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___________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra Interparliamentary committee meeting with national parliaments on "The Istanbul Convention: combating violence against women at national and EU level" organised by the European Parliament 21 December 2017 Brussels, Belgium Hon Claudette Buttigieg, MP REPORT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE FOLLOWING THE PARTICIPATION OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT IN INTER-PARLIAMENTARY MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES Name of meeting Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting on The Istanbul Convention: combating violence against women at national and EU level Venue and date Brussels, 21 November 2017 Name of Members Hon.
Claudette Buttigieg Accompanying officials Mr Kenneth Curmi, Representative of the Maltese Parliament in Brussels Documents that should be attached to this report Doc.

A- Agenda of the meeting Doc.

B- List of Participants Doc.
C- Detailed report on the meeting Member r· •• r " " " I I European Parliament Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union Directorate for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Secretariat of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting' on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2017 "The Istanbul Convention: combating violence against women at national and EU level" Tuesday, 21 November 2017, from 15.00 to 18.30 European Parliament in Brussels- room JAN 6Q2 Chaired by: Vilija BLINKEVICIOTE, Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality DRAFT PROGRAMME *** 15.00- 16.00 Panell.
The Istanbul Convention in the Member States: ratification and monitoring Topic: assess the main problems of the ratification process in the signing countries and show the situation of the first round of evaluations made by GREVIO.
Keynote speeches by Ms Virginija langbakk, Director, and Ms Blandine Mallard European Institute for Gender Equality Ms Simona Lanzoni, GREVIO' Second Vice-President, Council of Europe (TBC) Ms Eva Pastrana, Head of HELP' Unit, Council of Europe Ms Joanna Piotrowska, President of Feminoteka Foundation, Poland 1 Organised in collaboration with the Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments 2 Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence- the independent expert body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence by the Parties 3 European programme on Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals.
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• 1 I 1 16.00- 17.30 Panel 2.
The 4 Ps4 in practice: how member states tackle gender based violence and domestic violence Topic: based on the provisions of the Istanbul Convention discuss its implementation and best practices Keynote speeches by Ms Francesca Puglisi, Chair of the Parliamentary Enquiry Committee on Femicide and any other forms of gender-based violence, Italian Senate Ms Pilar Cancela Rodriguez, Chair of the Equality Commission, Spanish Congress Representative from the CSO (TBC) 17.30- 18.30 Panel 3.
The path to the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention Topic: The situation of GVB at EU level and the status and perspective of the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention Keynote speeches by Ms Liisa Oviir, Member of the Legal Affairs Committee and European Union Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament European Commission representative Ms GillsOn Bilgehan, General Rapporteur on violence against women, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Ms Laura Albu, Executive Committee Member, European Women's Lobby 4 Prevention, Protection, Prosecution together with the implementation of integrated Policies Directorate-General for the Presidency Relations with National Parliaments Legislative Dialogue Unit European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality INTERPARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETING The>lstan bul {eollvention: corn])ating violence agai n'st.women~at:>raational.and EULevel List of Participants EU National Parliaments Closed on 15 November 20 17 Tuesday, 21.
November 201.7, 1.5:00 - 1.8:30 J6zsej Antal/ building, Room 602 European Parliament- Brussels http://www.europarl.europa.eu/re!natparl!en/meetinqs.html FEMM JCJ\11 I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 I r. . '
~I ' ' ' ' l I Member: Members: BELGIQUE I BELGIE I BELGIUM Chambre des representants/Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers Ms Karin JIROFLEE Advisory Committee for Social Emancipation 5p.a-5&0 5bnrAPIIIR I Bulgaria 7 HAPO,L\HO Cb5PAHVIE /National Assembly Ms Dora HRISTOVA Committee on Religion and Human Rights PP Volya- No group affiliation in the EP Ms Neli PETROVA Committee on Religion and Human Rights PPGERB-EPP Ms Valentina NAYDENOVA Committee on Religion and Human Rights 85P-5&0 FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 Official: Ms Lidiya SIMOVA National Parliament Representative I EJ\1\A~A I GREECE BouA!)
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)vwv I HellenicParliament Member: Official: Member: Officials: Ms Afroditi STAMPOULI Chair, Special Permanent Committee on Equality, Youth and Human Rights SYRIZA (Coalition of the radical/eft)- GUE/NGL Ms ELENI SIANNA National Parliament Representative ESPANA I SPAIN Congreso de los diputados/ Congress of Deputies Ms Pilar CANCELA RODRIGUEZ Chair, Committee on Gender Equality G.P.
Socialista (GS) - 5&0 Ms Mercedes SEN EN HERNANDEZ Clerk of the Committee on Gender Equality FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 I t. . '

