The Council has approved the EU’s accession to the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).
The Convention provides a binding legal framework
The Convention creates a legal framework to protect women against violence. It covers a broad range of measures, from data collection and awareness raising to legal measures on criminalising different forms of violence against women. It includes measures for the protection of victims and the provision of support services, and addresses the gender-based violence dimension in matters of asylum and migration.
Equality between men and women
The EU’s accession to the Convention is a boost for EU efforts to realise equality between women and men. Violence against women is not only a criminal offence but also an extreme consequence of discrimination, entrenched in gender inequalities. At the same time, violence against women contributes to maintaining and reinforcing these inequalities.
Background and next steps
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is the first international instrument aiming to eliminate violence against women, including girls under the age of 18.
Violence against women and girls is one of the most systemic and common human rights violations globally. One in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly perpetrated by intimate partners.
The Istanbul convention entered into force in April 2014 and was signed by the EU on 13 June 2017.
The Council decisions means that the EU accedes the convention with regard to institutions and the public administration of the Union, as well as with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement.
The Council and European Parliament are in the process of adopting an EU law on combatting violence against women and domestic violence. Among other things it intends to criminalise a number of offences across the EU such as non-consensual sharing of intimate images, female genital mutilation and cyber harassment.
More information: EU Council
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