Calls to sign convention against violence

IRELAND has been urged to sign a groundbreaking European convention on preventing violence against women and domestic violence.

Launched in May after years of negotiations with countries which wanted to limit its remit, the convention is waiting for 10 nations to ratify it so it can enter into force.

Despite figures that suggest at least 25% of all women in Europe are subject to violence, countries have been slow to ratify the convention.

However Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, the deputy secretary general of the Council of Europe, said she was not surprised.

“It’s a moral as well as a legal commitment so ratification can take some time because this is a very far reaching treaty that has implications for legislation that has to be gone into very carefully — we would prefer it to be done properly.”

The Strasbourg-based council comprises of 47 countries, including the 27 EU states, and is pushing countries to sign up to the convention.

It is the most far reaching international treaty to tackle this serious violation of human rights and aims at zero tolerance for all violence.

“The examples of violence against women are endless, its victims countless. Many women are too afraid or ashamed to seek help, often paying for their silence with their lives. Those that do speak out are not always heard,” said Ms de Boer-Buquicchio.

The convention aims to lift the veil of silence around all forms of violence and to also protect its victims.

The hope is that it will raise awareness among men, making them reflect on their own thinking and violent tendencies and encourage them to protect victims.

At the same time it urges member states to provide not just legislation outlawing such violence but also to provide shelter and support.

Often, violence such as female genital mutilation is seen as part of people’s culture, said Ms de Boer-Buquicchio.

“But there is no culture that contains elements of violence that can be accepted from the human rights perspective. It is totally unacceptable for a culture in a male-dominated society that men can do whatever they like — but we must make sure that men who know they have a tendency to violence know who to turn to and this is a dimension that we should not neglect. We have to instil a culture that violence is totally unacceptable.”

She warned that in times of economic hardship there was a tendency to cut budgets which favour proper treatment of the socially vulnerable.

“There are financial and economic advantages to investing in looking after the vulnerable and such investment reduces costs to society in the longer term.”