Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – Still more to be done for all women in Europe!

The European Youth Forum calls on all Council of Europe Member States to sign and ratify without further delay the Istanbul Convention.

Estonia became the 25th country having ratified the Istanbul Convention and joined the list of other Council of Europe Member States having committed to prevent and combat violence against women domestic violence.

The European Commission designated 2017 to be the year of focused actions dedicated to combat violence against women. But, though it is 2017, the reality is still concerning.

Today, still 1 in 3 women in Europe have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15. Some 12% of women indicated they have experienced some form of sexual abuse by an adult before the age of 15, which corresponds to about 21 million women in the European Union.

50 women die every day from male domestic violence. At least 500,000 women and girls live with the lifelong consequences of female genital mutilation. The list of these concerning numbers goes on and cannot be ignored.

With Estonia at the helm of the Council of the European Union, which approved in May to sign the Convention in the name of the Union, there is a momentum to recall every single European country of their commitment to women’s right to live in safety. Estonia shows the way to its European partners.

The European Youth Forum calls on all European countries to sign and ratify, without further delay, the Istanbul Convention to also commit to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, in line with goal 5 of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Carina Autengruber – Vice-President of the European Youth Forum

Millions of young women and girls in Europe are counting on you. There can be no longer delay in anchoring the Istanbul Convention in all legislations in Europe. We hope Estonia and the EU can show the way. It is time to act.