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' ' I, 'I Ms Carmen SANCHEZ-ABARCA GORNALS National Parliament Representative Senado/Senate Members: Ms Susana CAMARERO BENITEZ Chair, Committee on Gender Equality Partido Popular- EPP Ms Manuela GALIANO LOPEZ Committee on Gender Equality Partido Socialista Obrero Espafiol- 5&0 Official: Mr Alejandro RASTROLLO RIPOLLES Legal Adviser FRANCE AssembiEie nationale Members: Ms Marie-Pierre RIXAIN Chair ofthe delegation for women's rights and equal opportunities between women and men La Republique en Marche- No group affiliation in the EP FEMM ICM I 21.
NOVEMBER 2017 Ms Valerie BOYER Vice-Chair of the delegation for women's rights and equal opportunities between women and men Les Republica ins- EPP Officials: Ms Pascale FORGET Administrator of the delegation for women's rights and equal opportunities between women and men Mr Pierre BOSSE National Parliament Representative HRVATSKA I CROATIA Hrvatski sabor Members: Mr Ivan Vilibor SINCIC Chair, Committee on Gender Equality Human Blockade- Non Attached Ms Irena PETRIJEVCANIN VUKSANOVIC Vice-Chair, Committee on Gender Equality Croatian Democratic Union - EPP Mr Silva no HRELJA Committee on Gender Equality Croatian Pensioners Party- Non Attached FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 201.7 ' '' !
• •• " " ~ 1 I 1 Official: Ms Tanja BABIC National Parliament Representative IT ALIA /ITALY Camera dei deputati Members: Official: Members: Ms Elena CENTEMERO Constitutional Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Interior Affairs Forza /talia Group- EPP Ms Fabrizia GIULIANI Committee on Justice Partito Democratico Group- S&D Ms Maria SCHININA National Parliament Representative Senato della Repubblica Ms Francesca PUGLISI Chair, Inquiry Committee on Femicide and on all other gender based violence Partito democratico Group- S&D FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 Ms Emma FATTORINI Foreign Affairs Committee Partito Democratico Group - 5&0 Official: Ms Beatrice GIANANI National Parliament Representative KYnPOI:/CYPRUS Bou!.rj Twv Avurrp<i<Jt<mwv f House of Representatives Ms Mariella ARISTIDOU Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Human Rights and on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women Democratic Rally Party (DISY)- EPP Member: Officials: Ms Mary SAVVA National Parliament Representative Ms Maria SOTIRIOU GEORGIOU National Parliament Representative LIETUVA I LITHUANIA 'Seimas FEMM ICM I 2l.
NOVEMBER 2017 I' I ' ' ' I I Members: Mr Valerijus SIMULIK Chair, Committee on Human Rights Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union Political Group- Greens/EFA Mr K11stutis MAS lULlS Committee on European Affairs Homeland Union- Lithuanian Christian Democrats- EPP Ms Ausra MALDEIKIENE Committee on European Affairs Officials: Ms Egle GIBAVICIOTE Adviser of the Committee on Human Rights Mr Matas MALDEIKIS National Parliament Representative MALTA Kamra tad-Deputati I House of Representatives Member: Ms Claudette BUTTIGIEG Partit Nazzjonalista- EPP FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 Official: Mr Kenneth CURMI National Parliament Representative POI,SKA I PQI,AN{?
Senat Members: Ms Bogustawa ORZECHOWSKA Vice-Chair, Committee on Family, Senior and Social Policy Law and Justice (PIS) - ECR Mr Jan RULEWSKI Committee on Family, Senior and Social Policy Civic Platform- Non Attached Official: Mr Wojciech KUZMA National Parliament Representative I PORTUGAL Assembleia da RepubliCa FEMM JCM j 21 NoVEMBER 20~7 I !'
" " i I I I Members: Officials: Member: Official: Ms Isabel ALVES MOREIRA Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees PS-S&D Ms Angela GUERRA Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees PSD- EPP Ms Claudia SEQUEIRA Adviser of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees Ms Cristina CORREIA National Parliament Representative ROMANIA I ROMANIA Camera Deputatilor 1 Chamber of Deputies Ms Oana-Mioara BiZGAN-GAYRAL Chair, Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men The parliamentary group of the Union to Save Romania- No group affiliation in the EP Mr Tudor DORBINESCU National Parliament Representative FEMM ICM I 2~ NOVEMBER 2017 Sen at Members: Ms Laura-luliana SCANTEI Committee on legal matters, appointment, discipline, immunities and validation National Liberal Party- EPP Mr Catalin Dumitru TOMA Committee on European Affairs National Liberal Party- EPP Ms Constantina-Cristina NICOLAE-IOANA Parliamentary expert of the Service for European Affairs Ms lzabella MOLDOVAN National Parliament Representative SLOVENIJA I SLOVENIA Dr2avni zbor I National Assembly Mr Vinko GORENAK Committee for Petititions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities SDS- Sloven ian Democratic Party Deputy Group- EPP Mr Zvonko BERGANT National Parliament Representative FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 Officials: Member: Official: I r. ' ~ ' '' " 0 I I I SLOVENSKO I SLOVAKIA Narodna rada 1 National Council Member: Ms Anna VERESOV A Committee on Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities OLANO- No group affiliation in the EP NON-EU SCHENGEN COUNTRIES NORWAY Stortinget Members: Mr Petter EIDE Standing Committee on Justice Socialist Left Party- GUE/NGL Mr Ulf LEIRSTEIN Standing Committee on Justice Progress Party- Non Attached Official: Mr Per S. NESTANDE National Parliament representative FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 OFFICIALS OF PARLIAMENTS OR CHAMBERS NOT HAVING A POLITICAL DELEGATION AT TH!
; PRESENT MEETING BELGIQUE I BELGIE I BELGIUM Senat/Senaat Mr Tim DE BONDT, National Parliament Representative CESKA REPUBLIKA I CZECH REPUBLIC Poslanecka snemovna /Chamber of Deputies Ms Eva TETOUROVA, National Parliament Representative .Se.nati Senate Ms Terezie PiSAROVA, National Parliament Representative DAN MARK I DENMARK FolketingE!t Mr S~ren KOUSHEDE, National Parliament Representative DEUTSCHLAND I GERMANY Bundestag Mr Henning STUHR, National Parliament Representative EIRE /IRELAND Ms Cait HAYES, National Parliament Representative FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 ; ' t. •• " • 1 '1 MAGYARORSZAG/HUNGARY Orszaggyules 1 National Assembly Ms Eva SZEKRENYES, National Parliament Representative POLSKA I POLAND Sejm Ms Magdalena SKRZYNSKA, National Parliament Representative SUOMI/ FINLAND Eduskunta Ms Noora NARVANEN, Assistant Liaison Officer SVERIGE I SWEDEN Riksdagen Ms Dinka JASAREVIC, EU Adviser FEMM ICM I 21 NOVEMBER 2017 bccC BRUSSELS, 21 NOVEMBER 2017 THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION: COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AT NATIONAL AND EU LEVEL INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 2017 KENNETH CURMI R E P R E S E N '1' A T I V E 0 F 1' H .E PARLIAMENT OD' MALTA TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS '.
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, I , " f I The Istanbul Cotn'entiofl: Combating T 7J'oll}fla; agaiwt LVoml}fl at National and EU Level THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION: COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AT NATIONAL AND EU LEVEL INTERN"-\TIONI';L WOMEN'S DAY 2016 Ms Vilija BLINKEVICIOTE, Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, chaired the meeting.
She welcomed the representatives of 15 national parliaments of the 1!fember States, the members of the Norwegian Parliament and the delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

