Tell the UK government to match its rhetoric on violence against women
Equalities minister Lynne Featherstone
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As we approach 8th March, International Women’s Day, we’re calling on the UK government to take a stand on violence against women and girls - A global problem that shows no sign of going away.
In May this year, the Council of Europe opened a new convention to combat violence against women and domestic violence. It has been signed by 17 countries now, but the UK isn’t one of them.
The convention (called the Istanbul Convention) seeks to make sure countries are working towards a new minimum standard on violence against women. This would include; making sure they had a proper framework for protecting and assisting victims, promoting equality between women and men, and supporting law enforcement and international co-operation on eliminating violence against women.
The UK shouldn’t have any problem in signing up to these principles, but by not doing so, the government are weakening the hand of others in countries where a strong convention could start to address some major problems in the handling of violence against women and domestic violence.
The UK has a double responsibility at the moment. Earlier this month, the country took over as chair of the Council of Europe for a six month term. At the time, the government promised to use the position to focus on promoting human rights.
Yet not signing the Istanbul Convention undermines our leadership in this area and gives the impression we don’t see violence against women as a priority issue, in the UK or internationally.
Please sign our petition to Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, asking her to commit the UK to signing the Istanbul Convention:
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Violence against women presents a grave threat to the equality and well being of millions of women and girls worldwide. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. By not signing the Council of Europe convention on combating and preventing violence against women and domestic violence, the UK government is sending a signal that violence against women – nationally and internationally – is not a priority. I demand the UK government reaffirms its commitment to ending violence against women by signing the Istanbul Convention. |