Convention on preventing and combating violence against women (Istanbul Convention): state of play and actions to be taken
10.7.2013
Question for oral answer O-000084/2013
to the Commission
Rule 115
Roberta Angelilli, Mikael Gustafsson, Antonyia Parvanova, Sonia Alfano, Martina Anderson, Francesca Barracciu, Paolo Bartolozzi, Elena Băsescu, Regina Bastos, Sandrine Bélier, Jean-Luc Bennahmias, Phil Bennion, Sergio Berlato, Mara Bizzotto, Franco Bonanini, Emine Bozkurt, Jerzy Buzek, Antonio Cancian, Maria Da Graça Carvalho, Michael Cashman, Nikos Chrysogelos, Minodora Cliveti, Sergio Gaetano Cofferati, Lara Comi, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Ricardo Cortés Lastra, Silvia Costa, Emer Costello, Andrea Cozzolino, Corina Creţu, Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă, Rachida Dati, Francesco De Angelis, Susy De Martini, Marielle de Sarnez, Anne Delvaux, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Leonidas Donskis, Isabelle Durant, Sari Essayah, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut, Tanja Fajon, Mariya Gabriel, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Iratxe García Pérez, Dolores García-Hierro Caraballo, Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg, Nathalie Griesbeck, Marian Harkin, Satu Hassi, Nadja Hirsch, Salvatore Iacolino, Sophia in 't Veld, Vincenzo Iovine, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Lívia Járóka, Sidonia Elżbieta Jędrzejewska, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril Barrio, Filip Kaczmarek, Seán Kelly, Nicole Kiil-Nielsen, Mojca Kleva Kekuš, Jürgen Klute, Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, Jan Kozłowski, Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Eduard Kukan, Giovanni La Via, Jean Lambert, Jörg Leichtfried, Barbara Lochbihler, Sabine Lösing, Petru Constantin Luhan, Astrid Lulling, Ulrike Lunacek, Marusya Lyubcheva, Jiří Maštálka, Clemente Mastella, Barbara Matera, Véronique Mathieu Houillon, Iosif Matula, Erminia Mazzoni, Edward McMillan-Scott, Roberta Metsola, Willy Meyer, Louis Michel, Claude Moraes, Claudio Morganti, Elisabeth Morin-Chartier, Tiziano Motti, Cristiana Muscardini, Norica Nicolai, Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Rolandas Paksas, Alfredo Pallone, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Antigoni Papadopoulou, Aldo Patriciello, Sirpa Pietikäinen, Jacek Protasiewicz, Evelyn Regner, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Licia Ronzulli, Oreste Rossi, Potito Salatto, Nikolaos Salavrakos, Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid, Amalia Sartori, Helmut Scholz, Giancarlo Scottà, Olga Sehnalová, Joanna Senyszyn, Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris, Nicole Sinclaire, Renate Sommer, Dimitar Stoyanov, Claudiu Ciprian Tănăsescu, Marc Tarabella, Salvatore Tatarella, Rebecca Taylor, Britta Thomsen, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Patrizia Toia, Giommaria Uggias, Oldřich Vlasák, Manfred Weber, Angelika Werthmann, Cecilia Wikström, Iva Zanicchi, Andrea Zanoni, Tadeusz Zwiefka, Doris Pack, Marco Scurria, Othmar Karas, Gianni Pittella
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) was opened for signature in Istanbul on 11 May 2011. It is the first European legal instrument to create a comprehensive legislative framework to protect women against all forms of violence. It is important to note that the Convention does not only apply to women. Parties to the Convention are also encouraged to apply its protective framework to children, men and elderly people who are exposed to domestic violence.
The Convention will enter into force when it has been ratified by 10 countries, 8 of which must be Council of Europe member states. At present, it has been signed by 26 states and ratified by 5 (of which just 2 are EU Member States).
Given that the fight against all forms of violence against women and girls is one of the EU’s priorities, could the Commission state:
– what steps or measures could be taken in order to speed up signature and ratification by EU Member States, as well as by the European Union itself;
– what measures could be implemented to introduce the ‘six-P’ framework on violence against women (policy, prevention, protection, prosecution, provision and partnership), which the European Parliament has called for on a number of occasions;
– what measures could be taken with a view to developing effective and consistent initiatives to support Member States in eradicating violence against women, and in establishing networks and communication between national authorities to ensure that progress is made in this area.
Tabled: 10.7.2013
Forwarded: 12.7.2013
Deadline for reply: 19.7.2013