She stated that the fight against violence against women was very important and while the EU had already signed the Istanbul Convention, it still had to take a decision to ratify it.

The aim of tllls meeting was to learn about the position of national Parliaments.
She then opened the debate on the first topic: 1The Istanbul Convention in d1e I\t!ember States: ratification and monitoring', giving the floor to the first two speakers: f\..Is Virginija LANGBAI<I<, Director, and 1\.fs Blandine l\tfOLLARD, Research Officer, European Institute for Gender Equality.
PANEL N' 1: THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION IN THE MEMBER STATES: RATIFICATION AND MONITORING Ms LANGBAKK, Director European Institute for Gender Quality, welcomed the opportmllty to meet not only J\IEPs but also the members of national Parliaments.

She reminds the audience that their Institute issued the first proposal on what can be measure when it comes to violence against women in 2013, when the Institute was only two and a half years old.
There was no data available they could compare and it was unclear whether violence against women is both the cause and d1e consequence of gender inequality.
When they prepared the second edition of the index there was some data, but tills year saw much more progress, in particular with regard to how the Institute co-uld help the EU to establish a set of measurements to measure the progress in relation to the Istanbul Convention and also to measure very specific forms of violence that it are very diff1cult to measure.

Nfs L\NGBAK.K.

stressed that political commitment and agreement was needed to do this.
Ms MOLLARD, Research Officer at the European Institute for Gender Equality, recounted how eve1yday news contained terrifying accounts about how women and girls are brutalised, victimised and killed.

Taking notice about these cases and measuring inequality was the fttst step to bring more equality and for adequate policies to be designed, implemented and monitored.

The notion of measuring inequalities to combat them is the heart of gender equality index.
She presented a measurement framework, a proposal to measure violence as a standalone phenomenon, but also in a broader context, as gender inequality at large.

The measurement framework would include three different layers.

The fttst layer would be a set of data of the most common forms of violence against women, wlllch is also the most available data for all countries.

The data combines a complex reality into a single measure to raise awareness and to m01lltor violence across time and space.
The second layer of the measurement framework consists of the additional indicators that include forms of violence described in the Istanbul Convention, and that are not particularly well measured, e.g.

2 International Dqy fOr the Elimination qf Tfiolence ctgaim'f lf7omen 2017 female genital mutilation, or other forms that are not widely cciminalised yet.

The third layer is the conte.

"'rtual factors.


This layer helps to understand the circumstances in which violence occurs and understand the link between this context and the violence against women.

This layer is based on the obligation of the Istanbul Convention for ]\{ember States to collect data, and helps to monitor the trends relating to combating violence.

The composite measure gives a score to a given country according to the extent of violence.
It helps in comparing countries and also present a picture over time.

This objective is three fold: ftrstly, it gives an account to the prevalence of violence, physical and sexual violence and also femicide; the second objective is to measure the severity of violence, the impact of violence on women's life; and finally it enables us to measure the disclosure of violence, and determine whether access to adequate support, including protection from further violence is available.
Each 1\ifember State was given this one score composite measure based on the data of the Fundamental Rights Agency.

The score is on a scale fro1n 1 to 100, so the higher the score the more serious the phenomenon of violence.

It can help .i\rlember States to monitor the phenomenon of violence in terms of extent and also in terms of efforts to combat it.

To conclude l\tls 1i0LLARD shared the main findings that emerged from the analysis of tl1e domain of violence.
First, the data of femicide was only available in half of the Member States, but even this limited data showed that one woman is killed evetyday by a partner or former partner.

Second, 70% of victims of physical or sexual violence have health consequences, meaning that there was an immense financial and human cost that violence against women was hnposing on our society.

Finally, one victim in two in the EU has not disclosed her experience to anyone.
She stated that women were not leading violence-free lives but lives marked by silence.

The Chair thanked the speakers for the presentation and gaves the floor to 'the next speaker.
the independent expert body responsible for monitoring Ms Simona LANZONI, GREVIO (Group of Experts on .Action against Violence against Women the and Domestic Violence - implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against \Vomen and Domestic Violence by the Parties) Second Vice-President, Council of Europe, explained how GREVIO ensures the effective implementation of tl1e Convention and draws up reports on the themes of the Convention in order to harmonise laws and policies of the States on the basis of the provisions of the Istanbul Convention.
In l\farch 2016, during the first round of evaluation, GREVIO presented a questionnaire covering all the categories in the Convention and it was distributed in some states (such as f\..fonaco and Austria), and currently Turkey and l\iontenegro were being 1nonitored.

It is important that 27 States had alteady ratified d1e Convention, since it meant they achieved the ceiling of 25 ratifying count11es.

