The Council of Europe organised the conference Paving the way towards the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the Istanbul Convention) in Yerevan on 13 December 2018 at the end of its 8-month project on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Armenia.
The conference brought together state authorities, law enforcement and legal professionals, civil society organisations and experts. Participants took stock of current laws, policies and practises to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence in Armenia, and discussed the way forward for the ratification of the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention and the implementation of its standards. Armenia signed the Istanbul Convention in January 2018 but ratification is still pending.
The conference also presented the results of the project that was implemented between April and December 2018 in Armenia. The Council of Europe project partnered with the Police of the Republic of Armenia and the Academy of Justice of the Republic of Armenia to increase the knowledge of law enforcement and legal professionals on how to address cases of violence against women and domestic violence more effectively and taking into account the needs of victims:
increased knowledge of legal professionals on how to put the victim and her needs at the centre when dealing with the cases of violence against women and domestic violence implemented through targeted trainings, peer-to-peer exchanges and expert support to develop a training curriculum for the Academy of Justice.
strengthened the knowledge of law enforcement professionals on violence against women and domestic violence through targeted trainings, development of a practical handbook for police officers to deal with cases and dissemination of relevant materials.
raised awareness on the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention and its standards among relevant stakeholders through translated materials on the convention and events.
The project was made possible by France and Norway’s contributions to the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2015–18.
