In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
Council of Europe member and observer States to:
8.1 sign and ratify without delay,
if they have not yet done so, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing
and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS
No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”) and to ensure its full implementation,
which presupposes the inclusion of sexual violence and harassment
in public space in national criminal codes;
8.2 put an end to impunity by prosecuting perpetrators of
sexual violence and harassment in public space;
8.3 conduct inquiries into sexual violence and the harassment
of women in public space in order to gain a better understanding
of the magnitude of the phenomenon and initiate action that may
help eliminate the taboos surrounding this issue;
8.4 launch and support awareness-raising campaigns on the
need to prevent and combat sexual violence and harassment in public
space, including campaigns that call on witnesses of violence to
react and intervene, and campaigns that specifically target men;
8.5 include awareness-raising activities about the respect
for human dignity and non-violent conflict resolution, and more
specifically about gender equality, gender stereotypes and the role
of women in our societies in general education curricula in order
to address this issue from different angles, and develop targeted
learning modules on, for example, the impact of sexual violence
and harassment on victims, or on how to behave when confronted directly
or indirectly with such attacks; special emphasis must be placed
on programmes aimed at educating or re-educating parents to enhance
their approach or understanding of what violence against women is
and why it must be eradicated;
8.6 develop teaching methods and school activities that help
address the causes of violence, which aim to avoid reproducing imbalanced
power relationships and gender-based stereotypes, and provide opportunities
for pupils to control any physical or psychological tension they
may feel in a non-violent manner;
8.7 provide school teachers and staff with mandatory training,
so that they can: a.) learn
to detect potential victims of violence (children subjected to abuse,
witnesses of parental discord, etc.); b.)
better understand the different forms of violence (physical, psychological,
verbal and behavioural, etc.); and c.) learn
how to oppose them;
8.8 ensure the regular presence in schools of specialised
counsellors, mediators and/or psychologists, who should be available
for pupils, their parents and teachers, and should be trained to help
those who have experienced violence, including victims, perpetrators
and bystanders;
8.9 carry out preventive action in facilities accommodating
refugees and asylum seekers, thus enabling discussions on equality
values and the social codes prevailing in their new environment
to take place;
8.10 launch a dialogue with the media on their responsibility
for providing objective information on sexual violence and harassment
in public space and encourage them to give prominence to awareness-raising
campaigns and associations working to combat violence against women;
8.11 launch a dialogue with the providers of new media services
or products, such as internet access or service providers, providers
of mobile telecommunications media and sellers of videos and video games,
to foster their commitment to the fight against gender stereotypes
and gender-based violence through adequate self-regulatory measures
and control and complaints mechanisms, and to encourage closer co-operation
between new media providers and governments in combating and prohibiting
the dissemination through the media of violent, gender-based content,
including through timely and prompt exchange of information and
reaction when sexually disturbing content is put online;
8.12 adopt and vigorously implement a zero-tolerance policy
towards violence against women in public space, by ensuring the
visible presence in sufficient numbers of police officers who have
been alerted to the problem and trained to help victims of violence
at major events, and by regulating and controlling the consumption
of drugs and alcohol at events with a high risk of disturbances
and violence;
8.13 design so-called welcoming towns and cities by taking
the gender dimension into account in urban planning and in public
transport so as to ensure the security and well-being of everyone.
