TODAY.AZ / World news

Turkey to sign international convention on violence against women

10 May 2011 [15:27] - TODAY.AZ
Council of Europe members are set to ink a convention Wednesday on combating violence against women, fulfilling an effort the body’s deputy secretary-general initiated in 2005.

Turkey will be among the first countries to sign the convention during the Istanbul meeting of foreign ministers of the organization, which brings together 47 countries.

"I am grateful to the Turkish presidency, since it has played an active role in drafting the convention and has been very insistent on finalizing the draft for the meeting in Istanbul," said Maud de Boer Buquicchio.

Turkey has held the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of Europe since Nov. 1. It will hand the post over to Ukraine on Wednesday during the Istanbul meeting.

According to de Boer Buquicchio, it was not an easy task to reach a consensus on the text as some countries found some of the convention’s far-reaching provisions difficult to implement at the national level.

"It is very important that the text of the convention was accepted with a consensus and this is the biggest achievement of the Turkish presidency," she told the Hürriyet Daily News on Monday, adding that there was debate even over the convention’s name, which mentions domestic violence as well as violence against women.

"This is the compromise because some member states did not want to have a ‘privileged’ group of persons, as this goes against the principle of equality, and objected to singling out a particular group," de Boer Buquicchio said. "Although most of the statistics show that the majority of the victims are women, the convention also provides protection for other victims of domestic violence, such as the elderly."

She added that this by no means weakens the substance of the convention, which has strong provisions on what are called "the four Ps": prevention, protection, prosecution and policy.

Frequently reported incidents of domestic violence have become a subject of increased debate and outcry in Turkey, where women’s rights activists have called for additional laws – and better implementation of current statutes – to protect women.

According to de Boer Buquicchio, the most important aspect of the convention is that it covers all forms of violence, including economic and psychological violence. It also covers genital mutilation, forced marriage and “honor” crimes that are not part of European culture but a common phenomenon among immigrant communities in the continent. In this sense, she said, the agreement has an extraterritorial dimension, as residents of Europe cannot escape prosecution even if the violence takes place on another continent, as with, for example, parents who send their children to Africa for genital mutilation.

Though the signing of the convention – the first international treaty on violence against women – is an important step, what is now more important is its ratification by all countries and reflection in national legislation, de Boer Buquicchio said.

"Above all we need a mentality change for men to understand that violence against women is unacceptable," she said, adding that victims of violence often have to deal with male officials who might be less sensitive to the issue and even refuse to protect them in favor of preserving family integrity.

"The training of law-enforcement officials is of the utmost importance," she said.

While expressing appreciation for the Turkish government’s efforts in favor of the convention, de Boer Buquicchio said the rate of violence against women in the country shows Turkey still has a long way to go to protect women. She called for it to further develop its protective measures, including providing a sufficient number of women’s shelters.


/Hurriyet Daily News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/85893.html

Print version

Views: 1397

Connect with us. Get latest news and updates.

Recommend news to friend

  • Your name:
  • Your e-mail:
  • Friend's name:
  • Friend's e-mail: