[Brussels, 22 January 2013] Croatia has become the 26th country to sign the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the first international convention which creates a comprehensive legal framework and approach to combat violence against women.
In Portugal, the president of the Portuguese Republic has signed the ratification of the Convention (See Official Journal
of 21 January 2013) which is nearly the final step to the ratification.
The Convention is the first a European legislation on violence against women. It applies to all forms of violence against women, and domestic violence and is aimed at preventing violence, protecting victims and prosecuting the perpetrators. The convention also promotes substantive equality between women and men and international cooperation whilst providing support to organizations and law enforcement agencies to be able to cooperate within an integrated approach against violence against women and domestic violence.
The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted this Convention on the 7 April 2011, which opened for signature on the 11 May 2011 in Istanbul. The convention will enter into force following 10 ratifications. Turkey is still the only one to have ratified the convention.
The EWL ran a campaign to ensure the adoption of a strong Convention covering all forms of violence against women, and then to get the Convention ratified by all signatories. Moreover, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) calls the EU to ratify the Convention and strongly supports the MEPs initiative of a written declaration calling on the EU to sign the Convention. The EWL proposes to all supporters to use the Twitter hash tag #EndVAWinEurope to bring attention to the issue and ensure the success of the written declaration.
• Council of Europe website with list of signatories of the Convention