As these numbers grow, it will enable more cm.mtries to be monitored.
So far, at the beginning of the monitoring process, the flrst two reports on J\!Ionaco and Austria had been published; two others, on Denmark and Albania, are to follow.
Nonetheless, some ideas have already emerged as to what one had to pay particular attention to, namely, and flrstly, the collection of administrative data, since tllls data helps bring about policy change on violence against women; and, secondly, due diJigence, or in other words, making all elements of the States responsible for their actions to prevent prejudice.
A cultural revolution is needed to be able to act at all levels of legal provisions and all levels of administration, and harmonise laws accordingly.

The main focus is on violence at home, but there are other forms of violence, which haven't been taken into consideration properly.

Other important factors are still open questions, like immigration, genital mutilation, forced marriage, compensation of victims.
Ms Eva PASTRANA, Head of HELP (European programme on Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) Unit, Council of Europe, talked about the HELP programme, an on-line course.

3 I, ' ~ 1 " ~ 1 I 1 The Istanbul Convention: Combating f 7iolent'e agaimt !l7omen at National and EU Level HELP's goal was to help judges, prosecutors and lawyers to apply European human rights standards in thelr daily work, mainly through training.
HELP's success rests on two components, one is the network of schools of judges and bar associations of 47 countries of the Council of Europe, the second is thelr free on-line courses with more than 22,000 users.

These courses are addressed to legal professionals, and cover numerous toplcs, like non-discrirnination, data-protection, labour rights, ill treatment, asylum, human rights, human trafficking, children's rights, and violence against women and domestic violence.
HELP's course on Violence against women ry A \"X.~ and domestic violence (DV) was launched today, as a joined initiative between the Equality and Human Dignity Deparhnent, Violence .Against \V'omen Division and HELP Programme of the Council of Europe.

The course had 6 modules: 1.

Understandlng V.A \V' and DV, 2. International and European Legal Framework, 3.

Overcoming barriers to access to Justice, 4.

Criminal Justice Response, 5.

Civil Justice Response, 6 .

.Alternative Dispute Resolution.


It was not only a mere transmission of knowledge, but rad1er an attempt to change attitudes by sharing landmark case law (ECtHR, CJEU), and by transmitting skills & attitudes applicable in daily work This was done tluough an interactive course.

HELP's geographical outreach benefitted 830 million Europeans in 47 countries.

Concluding, 1\1s PASTRANA called for the EP's support for a more strategic EU-HELP relationship to increase the impact in EU.
Ms Joanna PIOTROWSKA, President of Femlnoteka Foundation in Poland, presented the ratification process of the Istanbul Convention in Poland, which didn't go entirely smoothly.

\Vomen's organisations had to fight for the promotion of the Istanbul Convention.

Poland signed the Convention in 2015 thanks to the President, who had some reservations.

The opponents clahned that the convention attacked the Polish tradition, culttu:e and religion, and the ratification would increase violence against women.
The President himself wasn't happy with the language of the Convention, because the Polish domestic violence law has a lack of gender specification, and doesn't refer to violence against women and girls.

The Convention also requires the education of men and boys about violence against women.

The definition of economic violence also doesn't exist in Polish legislation.
Polish anti-domestic violence law has no definition of gender-based violence, which is why new legislation had been called for, so far unsuccessfully.

It was difficult to have a public debate about the Convention in Poland right now, and Poland might not implement it or might pull out of the Convention.

However, tl1e Convention was welcomed by many local authorities.
Ms Mariella ARISTIDOU, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and on Equal Opportt1nities for J\.fen and Women of the Cypriot House of Representatives, said Cyptlls had signed the Istanbul Convention in 2015 and ratified it in June, 2017.

The Parliamentary Commission of Human Rights and Equal Rights between 1\1en and \V'omen had an important role in the ratification of the Convention and revealed that legislation needed to be modernised.
The l\Iinistry of Justice had also made a remarkable effort to gradually adopt the legal frameworks to the obligations of the Convention, issuing a bill on harassment and stalking according to the Convention, and another bill to criminalise violence against women.

A hot-line for the victims of violence had also been established.

Concluding, Ms .ARISTIDOU said that in order to fight against gender based violence there had to be coordlnation between state and non-state stakeholders.
Ms Barbara MATERA, from the European Parliament, said ratification and implementation of the Convention is very important, but often takes a long time.

Ratifying the Convention means making it binding.

At this moment 23 countries ratified the Convention includlng 14 member states, all the others l\fember States had signed the Convention, so there the Convention was legally binding.
Prior to ratification, some countries had to change their Criminal Code and introduce other n-tles against violence against women.

Delays were caused by political rather than technical reasons, such as arguments about the concept of gender and the debate about stereotypes.

These arguments should be set aside given that the main purpose of the Convention is to fight against women and violence at home.
EP asked the l\1ember States to ratify the Convention as soon as possible and join the 4 International Day fir the Eliminaa'on of Violence agaiw-t JP'omcn 2017 convention without reseivation.

If the EU joins the Convention d1at would mean further support to the lviembers and would make the national policies easier to coordinate.
fv'Is 11ATERA finally asked Nis LANZONI whether the EU accession would represent a step fo1ward in the implementation of the Convention and to explain how the monitoring took place in practice.

The Chair informed the audience that it was achtally 17 1Iember States that had ratified the Convention.

Ms Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, from the European Parliament, signalled her awareness of the situation in Poland and said she would provide all the support she could give for them.
She emphasised that focus should not only be placed on the victim, but also on the attackers.

She expressed hope that thls Convention would help carry out a prosecution without any rese1vation against the attacker.

Ms Bogusl ORZECOWSKA, Vice-Chair, Committee on Family, Senior and Social Policy, criticized the Polish speaker, claiming that it was not true that Poland wanted to pull out of the Convention.
The Convention dates back to May 2011, and the Polish iYlinistty of Social Affairs had issued a regulation on victim support before the convention, in Febmaty 2011.

