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7.2.2. Empowerment and capacity-building of parliamentarians as legislators and in the context of

monitoring:

once the Istanbul Convention enters into force, the Network should differentiate its work addressed to

parliamentarians: while information events and activities aimed at promoting the convention amongst

parliamentarians will continue to be useful for parliamentarians from countries that have still not ratified the

convention, it will be most appropriate to envisage activities to build the capacity of parliamentarians to monitor

the implementation of the convention by countries in which it is already applied;

Network members should promote the setting up of special caucuses/informal groups on violence

against women in national parliaments.

7.3. Resources

48. The Network activities have been possible thanks on the one hand to the Assembly budget, on the other

to voluntary contributions, including a particularly significant one from the German Government. In order to

conduct these new activities which will deepen understanding of the plight of violence against women amongst

the general public while strengthening the technical knowledge of legislators, it will be necessary to seek extra-

budgetary funding, including from private donors and the European Union.

8. The Council of Europe action in the area of violence against women in the coming years

49. The approaching entry into force of the convention shall by no means imply that the Council of Europe’s

efforts should relent. On the contrary, this is the time for the Council of Europe to upgrade its commitment in

this area, first of all politically: violence against women should occupy a central position amongst its priorities,

for two reasons:

it is a serious human rights violation affecting all member States;

the majority of member States have committed to take action. The priorities of the Council of Europe as

an organisation should better reflect the commitments taken by its member States. The main role for the

Council of Europe should be helping member States turn their commitments in the area of violence against

women into tangible changes.

50. As a consequence, I would like to propose that the Council of Europe expands its activities in the area of

violence against women, by developing the following dimensions in synergy and co-ordination:

awareness raising of the general public on violence against women;

contributing to strengthening the legal and policy framework of member States in the area of violence

against women, in particular by:

o providing legal advice and expertise on draft legislation;

o supporting the organisation of training on the issue of violence against women for police

officers, judges, prosecutors and other legal professionals;

o reinforcing knowledge of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the area of

violence against women and domestic violence;

o project and co-operation work in the area of violence against women, for Council of Europe

member and observer States and countries whose parliaments hold partner for democracy status with the

Assembly;

o further promotion of the signature and ratification of (or accession to) the Istanbul Convention,

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

o monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention;