of violence against women, for member and

observer States of the Council of Europe and countries whose parliaments hold partner for democracy status

with the Assembly.

7. As regards the Istanbul Convention, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

7.1. step up activities to further promote the signature and ratification of (or accession to) the Istanbul

Convention, including by non-Council of Europe member States and the European Union;

7.2. ensure that the Assembly is represented in the Group of experts on action against violence against

women and domestic violence (GREVIO) as an observer and is invited to attend the meetings of the Committee

of the Parties.

C. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Mendes Bota, rapporteur

1. Violence against women: disbelief and misunderstandings

1. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence against women as “a global health problem of

epidemic proportions”. This definition is fully justified:

worldwide, 35% of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or

non-partner sexual violence;

almost 30% of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual

violence by their intimate partner;

38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners.

2. However, the WHO definition does not capture the gravity of the situation. Violence against women is not

only a health problem. It is also a global, systematic and pervasive human rights violation. And why does it

occur? Exactly because its victims are women. Gender is the most frequent ground for violence and

discrimination worldwide. Europe is no exception.

3. During my many years of political engagement in this area, I have been confronted with disbelief and

gender-blindness. Discrimination against women is so engrained in people’s way of thinking that most people

do not understand the link between gender and violence. There is often a reason being put forward to justify the

perpetrators, to minimise their responsibility, to make the victims at least partly accountable, or to prefer

impunity to justice. This happens whether violence against women occurs at home, at the hands of a partner, or

whether it occurs on a large scale in the context of armed conflicts.

4. In March 2013, many of us saw their convictions accurately reflected in the following passage:

“The Commission affirms that violence against women and girls is rooted in historical and structural

inequality in power relations between women and men, and persists in every country in the world as a

pervasive violation of the enjoyment of human rights. Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that

seriously violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women and girls of all human rights and