11 DE OUTUBRO DE 2014

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Ms Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, defined the Istanbul Convention as ‘the gold

standard’. I agree with her.

Added value

The Istanbul Convention is the first binding instrument which explicitly recognises violence against women

as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination.

It is the first international treaty to contain a definition of gender, which refers to “the socially constructed

roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men”. This

means that it is now recognised that women and men are not only biologically female or male, but that there is

also a socially constructed category of gender that assigns women and men their particular roles and

behaviours.

It asks States to introduce a set of criminal offences such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage,

psychological violence, stalking, sexual harassment, sexual violence including rape, forced abortion and forced

sterilisation.

One of the main assets of the Istanbul Convention is that it is based on a holistic approach – the so-called 4 Ps:

Preventing violence

Protecting the victims

Persecuting the perpetrators

Integrated policies

This means that, to tackle violence against women, all these aspects must be addressed. At the same time,

it is necessary to bring together all the relevant actors: public authorities at national, regional and local level,

police, judges, civil society, as well as national human rights institutions. Ministries, State agencies and NGOs

should not act alone but in synergy and cooperation. Violence against women and domestic violence must be

tackled in a co-ordinated way.

Going beyond the golden standard

The Istanbul Convention offers a set of golden rules that can be applied in a variety of countries. The status

of women varies greatly amongst different Council of Europe member States. However, even though in

different ways, wherever they are all women share the scourge of gender-based and domestic violence.

Let me underline an important point. The Convention sets high standards and some of its principles are

entirely new to the legal systems of our countries. However, these standards are a minimum threshold. Nothing

prevents States from going even further. On the contrary, States parties are encouraged to widen the scope of

the norms and introduce even more protective measures.

Furthermore, the Istanbul Convention can be applied to all victims of domestic violence, irrespective of their

gender. Women are by far the largest group of victims. But men, children and the elderly may also suffer at the

hands of their family members. They may need protection as well.

Celebrating the entry into force

A few days ago, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

and the Council of Europe organised a big conference in Rome to mark the entry into force of the Istanbul

Convention. This great achievement, which is certainly one to celebrate, does not mean that our efforts are

over. The extent of violence against women and the lack of awareness around it suggest that the Istanbul

Convention will be the starting point of a long process to change the heart and minds of people.

Implementation and monitoring

No matter how good the standards are, they are worthless if they are not implemented.