Ms ORZECOWSKA.

said Poland had 35 specialist victim protection centres and every local authority was active in tills area.

Not only women and girls, but other weaker members of society were also victims, like children, elderly people, she added, while also clarifying that the Polish people were not about to stop helping victims.
Ms lzaslum BILBAO BARANDICA, from the European Parliament, paid tribute to a girl who was a victim of rape last year.

She highlighted the importance of the political will to ratify and implement the Convention.

In Spain in the Basque country laws on gender based violence had been passed in 2005 and 2007, and 10 years ago the first association was set up, but the violence had nevertheless not stopped.

Political determination was needed.


Ms Emma FATTORINI, Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Senato della Repubb/ica, said Italy had adopted the ratification in 2014, which was important firsdy because it was binding, secondly because it fought for human rights in terms of equality.

'T'he convention strengthened the unity within a family, and developed mutual respect and dignity.
PANEL N° 2: THE 4 P'S (PREVENTION, PROTECTION, PROSECUTION TOGETHER WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED POLICIES) IN PRACTICE: HOW MEMBER STATES TACKLE GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Ms Francesca PUGLISI, Chair of the Parliamentary Inquiry Comnllttee on Femicide and any other forms of gender-based violence of the Italian Srmato della &ppubhi:a, said Italy was one of the first countries that had ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2013.
In line with the Convention, the country had passed laws on femicide that provided, for instance, free legal defence or protection for minors.

Changes in the curricula to teach about gender equality had also been proposed.

In 2015, a law on gender based violence had also been passed, and a monitoring body that included members from the civil society had been set up.
Finally, tills year an inquiry had been sent to find out what had been accomplished with the 16 million euros that the government had spent on this issue and establish to what extent the rules had in fact been implemented.

It transpired that despite the advanced legislation, and the decrease in murder cases, femicide levels had roughly remained the same, with, on average, a woman killed on every second day.
The essential problem, she said, was the lack of training to recognize violence at home, often confused with "family row''.

The net\vorking bet\veen anti-violence centres and local authorities and the forces of order are not working, even though this was fundamental.

The fund provided by the EU was really needed for these programs especially in 5 I . '

'" " " i 1 I 1 The Istanbul Convention: Combating f 7io!ence against lf7omen at National and EU Level the south of Europe.
University training should contain courses to teach how to recognise domestic violence as part of the curriculum.

In Italy, there was also the problem of double-victimisation: the woman who announces the violence was often made to feel guilty and had to fight in the criminal court and the civil court as well to get custody for their children.
Domestic violence is mistaken with family conflict, and often the children are handed over to shared custody, something which is ill advised according to the Istanbul Convention.

Ms Pilar Cancela RODRIGUEZ, Chair of the Equality Commission of the Spanish Congreso de los diputados, said Spain had adopted a legislation on tllls field early, addressing needs voiced by society, and the legislator had thus set out rights and freedoms accordingly, acting as a pioneer.
Still, not enough had been done, as witnessed in the news.

Legislation and international agreements were useless without the political will to back them up.

Political will was not enough either, money was needed to implement it.

A state pact on gender violence was supported by all groups in the Parliament.

The pact brought different positions together, and the different groups had managed to find compromises.
The pact consisted of two basic pillars: the proposals forwarded by experts, and the contributions of political parties.
It contained three parts: the diagnosis of the situation; followed by 13 measures set out in the pact designed to tackle the problem: awareness, education, institutional support, protection for victims, for minors, improve training of stakeholders and officials, recommendations for public bodies, analysis of other types of gender violence; and finally funding of the implementation of the convention.
The implementation is fnnded by 1 million euros, which is distributed between not only the state bodles but also between regions and local authorities.

Gender violence met a lot of silence in Spain: silence of the victim, silence amongst family and friends, who often turn a blind eye to what is happening, and the silence of society, that refers to it as an individual problem.

T'his silence should be broken down.


The figures showed a growing number of complaints against ·v-iolence against women each year, but the whole procedure was difficult.

Statistics also showed that 80% of women never complain.

Ms J acqui HUNT, Director of the Europe's Office, Equality Now, said Equality Now was a woman's rights organisation: an international advocacy to protect and promote the rights of women and girls.

Law was used as a main instmment to achieve the organisation' goal.
The f.u:st thing that needed to be checked was in fact whether the law was doing its job when it came to protecting women against rape.

Seven protection gaps had been identified: 1.

Laws allowing the pet-petrator to walk free on reaching some form of "settlement'', including marriage; 2.

Laws framed in terms of morality rather than bodily integrity; 3.

Laws that explicitly pennit rape in marriage, even of children; 4.
Laws or practices allowing for judicial discretion to reduce charges or define evidence influenced by stereotyped assessment of victim's behaviour; 5.

Laws that fail to recognise tn1e consent is impossible in situations of dependency or extreme vulnerability; 6.

Laws or practices inhibiting investigation or prosecution of sexual assault; 7.

Laws requiring witness corroboration and other overly burdensome evidence.
The Istanbul Convention recognises that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position in relation to men.

N1s HUNT called on all countries to abolish all laws and practices which discriminated against women including those which enabled an environment of inequality and control.
This included looking again at the defmition of rape/ sexual assault so that consent must be given voluntarily as the result of the person's free will assessed in the context of the surrounding circumstances, that is to say, to shift the focus away from whether the women consented to sex to whether the man coerced her to suffer a violent act.
Victims should have access to services facilitating their recovery from violence, inclucling specialist women's support services, and all these should be easily accessible.

Such provision should recog1llse that a survivor's experience after the crime is indicative of her speed of 6 International Dc!Y for the Elimination ofT -7olrmce ctgainst JP'"omen 2017 recovery and whether she feels able to report rape and sexual assault and access justlce.
A national action plan, fully ftmded and regularly monitored and adjusted to fit its purpose, was needed.

