On June 20, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Istanbul Convention/zmina.info
The Istanbul Convention is an international agreement of the Council of Europe. The document was created in 2011 and has now been signed by 47 countries. Ratified – 36, including Ukraine.
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Ukraine signed the convention back in November 2011, but in order to ratify the agreement, it is necessary to change the legislation, in particular, to criminalize liability for domestic violence.
The Convention protects the rights of women and men against violence in all its manifestations. Not only from the physical, but also economic and psychological. All these topics need detailed discussion and publicity. It is precisely the removal of taboos on the topic of violence, publicity and responsibility before the law, and the inevitability of punishment that will help, if not completely eradicate this phenomenon, then minimize it.
Our ratification of the agreement allows Council of Europe experts to control, How do we stick to our commitments? At the same time, Ukraine will be able to demand increased accountability for offenders of our citizens abroad, as well as to demand accountability for Ukrainian offenders hiding abroad.
One of the most common myths about the Istanbul Convention is that the document will regulate or in some way destroy traditional marriage or the institution of the family. The issue of family life or family structure is not the aim of the Convention.
On the contrary, prevention of violence, dealing with offenders, as the document advocates, will contribute to the preservation of marriage, family and equality between its members.< /p>
Poltava region's experience in defense against violence
The Poltava region has its own experience in matters of protection from domestic violence. In 2017, a Shelter for Women Victims of Domestic Violence was opened in Poltava. At the expense of the regional budget and the European Union, it was possible to equip a safe space in which 25 women can temporarily live with their children.
Then it was the first such institution on the territory of the Poltava region. However, his experience has become unique for the whole of Ukraine, because the shelter operates on the basis of the non-governmental charitable organization “Light of Hope” and has several sources of funding.
Gender expert of the NGO “Light of Hope” Nadezhda Tymoshenko said that women receive comprehensive support at the Shelter.
“We have organized not only the accommodation of women, each of them can also receive social services, in particular, registration of a temporary place of residence, respectively, this makes it possible for employment and receive certain payments. We also have our own social enterprise, with our help, wards can receive place of work,” notes Nadezhda Tymoshenko.
But one of the most effective steps, according to the expert, is precisely the legal fixation of violence. Women are supported at all stages: if necessary, they are examined by a doctor, they write a statement to the police, they make sure that proceedings are opened and the case is referred to the courts. The result of such actions is to receive a temporary order not to approach the offender. And in this matter, according to Nadezhda Tymoshenko, Poltava region has achievements.
This is an advanced practice, because the courts in the Poltava region were among the first to start giving no-approach orders. And this is one of the achievements, including the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the expert says.
In 2021, on the basis of the Shelter, a Day Center was created for the stay of women victims of domestic violence. With him, women can get help from a psychologist, social workers, participate in various psychological programs to increase their personal potential and realize their strength.
Now the network of such institutions in the region has expanded, but they operate in the format of day centers or crisis rooms in the communities of the region. Also, a full-fledged shelter for women victims of domestic violence continues to operate in Poltava. Women from any corner of the region can receive the necessary assistance in it. The Light of Hope provides services for which it receives funds from the communities.
In conclusion
- July 18 2022, it was reported that Ukraine had officially completed the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by handing over the relevant documents to the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bern Berge.
- According to information on the website of the Council of Europe, the Convention will enter into force with respect to Ukraine on November 1, 2022.< /li>
- At a time when the idea of the incompatibility of the convention with the norms of so-called traditional morality in force in the country (the same “clamps” like “beats means loves”) is being actively promoted in Russia, and the violence of the Russian military against civilians in foreign countries has almost no condemnation in their society, we are taking another significant step forward. Ukraine implements the necessary reforms, and then becomes one step closer to the practices and values of the European community, of which we have always been and are a part.
