The Istanbul Convention may be considered a kind of “gold standard” in the field of human rights and European values regarding the elimination of gender-based violence, violence against women, and domestic violence.

It regards violence against women and domestic violence (including against men) as a consequence of existing social relations; it also indicates that no traditions, established prejudices, customs, etc. can be an excuse for a brutal violation of human rights, such as violence.

The Istanbul Convention is to enter into force on November 1. How will this affect the work of specialists and services for combating and preventing gender-based violence, as well as ordinary Ukrainians?

Why is the Istanbul Convention ratification necessary and how will it help in the field of combating gender-based violence?

For Ukraine, as a state that has signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention, preventing violence against women / domestic violence and combating these phenomena will become a legal obligation to the European community, and not an issue of voluntary application.

In addition, the Convention provides for the control (monitoring) of compliance with its provisions. It helps the states to see both the progress and weaknesses, and make effective decisions based on its results.

In general, the Convention covers those spheres of Ukrainian legislation and practice that need improvement, such as provision of shelter to survivors, procedure of applying for compensation, female genital mutilation as one of the most serious forms of violence against women, and stalking by the perpetrator.

Secondly, by ratifying the Convention, Ukraine will join the growing number of member states that regularly exchange information on the practices and approaches used to better implement its norms.

Thirdly, by ratifying the Convention, Ukraine will send a powerful signal to the international community about its participation in combating all forms of violence. And finally, the situation in Ukraine will be assessed by external experts who monitor the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. They could provide advice and recommendations leading to a better implementation of the 4P principle: prevention of violence, provision of services and protection to survivors, prosecution of the perpetrator and formation of coordinated policies in the field of preventing and combating violence at all levels.

What will change for specialists in the field of preventing and combating gender-based violence?

In general, national approaches to responding to and preventing violence (in particular domestic and gender-based violence) reflect the basic principles and spirit of the Istanbul Convention. However, its ratification expands the possibilities of applying practical tools to help survivors, change social stereotypes and create zero tolerance for violence.

The changes will concern several aspects:

• harmonizing and updating the legislation; 
• increasing the level of specialists’ training;
• implementing the minimum standards for the types of services required to combat violence against women and domestic violence, as well as the principles and basic methods on the basis of which they will be provided.

The Istanbul Convention contains a definition of gender based violence, which is not enshrined in Ukrainian legislation. Ukrainian legislation follows the concept of sex-specific violence. Therefore, the ratification of the Convention will allow specialists to have more opportunities in this particular area: 

• it will be necessary to develop a sublegislative framework and instructions, provisions and practices for preventing and combating gender based violence;
• to harmonize the relevant part of the legislation both with the Istanbul Convention and with a wider scope of acts in the field of social policy, childhood protection, health care, education, administration of justice, criminal law, etc.

In addition, Ukrainian legislation, unlike the Istanbul Convention, does not prohibit stalking and offers a somewhat complicated approach to combating sexual harassment. It is therefore difficult to bring perpetrators to justice, and this is an issue that specialists will also be able to work on now.

The Convention contains requirements for the training of specialists who work with survivors. Currently, for example, some specialists may:

• Not know or may have superficial knowledge of the current legislation in the field of preventing and combating violence;
• Not comply with the requirements of the law (despite even the fact that they may be held personally liable for its non-performance or violation);
• Have an insensitive or even prejudiced attitude towards victims due to stereotypes about violence that exist in society;
• Have insufficient capabilities for the proper storage and transfer of survivors’ and/or perpetrators’ confidential data (especially in the context of de-occupation, mass displacement due to military operations, limited access to existing databases, etc.).

Finally, the Convention requires that survivors be provided with such services as:

• shelters for survivors of domestic violence;
• specialized hot lines;
• easily accessible counseling and crisis centers for survivors of rape or sexual violence;
• legal and psychological consultations, in particular, long-term ones;
• programs for perpetrators;
• constant training of specialists who work with survivors.

In general, the Istanbul Convention in Ukraine will contribute both to the improvement of the situation of women, girls, men and boys, and to the affirmation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

How will the Istanbul Convention influence Ukrainian cities and communities?

According to the Preamble to the Istanbul Convention, the member states seek to create a Europe that is free of violence against women and domestic violence. Cities and communities free from violence are the basis of such creation.

Therefore, our territorial communities face serious challenges. First, they have to ensure a comprehensive and integrated approach to eliminating violence against women and domestic violence.

Moreover, the communities are expected to improve the infrastructure so that various protection and support services could be located in the same premises, where it is appropriate and safe. Today, in order to receive a complex of services and assistance, a survivor has to contact several different institutions, which may be located quite far from each other. In addition, it is important to ensure effective and confidential exchange of data between specialists of various services and institutions (social, medical, law enforcement, legal ones) in order to reduce traumatization of the victim and ensure a coordinated response.

Another important area of work at the local level is to ensure that work with women affected by violence takes into account the issue of providing them with self-reliance and economic independence.

Specialists will undergo appropriate specialized training to ensure the high quality of work with various categories of victims. 

By the way, within the framework of the UNFPA project "Cities and Communities Free from Domestic Violence," 76 various trainings and round tables were held in 2021 to train local experts-consultants on the development of local systems for preventing and combating domestic violence, as well as representatives of local communities’ leadership, social service providers, representatives of the National Police, legal assistance specialists, doctors, other specialists involved in detecting and responding to domestic violence. In 2022, 23 trainings have already been held for various categories of specialists both offline and online.

The material was prepared on the basis of comments from Alla Blaga, UNFPA expert on combating and preventing gender-based violence, and Olena Kochemirovska, UNFPA adviser on gender-based violence.