Ms Agnieszka KOZLOWSKA-RAJEWICZ, from the European Parliament, congtatulated all the speakers for their efforts.

Implementation was harder than signi11g the convention.

She reminded everyone of the importance of focusing on the perpetrator.
Referring to the polish implementation, she said that in Poland they had a law on domestic violence and a national action plan and these programs and legislation had been amended by other provisions.

They had also introduced new categories of offence, e.g.

cyber violence.

In 2015 they had ratified the Convention and confirmed that Poland did not want to pull out of the Convention.
Mr Petter EIDE, from the Standing Committee on Justice of the Norwegian Stortinget, said that Notway had adopted the Convention last summer., adding that the whole process had gone smoothly as it was not in conflict with Norwegian legislation: many provisions of the Convention were already covered by existing law.

They have been measuring domestic violence and violence against women for 15 years and the figures have not changed despite new legislation.
_I'v!ore effective measures needed to be introduced, with more focus on funding and investigation.

The importance of the Convention was in leading the crime scene from an individual level to the field of human rights.

Ms Iratxe GARCIA PEREZ, from the European Parliament, thanked the speakers for their presentation as it enabled people to see the state of implementation.
She welcomed the request for an EU Directive against gender violence and expressed the .hnportance of having a common legal def111ition on gender violence, as tllls was essential to adopt common policies.

Ms Isabel ALVES MOREIRA, from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees of the Portuguese AJJembleia da RepUblica, said Porh1gal was amongst the fust countries in 2013 that had ratified the Convention.
Gender violence was an important issue in Portugal, as l in 4 women was a victim of violence, with 6,000 complaints corning to the police every year.

Portugal had strong laws, but more support for the protection network was needed.

Children also needed specific protection.

New programs in schools had been introduced in order to change the prevailing mentality, and also because strong laws were not enough to change the society.
Mr Branislav SKRIPEK, from the European Parliament, said The main subject of the debate was the Istanbul Convention that primarily concerned women and some :Member States had a problem with tills Convention.

The Convention was based on gender ideology, wlllch clashed with some of the p.rinciples held by people espousing consetvative views.

He claimed that tllls ideology was unacceptable for many of them and it was dangerous to bring gender concepts into national legislation.
Tills, he added, breached the treaties of the EU, and the ratification was upsetting people in Central and Eastern Europe.

Domestic violence should be treated within the 1'Iember States, and quality 11ationallegislation was needed in this regard.

Ms Anna BIRCHALL, from the Romanian Parliament, said Romania had also ratified the Convention and was working on its implementation and making the necessaq amendments, introducing new provisions and giving funds for shelters.
Drafting the laws and building the necessary legal framework was an important step, she stressed, but taking measures to prevent violence was just as important, and with the help of the Istanbul Convention States and perpetrators could finally be held responsible.
Ms Afroditi STAMPOULI, Chair, Special Permanent Committee on Equality, Youth and Hmnan Rights of the Greek Parliame11t, said that in Greece the number of domestic violence cases were lllgh and that domestic violence had to do with wotnen, and was gender based.

Precautionary measures had been introduced against perpetrators as well as a 24/7 hat-line and 22 shelters for women and children, and also an EU funded consultancy program and cr.hninal mediation.

Greece had ratified 7 i ' . '

. '


l I The Istanbul Convention: Combating T 7iolence rtgainft !f:7omen at National and EU LCJ}ei the Istanbul Convention on the 17th November, and at the end of this year Parliament would vote on the relevant bill and make all necessary changes in legislation.

Ms Anna VERESOV A, from the Conunittee on Human Rights and Ethnic :Minorities of the Slovak Narodna rada, said that she had 20-year experience in the field of helping victims of violence, especially women.
The Convention should not stand between us, if it created problems in certain countries, for the sake of the girls, then one shouldn't force the convention on those countries.

She claimed she could see both sides of the argument.

In Slovakia there were two sd10ols of thought about the matter, one that wanted a quick ratification and another that did not want tills convention.

She herself did not think tllls convention was not the right way to solve tllis problem.
Slovakia adopted new legislation on helping the victims of crime, and it got a huge support in the Parliament.

This legislation provided protection for victims, including wome11 and children and the necessary funding for it.

So the country's national legislation already had these measures.

Mr Ernest URTASUN, from the European Parliament, said there was a lot of trouble to ratify the Istanbul Convention by the EU.
It was an indispensable instmment and one had to try to implement it in the broadest possible way.

The international legislation is fundamental to get a national legislation, especially in certain countries, like Spain.

The Convention is an excellent instrument, but it should never serve as an excuse for only ratifying it and not doing anything else.

In the argument on gender based violence, people tall;;: about ideology, but it is a wrong approach.
Gender based violence is the consequence of inequality.

The quality of wages, pensions going down, so many people stagnant or even going backwards was a dynamic wllich returned our society to patriarchy and inequality.

So one needed to fight not only against violence but also against the cause of violence, which is inequality between men and women in many fields.
Finally, he mentioned that a lot of relevant legislation was sh1ck at the Council, so national Parliaments should put pressure on their governments to unfreeze these procedures and get them to the EP.

Ms Susana CAMARERO BENITEZ, Chair, Committee on Gender Equality of the Spanish S ettado,: said that gender based violence was a State matter.

In Spain, a lot of legislation had been improved since 2003, e.g.

increasing protection for victims, changing the criminal code, and enhancing awareness.
In 2014, Spain ratified the convention and since then many provisions have been implemented.

Mr Vinko GORENAK, from the Committee for Petitions, Human Rights and Equal Opportunities, said Slovenia had signed the Convention in 2011 and ratified it in 2015.

