The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention after the city in which it opened for signature, marks 10 years since it entered into force on 1 August 2014. Since that day, 38 countries have become party to the convention. In October 2023, the treaty entered into force in respect of the European Union, making it also party to the convention. It is the most far-reaching international legal instrument to set out binding obligations to prevent and combat violence against women and girls.
Over the past decade, the treaty has guided numerous states in advancing their legislation and policies in order to prevent and combat violence against women effectively. In many parties to the convention, the two-tiered monitoring mechanism has identified progress in the provision of specialist support services for victims, in the resources allocated, in criminal law and procedure, in the training of professionals as well as in the design of comprehensive policies to respond to all forms of violence against women.
The tailor-made evaluations provided by the independent Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) and the Committee of the Parties offer important guidance on closing the remaining implementation gaps for the 36 parties assessed so far. Numerous civil society contributions, predominantly from women’s rights organisations across Europe, have been made in support of these evaluations. Together, the information made available from the monitoring procedure provides a unique view of progress and shared challenges in protecting women and girls from violence.
How does the Istanbul Convention make a difference for women and girls? Find out from experts in Denmark, Finland, France and Moldova (link to the videos).
Press release
High-level conference “United around gender equality: making space for women and girls”
Mid-term Horizontal Review of GREVIO's Baseline Reports
Sustaining Progress towards Ending Violence against Women and Girls
