Today, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) published its evaluation reports on Portugal and Sweden.

The reports contain an overall analysis of the implementation of the provisions of the Istanbul Convention. They highlight positive initiatives in preventing and combating all forms of violence against women and domestic violence at national level and provide suggestions and proposals to improve the situation of women facing such violence.

In the case of Portugal, GREVIO experts recognise progress in developing comprehensive policies to address violence against women and preventive measures, in particular by promoting gender equality and combating gender stereotypes. It finds that further progress is needed to intensify interinstitutional cooperation, support women’s NGOs and strengthen the response of the judiciary to protect victims and their children, as well as to hold perpetrators to account.

With regard to Sweden, GREVIO highlights the numerous legislative and policy measures adopted over the past 40 years that clearly demonstrate Sweden’s commitment to preventing and combating violence against women. Innovative approaches have gained Sweden international recognition as a strong leader in this area, which GREVIO’s evaluation confirms in many regards. At the same time, GREVIO finds a high backlog of domestic violence and rape cases which the law enforcement authorities are urged to address. It also highlights the need for an efficient system of emergency barring and protection orders, embedded in a multi-agency approach involving all relevant agencies and specialist women’s services.

The publication of these two evaluation reports marks further progress in GREVIO's monitoring procedure and demonstrates its commitment to the elimination of all forms of violence against women