The European Union ratified the Istanbul Convention

The European Union has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, or the Istanbul Convention.

This was reported by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejchynovych-Burych.

She called today "very good for Europe".

However, the EU states must still ratify the Convention independently. Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have not yet done this.

The European Union signed the Istanbul Convention in 2017, but at the time some member states said that ratification of the document at the bloc level could only be done by unanimous consent. The EU Court denied this statement, clarifying that the bloc can join the convention in matters of asylum, judicial cooperation in criminal cases and obligations of institutions and state administration bodies.

• In May 2023, the MEPs of the European Parliament voted for the accession of the EU to the Istanbul Convention.
• 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 occurs between partners or members of the same family without the consent of either partner (eg 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. The Istanbul Convention is the first international document that legally defines violence against women and establishes measures to prevent violence, punish perpetrators and support victims.
• In July 2022, Ukraine completed the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and became the 36th state to do so.