Council of Europe forms expert group to combat violence against women

The Council of Europe (CoE) has announced on Tuesday the formation of a new initiative to combat gender-based violence, the Group of Experts on Action Against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO).

GREVIO will monitor implementation of the CoE Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), a treaty first opened for signature in Istanbul on May 11, 2011.

In a speech made on Monday, during the first meeting of the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention, CoE Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni praised the convention as "a treaty which clamps down on all types of abuse - from emotional torment, to stalking and harassment, to beatings and rape."

"The real test - putting the Convention into force - comes now," she declared.

The meeting of the Committee of the Parties was held in Strasbourg to adopt rules of procedure, elect a chair and vice-chairs to the committee, and elect the first ten members of GREVIO.

GREVIO members will serve for four years as independent experts, developing evaluation reports of legislative and policy measures taken by countries that have ratified the Istanbul Convention. They may also initiate a special inquiry procedure in cases of "serious, massive and persistent patterns of violence" covered by the convention.

The newly elected GREVIO members, all female, represent 10 of the 18 countries who have ratified the Istanbul Convention. Poland was the last country to ratify it, becoming the 18th State Party to the convention on Apr. 27, 2015.

France, Italy, and Turkey are among the ratifying countries of the Istanbul Convention. 19 countries, including Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, have signed the treaty but have yet to ratify it.

GREVIO will meet for the first time in the autumn of 2015. Endit