Women’s rights and Civil liberties MEPs welcome the signing of the EU accession of the Istanbul Convention on 13 June 2017 and make following recommendations:

• urge Member States to speed up negotiations on the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention;
• EP should be fully engaged in the monitoring process of the Istanbul Convention following the EU’s accession;
• Member States should allocate adequate financial and human resources to prevent and combat violence against women and gender-based violence;
• victims should be compensated, in particular those living in areas where the protection services to the victims do not exist or they are very limited;
• appropriate training, procedures and guidelines for all professionals dealing with the victims of all acts of violence should be available;
• promote a change in attitudes and behaviours;
• combat sexism and stereotyped gender roles – promoting gender-neutral language and address the key role of media and advertising;

The denial of sexual and reproductive health and rights services, including safe and legal abortion, is a form of violence against women and girls, says the text. MEPs reiterate that women and girls must have control over their bodies.

The Istanbul Convention ensures that culture, custom, religion, tradition or so-called “honour” cannot be a justification of any acts of violence against women. Committee MEPs call on Member States to adopt measures to address new forms of crime, including sex-extortion, grooming, voyeurism and revenge pornography, and protect victims, who experience serious trauma leading sometimes even to suicide.

Finally, MEPs stress that the EU’s accession will bring better monitoring, interpretation and implementation of EU laws, programmes, funds and better data collection.

Source: European Parliament