He explained briefly how the country was implementing the convention.
The criminal code had been changed, introducing new provisions, and the cmmtry had adopted resolutions to provide equal opportunities for men and women, and stressing zero tolerance against violence against women.

fviore specific measures would be further set out in tllis area to abolish domestic violence.

He stated that the number of crimin..-tl offences where the victim of domestic violence was a woman had drastically decreased.
PANEL N' 3: THE PATH TO THE EU ACCESSION TO THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION Ms Liisa OVIIR of the Legal Affairs Committee and European Union Affairs Committee of the Estonian Riigikogu, said that the Istanbul Convention had been adopted in April 2011 and Estonia had signed it in December 2014.

At the end of September of this year the country had ratified it.

The Convention gives us a Europe where there was no place for violence against women in any fonn.
A legal framework is to be put in place to protect women from violence and introduce genuine equality between men and women.

Under the Convention, domestic violence is a social problem, not the problem of an individual family.

Domestic violence is an issue in Estonia too.

50% of people there have heard or seen or experienced domestic violence.

10% of people who are condemned of domestic violence believe that it is necessaq.

14% of Estonians put the blame on the victim.


In 70% 8 International Dqy for the Elimination rifT 7iolence ctgainJi l'Pomen 2017 of the cases, the perpetrators are partners or ex-partners of the victims, while in 80% of the cases, the perpetrators are men and the victims are women.

12% of Estonian women experienced sexual violence at home.

It was essential to have places where victims can go when or before they are hurt.
In 2016, a study was canied out on the economic impact of domestic violence, according to which the services (health, social, legal, etc.)

related to violence cost a lot for the state and the victims also suffered from mental and health problems, so the estimated cost is 116 million euro a year.

In 2017, a number of legislative changes were effected, including the penal code and legislation on victim protection .. A.s a result, victims had access to services and support centres.
53% of women aged over 55 have experienced sexual harassment at least once in their lives.

Harassment is widespread in Estonia and to some extent is accepted.

However, there is only one court case, which means that the field is not properly regulated.

The legislative measures against sexual harassment are vital, and after the change the first police cases were reported.

The ratification is just the beginni11g of the change, she concluded.
Ms Giilsiin BILGEHAN, General Rapporteur on violence against women, Parliamentary .Assembly of the Council of Europe, said that when the EU signed the Istanbul Convention it had sent a very important signal that was a further step towards eradicating violence in our society.

A resolution on sexual harassment in public space had been adopted, and work was underway on the issue of forced marriages, but there was still a great deal of work to be done in the field of violence against women.
The problem is widespread and the prevailing mentality needed to change.

She recalled how Turkey was the first to sign and ratify the convention, as reflected by the name of the convention.

This act required a great deal of courage, but signing and ratifying was not enough; in1plementation was vital.

There was a violent nature in men that makes them dominant, she claimed, but it was not nature that produced violence, it was culture.
Fighting against the violence was not serving gender ideology and doesn't seek to destroy the family.

The convention .recognised violence against women as a human right violation and a form of discrimination and it focused on the protection of victims and the punishment of perpetrators.

:Member states must protect victims by means of legislation.

The convention provides an international legal framework within which the member ::.tales can fight against violence against women.
Parliamentarians have an important role to play in this regard.

National Parliaments have a vital role to follow implementation and monitor.

This is the frrst time that Parliaments have tills role: the question was how Parliaments can do it best.

First, one had to consider what the role of national Parliaments was.

The first important role was adopting legislation and ensuring tl1e national law is in compliance with tl1e convention.
111e second most important role was to set national budgets, and the convention puts a financial impact on countries.

Another role of national Parliaments was to scn1tinize governments, to ask questions, to call the members of cabinet to account and to report what the government was doing.

Paxliaments should also talk to specialized oxga11isations and NGOs to gain independent expertise in order to be able to carry out effective scn1tiny.
Parliaments should be involved in reporting and have access to data about how the convention is implemented.

Ms Laura ALBU, Niember, European \'X/ omen's Lobby, introduced the European \Vomen's Lobby, describing it as the biggest coalition of women's rights NGOs in Europe.

Apart from all the n..fember States, there were representatives of Serbia, Niacedonia, and Turkey.
After 20 years of frghting to ensure that the fight against violence against women was a top priority in the political agenda, the situation of women was a two-sided reality.

At first glance it seemed that women's organisations were to welcome important policy making being taken seriously into account, and were able developments, many of them fostered by the Council of Europe and the EU, the latter committed itself to the frght against violence against women.
However, 35 experts keep on denouncing the reality that women are unequally protected and the national policies vary gteatly.

A woman might not get access to protection, depending on where she lives.

25 organisations joined the proposal to end violence against women and girls.

Action on EU level is strongly needed to ensure that every woman in Europe can enjoy a violence-free life.

She welcomed the efforts of the EP, the Commission and 9 ,, F . '

" " 'I The Istcmbttl Convention: Combating T 7iolem'l!
againJt tVomen at National and EU L.eve/ the Estonian Presidency to ensure that tllls issue is kept as a political priority and progress is made towards an EU conclusion to the Istanbul Convention and a strong Code of Conduct.

Violence against women is a European issue, and therefore req·uires a European policy response.
Now there was an opportunity to find the best way to implement the hnportant provisions of the convention .. She urged the Council to ensure full ratification of the convention next month, and hoped that the Bulgarian Presidency would make sure that tllls happened in a timely manner.

She called for recognition by the EU and its :f'·I'Iember States of all forms of male violence against women because they are women.
A comprehensive EU strategy to end male violence and to structure all the issues that cause gender based violence was also needed.

