DOCSLIB.ORG

The Istanbul Convention – a Powerful Tool to End Gender-Based Violence

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Istanbul Convention – a Powerful Tool to End Gender-Based Violence THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION – A POWERFUL TOOL TO END GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE Violence against women is a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women. The Istanbul Convention aims to prevent violence, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators through a comprehensive set of policies and measures. It aims to contribute to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, promote substantive equality between women and men and promote international co-operation with a view to eliminating violence against women A handbook for and domestic violence parliamentarians on the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence 010820 against Women and PREMS Domestic Violence ENG The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member SAFE FROM FEAR states, including all members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member states have SAFE FROM www.coe.int signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, VIOLENCE democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION – A POWERFUL TOOL TO END GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE A handbook for parliamentarians on the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Council of Europe The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe. All requests concerning the reproduction or translation of all or part of the document should be addressed to the Directorate of Communications (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex or publishing@ coe.int). All other correspondence concerning this publication should be addressed to the Secretariat of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Prepared by Cover design and layout: Publications and The Secretariat of the Committee on Documents Production Department (SPDP) Equality and Non-Discrimination © Council of Europe, November 2019 of the Parliamentary Assembly Printed at the Council of Europe of the Council of Europe in cooperation F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex with Anne-Katrin Speck, expert consultant Contents ABBREVIATIONS 5 GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS 7 COUNCIL OF EUROPE: UPHOLDING WOMEN’S RIGHTS, STRIVING TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY AND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 9 The Council of Europe in brief 9 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: combating violence against women 9 1. WHY THIS HANDBOOK? 11 2. THE SCOURGE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 13 3. THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION: A COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK TO END GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE 15 3.1. Istanbul Convention: its purpose and scope 16 3.2. Countering misinformation about the Istanbul Convention 19 4. HOW IS IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION MONITORED? 21 4.1. State reporting 21 4.2. Urgent inquiry procedure 22 4.3. General recommendations 22 4.4. Monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention: what role for parliaments? 23 5. THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENTARIANS IN SUPPORTING THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION 25 5.1. Promoting ratification of the Istanbul Convention 26 5.2. Monitoring and supporting the implementation of the convention 28 5.3. Parliamentary engagement in GREVIO’s monitoring 42 5.4. What structures and mechanisms are there for promoting implementation? 48 5.5. Summing up 51 ► Page 3 6. IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE AND EXTERNAL ALLIANCES 53 6.1. In-house expertise 53 6.2. External alliances and expertise 54 7. CONCLUSION 55 APPENDIX 1 – CHECKLIST FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS: HOW TO SUPPORT THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION 57 APPENDIX 2 – TEXT OF THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION ON PREVENTING AND COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (CETS NO. 210) 65 APPENDIX 3 – ADDITIONAL READING AND RESOURCES 99 Selected Council of Europe sources 99 Selected international instruments 104 Other useful links 104 Abbreviations CEDAW UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW Committee UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women CETS Council of Europe Treaty Series Committee of the Parties Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention) FGM Female genital mutilation GREVIO Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence HELP Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals Istanbul Convention Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence NGO Non-governmental organisation PACE Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ► Page 5 Glossary of key terms Violence against women: all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Domestic violence: all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence with the victim. Gender: the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men. The Istanbul Convention recognises that gender stereotypes contribute to making violence against women acceptable to some people. Gender-based violence against women: refers to violence directed against women because they are women or violence that