11/11/2010 Equality and Non-Discrimination
Strasbourg, 11.11.2010 – Experts negotiating a forthcoming Council of Europe treaty to combat violence against women and domestic violence are “four-fifths” of the way through their work and the convention could be ready before the end of Turkey’s six-month chairmanship of the Council of Europe, parliamentarians were told today during a meeting in Antalya.
PACE’s Sub-committee on violence against women, chaired by Gisela Wurm (Austria, SOC), was meeting ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November) to take stock of progress since the end of the Council of Europe’s campaign against domestic violence against women, which ended two years ago.
The Chair of PACE’s Equal Opportunities Committee José Mendes Bota (, EPP/CD), who represents PACE at the drafting negotiations, said the convention would have a strong monitoring mechanism including – for the first time – a parliamentary monitoring procedure. But he outlined concerns about the way migrant women would be treated – many of whom might not speak up about their mistreatment for fear of being deported – and said the possibility for states to make broad reservations could result in an “à la carte” convention.
The convention – which the Assembly has been pressing for – would criminalise many forms of violence against women, including forced marriages, so-called “honour crimes" and female genital mutilation. The provisions on domestic violence could also apply to men or children, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio explained. She said the chances were good that the convention could be opened for signature before the end of ’s six-month chairmanship.
The sub-committee was also briefed on ’s efforts to combat violence against women in the last five years. Sengül Altan-Arslan from ’s Directorate General for the Status of Women outlined changes to ’s constitution enshrining the obligation to ensure equality, an overhaul of the country’s laws and the Prime Minister’s initiative to tackle so-called “honour” crimes. Other measures have included the training of police officers, medical personnel and prosecutors, the building of more shelters for women and the setting up of a help-line.
She noted that according to recent government research, 39 per cent of all women in say they have experienced domestic violence at least once.
The head of ’s PACE delegation Erol Aslan Cebeci (, EPP/CD) said his country had made “major improvements” on this issue in the last five or six years, of which he was proud.