The European Parliament plenary on Wednesday called on Member States to ensure gender-sensitive training, procedures and guidelines, as well as specialized support and protection measures with a victim-centered approach for all professionals involved, including law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and prosecutors.
MEPs have insisted that the European Union (EU) must ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, in line with a 2021 Court of Justice ruling, and condemned the backlash against gender equality and women’s rights in countries such as Poland, where the government is seeking to withdraw from the Convention and has introduced a de facto ban on abortion.
The text, adopted by 469 votes in favor, 104 against and 55 abstentions, notes that the Istanbul Convention remains the international standard and a key tool for eradicating gender-based violence.
Six years after the EU signed the Convention, it has not yet ratified it due to the refusal of some member states although the EU Court of Justice ruling of October 6, 2021 affirmed that it can do so without the agreement of all member states.
Moreover, the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention does not exempt countries from ratifying it themselves, so Parliament urges the remaining six countries–Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia–to do so as soon as possible.
According to the text approved Wednesday, the EU response should also cover prevention, protection and prosecution, while member states must ensure gender-sensitive training, procedures and guidelines, as well as specialized support and protection measures.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
