VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: THE CoE TAKES ITS CAMPAIGN TO A NEW LEVEL

18:04:09 – 06/04/2009
LRAGIR.AM

Statement by Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

"Today, the Council of Europe began the work on a new Europe-wide
convention on action against violence against women. Over the past two
years, we have worked to break the silence and end the indifference,
now we are moving into action.

Members of the ad hoc Committee on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence (CAHVIO) are meeting in Strasbourg
to discuss the scope of the future legally binding treaty. Violence
against women, including within their homes, is very specific in terms
of its victims, its perpetrators and the circumstances in which it
is committed. This is why the fight against violence against women
requires a specific approach, and this is the very reason behind
a new Council of Europe Convention. The objective is to create an
international, legally binding framework for national legislation and
policies based on the trademark Council of Europe approach – protect,
prevent and prosecute."