A new Council of Europe publication entitled “Guidance for safe and effective perpetrator programmes: Article 16 of the Istanbul Convention” is now available. First presented to the Committee of the Parties at its 16th meeting held on 31 May 2024, it is now available on the Istanbul Convention website. 

It is a comparative study based on a mapping of existing programmes for perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence in Council of Europe member states, providing essential guidance and recommendations for the design and implementation of such programmes. Drawn up to respond to the need expressed in the Dublin Declaration, a declaration on the prevention of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence adopted by European Ministers of Justice, gathered in Dublin, on 29 and 30 September 2022, in the context of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, it offers guidance based on quality standards drawn from the provisions of the Istanbul Convention. This treaty requires parties to the convention to establish such programmes, where they do not exist, or support any existing programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual assault and rape - with the safety of victims as the primary focus. It sets important standards for such work, including co operation with specialist support services for victims, intervention by skilled and trained facilitators and a focus on perpetrator responsibility and attitudes.