Parliament to act on violence against women

Parliament is getting ready to take significant steps in upcoming weeks to alleviate violence against women.

Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin will meet with non-governmental organizations and collect their proposals so that women’s rights are contained effectively in the new constitution.

A parliamentary debate on an important treaty by the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and men is scheduled for the coming weeks. The government is sending the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence to Parliament for the debate.

Parliament’s Commission on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men has set up a sub-commission with the aim of securing women’s rights in the new constitution.

The sub-commission will monitor constitutional works to detect any failures. It will take the issues from a gender point of view and propose texts that maintain equality for men and women. The sub-commission is expected to receive support from several women’s organizations. Its reports will be submitted to the Constitution Conciliation Commission.

The Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence will be debated in Parliament in coming weeks. The convention was opened for signature in May during the 121st session of the Committee of Ministers in Istanbul.

Legally binding

This treaty is the first legally binding instrument in the world creating a comprehensive legal framework to protect women against all forms of violence. The treaty was opened for signature in the cabinet and it was reported that Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin wanted to place some reservations on the document but was prevented by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. The government aims to pass the treaty in Parliament as quickly as possible.

Provisions in the convention include: adequate state compensation for those who have sustained serious bodily injury or impairment of health to the extent where damage is not covered by other sources such as the perpetrator, insurance or State-funded health and social provisions; states shall take the necessary measures to ensure that victims of an offense set out in the convention and committed in a state territory other than the one where they reside, may make a complaint before the competent authorities of their state of residence; and states shall take the necessary measures to provide for the setting up of appropriate, easily accessible rape crisis or sexual violence referral centers for victims in sufficient numbers to provide for medical and forensic examination, trauma support and counseling for victims.