Ukraine completed the ratification of the Istanbul Convention

Ukraine has officially submitted documents on ratification of the Istanbul Convention (on the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence) and has become the 36th country to do so.

This was announced on Monday, July 18, by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejchynovych Burych.

Ukraine signed the Istanbul Convention back in 2011, but still could not ratify it due to protests by churches and conservative politicians against the term "gender" used in it.

The Convention refers to two types of violence: against women and domestic violence. The first includes any physical, psychological, economic or sexual violence, harassment or harassment, particularly at work. Domestic violence is anything that happens between partners or members of the same family without the consent of one of them (for example, forced sex, marriage, abortion, circumcision, sterilization). Perpetrators will be held criminally responsible for any type of violence. The punishment will be more severe if the victims are relatives or partners, or if a child witnessed the violence.

• On June 20, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Istanbul Convention, the next day President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on ratification.