Tenth country signs Istanbul Convention

Call for UK to ratify European treaty on violence against women.

Last week Andorra became the tenth country to sign the European Treaty on Violence Against Women and Girls. Denmark followed days later.

Which means it will soon be legally binding on the countries who have ratified it.

The treaty will be legally binding on all 11 countries from August this year now that it has been ratified by the required ten countries, eight of which had to be members of the Council of Europe.

The treaty is a ‘comprehensive legal framework’ aimed at preventing domestic violence, protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators.

The treaty characterises violence against women as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination.

It states, in its Article 5, that countries should exercise due diligence when preventing violence, protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators.

The Convention defines gender as "the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men".

It sets out which offences states ratifying the convention must criminalise including: psychological violence; stalking; physical violence; sexual violence, including rape, forced marriage; female genital mutilation; forced abortion and forced sterilisation.

Sexual harassment must be subject to "criminal or other legal sanction".

The Convention also includes an article targeting ‘honour based’ crimes.

Countries ratifying the treaty must also establish services such as hotlines, shelters, medical services, counselling and legal aid.

Known as the Istanbul Convention, it is the first European treaty aimed specifically at combating violence against women and girls.

“This is a defining moment for women in Europe for whom the home is a place of danger,” said Gauri van Gulik, global women’s rights advocate for Human Rights Watch.

“This treaty will oblige governments to take concrete steps to help women and girls facing violent attacks.”

According to a survey of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency one in three women in the European Union has experienced some form of physical and/or sexual assault since they were aged 15.

Over half of the 43 Council of Europe member states, including the UK, have now signed the treaty – the first step in the process of ratification.

The UK signed the treaty in 2012, but has not yet ratified it. Women’s Aid and the TUC are among organisations campaigning for it to do so.

They argue the UK is still a long way from providing the level of services to women who have experienced violence that the treaty stipulates, and point to cuts in specialist provision and support to voluntary organisations providing support to women in recent years.

The UK would also have to show it was tackling the root causes of violence against women namely sexism and gender stereotyping.

“Ratifying the Istanbul Convention will send a clear signal that the UK will not tolerate violence against women and be a vital step in moving towards a society that enables women to escape, cope and recover from violence,” wrote Claire Laxton, public policy manager for Women’s Aid.

Laxton urged supporters to sign this petition and encourage others to do the same.

Story pbulsihed in Women's Views on News, April 28, 2014.

Domestic violence refuges face closure under benefit changes

Women’s Aid fears it will lose money when new benefit changes are introduced.

Half of all  refuges run by Women's Aid, a leading UK charity supporting victims of domestic and  sexual violence could lose money under Universal Credit being launched next month.

From April the Government will impose a £500 weekly cap on the amount of benefits a family can claim, and £350 for single people, excluding some disability benefits.

If benefits, including housing benefit, exceed this level councils will be required to reduce the amount of housing benefit in line with the new limits.

The government will also start to introduce Universal Credit.  Most benefits, including housing benefit, will be made in a single monthly payment directly to the claimant.

Women’s Aid is concerned that the Benefit Cap will hit survivors of domestic violence who receive benefits for two rents, one for the refuge service they are living in and rent for the home which they have fled but intend to return to.

Entitlement to Universal Credit will be assessed on the woman’s circumstances at the end of each monthly assessment period, so the refuge may receive no payment for a short stay of less than a month. Also, the 

Government have decided not to pay housing benefit directly to refuges like Women's Aid, which will leave them chasing money from their vulnerable clients.

Both these changes could mean Women's Aid refuges are under threat of survival.

And the new benefits may not cover charges for services like personal safety alarms and adjustments for disabled residents.

Women’s Aid owns around half of its refuges and the Government has announced that these will be exempted from the new arrangements for the time being.

But it will be up to local authorities to decide if refuges not owned by the charity will be exempt.

Women’s Aid fears this will lead to a two-tier system in which some residents and services face a cap whilst others don't.

Scottish Women’s Aid has reported that women their support will be hit by the 'bedroom tax'. This means victims of violence placed in larger homes on an emergency basis will be expected to pay for spare bedrooms out of their own benefits.

Women’s Aid is still in negotiations with the Government to try and make sure their refuges are exempt from benefit cuts that would threaten their survival.  They are urging its supporters to sign its petition and write to their MPs.

A template letter is available on their website.