disproportionately affects women. Gender stereotyping: Gender stereotypes are preconceived ideas whereby males and females are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles that are determined and limited by their sex. ► Page 7 Council of Europe: upholding women’s rights, striving to achieve gender equality and to end violence against women and domestic violence The Council of Europe in brief The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. All the 47 member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Council of Europe has actively promoted the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence. The adoption of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the “Istanbul Convention”) has firmly established the Council of Europe as a leading organisation in promoting gender equality, upholding women’s human rights and ending gender-based violence. Did you know? The Istanbul Convention came into force in 2014, just over three years after its adoption – a clear sign of European states’ commitment to the values and principles enshrined in the convention. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: combating violence against women The Parliamentary Assembly brings together 648 members from the parliaments of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states. It speaks on behalf of 830 million Europeans and represents the democratic conscience of the European continent. ► Page 9 The Assembly has consistently and forcefully condemned violence against women as one of the most serious and pervasive violations of human rights. In 2006, a group of dedicated parliamentarians set up the Parliamentary Network “Women Free from Violence”1 with the aim of actively engaging parliamen- tarians at all levels throughout Europe and beyond to raise awareness about this serious violation of human rights, and to initiate, encourage and promote legislative and policy changes to end gender-based violence. In 2008, the Assembly called for the adoption of legally binding European stan- dards on violence against women2 – standards that were ultimately enshrined in the Istanbul Convention. The Assembly was closely associated with negotiat- ing and drafting the Istanbul Convention. This means that European citizens’ democratically elected representatives were able to shape the content of the most progressive human rights treaty on ending violence against women. One major innovation of the Istanbul Convention is the involvement of national parliaments in the monitoring of implementation of the convention. Just as important, the Istanbul Convention includes a significant role for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is invited to take stock of the implementation of the convention at regular intervals. 1. Want to know who represents your parliament in the network “Women free from violence”? The list of members is available online, at http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/Page-EN. asp?LID=WFfV (accessed 22 Oct 2019). 2. See PACE Resolution 1635 (2008) and Recommendation 1847 (2008) on Combating violence against women: towards a Council of Europe convention. Page 10 ►The Istanbul Convention – A powerful tool to end gender-based violence 1. Why this handbook? he Council of Europe Istanbul Convention is the most progressive and ambitious international human rights treaty targeting the elimination of violence against women. It has received two prestigious international T 3 4 prizes and is often referred to as a “gold standard” in the fight against gender- based violence. Since its adoption in April 2011, the convention has had significant positive impact across Europe. It
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Femicide – a Global Issue That Demands Action, Volume IV
    “In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twenteth century, it was the batle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gen- der equality around the world.” Nicholas D. Kristof, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide “No child should have to fear going to school. No child should ever have to fear being a child. And no child should ever have to fear being a girl.” PhumzileMlambo-Ngcuka, Executve Director, UN Women “Women subjected to contnuous violence and living under conditons of gender-based discriminaton and threat are always on – death-row, always in fear of executon.” Rashida Manjoo Former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences VOLUME IV ISBN:978- 3- 200- 03012-1 Published by the Academic Council on the United Natons System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Ofce Email: [email protected] Web: www.acuns.org / www.acunsvienna.org © 2015 Academic Council on the United Natons System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Ofce Fourth Editon Copyright: All rights reserved. The contents of this publicaton may be freely used and copied for educatonal and other non-commercial purposes, provided that any such reproducton is accompanied by an acknowledge- ment of the authors of the artcles. Compiled and Edited: Milica Dimitrijevic, Andrada Filip, Michael Platzer Edited and formated: Khushita Vasant, Vukasin Petrovic Proofread/*Panama protocol summarized by Julia Kienast, Agnes Steinberger Design: Milica Dimitrijevic, Andrada Filip, Vukasin Petrovic Photo: Karen Castllo Farfán This publicaton was made possible by the generous fnancial contributon of the Thailand Insttute of Justce, the Karen Burke Foundaton and the Organizaton of the Families of Asia and the Pacifc.