The appointment of an EU coordinator to end violence against women with a strong political mandate to coordinate the efforts of different EU agencies, institutions and supports the efforts at national levels would help in this regard.
Fi11ally, Ivfs ALBU called for systematic consultations and sustainable funding to organisations that provide support victims, developing consultancy and awareness campaigns at EU, national and local levels.

Ms Anna Maria Corazza BILDT, FEIVilYI co-rapporteur on the EU accession to the Cowtcil of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, thanked the civil society for the enormous work they had done in this field.
Today there were new forms of critnes enabled by the on-line media and the internet, and many women were suffering from the abuse of power of men.

She thanked the women who dared to denounce for the bravery the thus exlllbited.

It was very important to combat stereotypes and sexism and build a culture of respect involving men and slllft the blame from the victim to the perpetrators.

She pointed out that no reason, no culture, no tradition, no religion could ever justify violence.
The EU accession is vety important, because it would strengthen tllls fight by creating a common legal framework.

Ms Christine Revault D'ALLONNES BONNEFOY, LIBE co-rapporteur on the EU accession to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, said the EU had signed the convention but .ratification was needed to ensure that it would be properly implemented.

The convention prevented, protected against and prosecuted crimes .
.A code of conduct that sets out the powers of the EU and the EP was needed.

The EP should foster the negotiation.

She urged those Iviember States who hadn't ratified the convention to do so.

Woman's rights are human rights and they have to be protected everywhere in Europe.

A representative of the Commission spoke about the ..,-\.nnual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights focused on 11Women's rights in turbulent times I!.
The objective of the ..-\..nnual Colloquium was to improve mutual cooperation and greater political engagement for the promotion and protection of key fundamental rights in the EU.

The main topic was violence against women and links to other forms of violence in society; gender stereotypes, culture, and attitudes.

She confirmed that the Commission was determined to call the EP to bring the member states to ratify the convention.
The te.-..;:t of Code of Conduct is discussed in the Council working group led by tl1e Estonian presidency.

The EU competence was limited by the ]\:fember States, but she expressed hope to get the ratification in the next few months, during the Bulgarian presidency.
Mr Valerijus SIMULIK, Chair, Comnllttee on Human Rights of the Lithuatllan Seimas, said the Lithuanian Parliament had examined the implementation of the ratification of the convention coordinated by the human rights committee, and had found certain problems.
£\.. year ago there was a terrible event in his country, which included murder and rape, and showed that despite the good legislation in theory, there were no resources (human and financial) needed to ensure that the existing law can be translated into practice.

Accotding to Mr Jan RULEWSKI, from the Committee on Family, Senior and Social Policy of the Polish Senat, this had been a very asymmetrical discussion.
There was a debate in Poland about this difficult subject because there is a fear that this convention could pose a threat to the disintegration of the family.

Polish families are protected by the constitution and made up of a union of a man and 10 International Dqy for the Elimination ofT 7z'o/ence again.ft JPomen 2017 a woman.

In Poland there was no western style contract between the two, dominated by the man.

Nis OVIIR had pointed out the main issue, which was economic violence.
He welcomes this aspect of the convention and that aspect needs to be strengthened.

Ms Claudette BUTTIGLIEG, Maltese !

(amra tad-Dputati, said in Malta the fight against domestic violence and gender based violence had been bolstered by a law that was passed in 2006.

The country had also signed the convention in 2012, and ratified it in July 2014.
The t.faltese Parliament was currently discussing another law on the same subject, which would integrate the law of 2006 into the new law that reinforces the Istanbul Convention and put new obligations with strong punishments fo.r perpetrators.

As fo.r political will and the need f'o.r it to be translated into political actions, 1vis BUTTIGIEG recalled the recent murder of journalist Daphne CARUANA GALIZIA., as well as anod1e.r case involving threats towards a Nialtese t.fEP, 1-fs Roberta 1IETSOLA.
In the latter case, the person who tlu:eatened her had been taken to court.

Ms BUTTIGIEG concluded by saying that other women who were suffering in silence should have hope that one day justice will be delivered fo.r them too.

Ms Angela GUERRA, from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees of the Portuguese As.remb!eia da RepUblica, said that Portugal .recognised the importance of the fight against gender based violence.
The government had implemented national action plans and recognised that the importance of investing in the fight against violence against women by training people and introducing protective measures.

Portugal was the fttst EU country that .ratified the convention.

Ms Fabrizia GULIANI, f.rom the Conunittee on Justice of the Italian Camera dei dtrp11tati, said that Italy had ratified the convention.

The definitions the convention used were hnportant, as it ensured the dignity of women.
11 r· ' ~ 1 ' ' i ' ; , I The !Jtanbul Cotwention: Combating T 7iolcncc againJ't J.f7omen at National cmd JJU Level INDEX BY NAME KOZLOWSKA-RAJEWICZ, 7 LANGBAKK,2 LANZONI, 3, 5 MATERA,4 MOLLARD, 2, 3 ORZECOWSKA, 5 OVIIR, 9,11 PASTRANA,4 PIOTROWSKA, 4 PUGLISI, 5 RODRiGUEZ, 6 RULEWSKI, 11 SIMULIK, 11 SKRIPEK, 7 STAMPOULI, 8 URTASUN,S VERESOVA,s ALBU, 10 ALVES MOREIRA, 7 ARISTIDOU, 4 BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, 5 BILBAO BARANDICA, 5 BILDT, 10 BILGEHAN, 9 BIRCHALL,8 BLINKEVIC!l)TE, 2 BUTTIGLIEG, 11 CAMARERO BENiTEZ, 8 D'ALLONNES BONNEFOY, 10 EIDE, 7 FATTORINI, 5 GARCiA PEREZ, 7 GORENAK,S GUERRA, 11 GULIANI, 11 HUNT, 6, 7 12