    [Show full text]
  • Research and Prevention of Femicide Across Europe
    EDITED BY SHALVA WEIL, CONSUELO CORRADI AND MARCELINE NAUDI FEMICIDE ACROSS EUROPE Theory, research and prevention POLICY PRESSPOLICY & PRACT ICE EDITED BY: SHALVA WEIL CONSUELO CORRADI MARCELINE NAUDI FEMICIDE ACROSS EUROPE Theory, research and prevention POLICY PRESSPOLICY & PRACT ICE First published in Great Britain in 2018 by Policy Press North America office: University of Bristol Policy Press 1-9 Old Park Hill c/o The University of Chicago Press Bristol 1427 East 60th Street BS2 8BB Chicago, IL 60637, USA UK t: +1 773 702 7700 t: +44 (0)117 954 5940 f: +1 773 702 9756 [email protected] [email protected] www.policypress.co.uk www.press.uchicago.edu © Policy Press 2018 The digital PDF version of this title is available Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits adaptation, alteration, reproduction and distribution for non-commercial use, without further permission provided the original work is attributed. The derivative works do not need to be licensed on the same terms. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested. ISBN 978-1-4473-4713-2 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-4473-4714-9 (ePub) ISBN 978-1-4473-4715-6 (Mobi) ISBN 978-1-4473-4716-3 (OA PDF) The right of Shalva Weil, Consuelo Corradi and Marceline Naudi to be identified as editors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • Criminalization and Prosecution of Rape in Denmark
    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT www.amnesty.org CRIMINALIZATION AND PROSECUTION OF RAPE IN DENMARK SUBMISSION TO THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, ITS CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES Amnesty International presents the attached responses to the questionnaire on criminalization and prosecution of rape in Denmark. This submission has been prepared in response to the call for contributions issued by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences ahead of her upcoming report on rape as a grave and systematic human rights violation and a form of gender-based violence against women. Definition and scope of criminal law provisions 1. Please provide information on criminal law provision/s on rape (or analogous forms of serious sexual violence for those jurisdictions that do not have a rape classification) by providing full translated transcripts of the relevant Sections of the Criminal Code and the Criminal procedure code. Article 216 of the Danish Criminal Code states (unofficial translation): “A penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding eight years for rape is imposed on any person who (i) uses violence or threats of violence to have sexual intercourse; or (ii) engages in sexual intercourse by duress as defined in section 260 or with a person who is in a state or situation in which the person is incapable of resisting the act.”1 The flaws in Danish law on sexual violence are not confined to the definition of rape and its consequences. Articles 218-220 of the Criminal Code criminalize sexual intercourse in situations where a person exploits another person’s mental disability or their dependency, for instance in situations of deprivation of liberty, in institutions such as youth institutions or psychiatric wards.2 Article 221 of the Criminal Code criminalizes obtaining sexual intercourse through deception.3 The Criminal Code does not specify explicitly that these offences constitute rape and they carry lesser penalties than those defined as such in it.
    [Show full text]
  • Female Genital Mutilation (Fgm)
    COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM) 20 JUNE 2008 UK Border Agency COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE FGM 20 JUNE 2008 Contents Preface Definition of Female Genital Mutilation Origins Trends Paragraphs Countries 1. ALGERIA ............................................................................................... 1.01 Extent practised ........................................................................... 1.01 Legal Position............................................................................... 1.02 Protection...................................................................................... 1.03 2. ANGOLA................................................................................................ 2.01 Extent practised ........................................................................... 2.01 Legal Position............................................................................... 2.02 Protection...................................................................................... 2.03 3. BENIN ................................................................................................... 3.01 Extent practised ........................................................................... 3.01 Legal Position............................................................................... 3.05 Protection...................................................................................... 3.06 4. BOTSWANA ..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 75 Number 2 Summer/Fall 2018 Jana
    Volume 75 Number 2 Summer/Fall 2018 The Ejusdem Generis Of A-B-: 65 Ongoing Asylum Advocacy For Domestic Violence Survivors Linda Kelly Racism in the Legal Profession: 82 A Racist Lawyer Is An Incompetent Lawyer Jana DiCosmo Measuring Mercy: Protecting 100 Patient Discretion In Terminal Care Under The Fourteenth Amendment Kelsey Nicholas editor’s preface The bigotries, phobias, and moral crimes of the Trump administration are too legion for any law review to examine completely, even in a special jumbo edition. The best we can do is expose and seek to correct them one obnoxious offense at a time. In “The Ejusdem Generis of A-B-: Ongoing Asylum Advo- cacy for Domestic Violence Survivors,” Linda Kelly zeroes in on an especially repellant Department of Justice (“DOJ”) opinion in which the misogyny and xenophobia of Trumpism coalesce into something close to pure cruelty. In Matter of A-B- then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions unilaterally reversed the policy established by the DOJ’s Board of Immigration Appeals that fa- cilitated protections to immigrant victims of domestic violence seeking asy- lum. A-B- narrows the rules, heightens the burdens, and otherwise worsens the already-hellish lives of some of the poorest, most desperate and forlorn refugees to arrive at our borders. These are mostly women who’ve already suffered indefensible gender-based cruelty and violence and are now far more likely to be redirected back for even more of it. Kelly’s article is a how-to manual for human rights attorneys advocating on behalf of these asylum-seekers. She provides insight and analysis along with practical, tactical suggestions for how to win these cases.
    [Show full text]
  • Shadow NGO Report on Turkey's First Report on Legislative and Other
    Shadow NGO Report on Turkey’s First Report on legislative and other measures giving effect to the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence for submission to the GREVIO Committee September 2017 Prepared by: Purple Roof Women’s Shelter Association, Foundation for Women’s Solidarity Women’s Solidarity Foundation Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways (WWHR) Equality Monitoring Women’s Group Association for Women with Disabilities Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Foundation Association for Struggle Against Sexual Violence Endorsed by: Istanbul Convention Monitoring Platform1 - 1 The list of the 81 Members of İstanbul Convention Monitoring Platform can be found at Annex 1. 1 Foreword This shadow report was prepared in collaboration with women’s organizations in Turkey for the evaluation of the implementation of Istanbul Convention in Turkey by GREVIO committee this year. The report was drafted by 8 and endorsed by 81 women’s and LGBTIQ organizations to outline the emerging issues related to violence against women and the defects and malpractices with regards to the implementation of the Convention. Under the coordination of Purple Roof Women’s Shelters Association, we first started to come together to share tasks and agree on the time plan in order to prepare the report till the end of May, which was the deadline for the submission of the state report. However, as we found out later, Turkey delayed the submission till July without informing the CSOs, thus we had to decide to proceed to draft the NGO report without seeing the state’s report.
    [Show full text]
  • Judicial Bench Book on Violence Against Women in Commonwealth
    JUDICIAL BENCH BOOK ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN COMMONWEALTH EAST AFRICA Judicial Bench Book on Violence Against Women in Commonwealth The judiciary plays a central role in enhancing and protecting women’s rights, as well as the development and East Africa enforcement of formal legal responses to discriminatory and criminal activities, including violence against women (VAW). Commonwealth Secretariat The Judicial Bench Book on Violence Against Women in Commonwealth East Africa situates VAW in four member countries, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. By placing VAW within the socio-cultural and legal context of the region, it is hoped that the bench book will enhance the ability of judicial officers to handle cases of VAW, both within a human rights as well as a gender perspective. It is a quick reference for judicial officers, in line with the foundations of the common law system –stare decisis and judicial precedent. Through case law, the book discusses measures to address VAW and the role of the judiciary in ensuring that the state fulfils its obligations. It also includes examples of how a lack of appreciation of the lived realities of women victims of violence can lead to denial of justice. The critique of such cases will expose the injustice arising from failure to interpret the law through a gender lens, thereby offering important lessons to judicial officers. ISBN 978-1-84929-161-3 7818499 291613 P14952_COM_Judicial_Bench_Book_VAW_E_Africa_253x190.indd All Pages 20/12/2016 10:04:42 Judicial Bench Book on Violence Against Women in Commonwealth East Africa Commonwealth Secretariat Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom © Commonwealth Secretariat 2017 All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring and Protecting the Human Rights of Women
    MANUAL ON MONITORING Chapter 28 MONITORING AND 28 Chapter PROTECTING THE HUMAN Monitoring protecting and of women the rights human RIGHTS OF WOMEN MONITORING AND PROTECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN A. Key concepts 3 B. Introduction 4 C. Monitoring methodology – special features 4 1. Partners and sources of information 4 2. Challenges 4 3. Disaggregated data and information 7 4. Referral 9 D. Human rights standards: “Women’s rights are human rights!” 9 E. Discrimination against women 13 F. Areas of monitoring 15 1. Legislation 15 2. Gender stereotypes 18 3. The private sphere 20 4. Women’s participation in political and public life 26 5. Violence against women 28 6. Access to justice 37 7. Education 42 8. Housing, land and property 44 9. Work 45 10. Sexual and reproductive health and rights 47 11. Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) 51 2 MANUAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING © UNITED NATIONS 28 A. Key concepts The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the core international human rights instrument for the protection and promotion of women’s human rights. Although it has been widely ratified, the number of reservations entered by many countries limits its binding character in key areas of women’s rights. Several other international human rights instruments have provisions on equality between men and women, and each emphasizes the right to non-discrimination. Regional standards, like the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), the Istanbul Convention against violence against women and domestic violence, and the Inter- American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, complement the body of law protecting women’s rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Violence Against Women in Algeria
    FACT-SHEET ON: Violence against Women in Algeria EuroMed Rights January 2021 Rue des Comédiens 22, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium T +32 (0) 2 513 37 97 – E [email protected] - www.euromedrights.org Table of contents I - LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................ 3 a) International Conventions ..................................................................................................................................... 3 b) The Algerian Constitution ...................................................................................................................................... 3 c) The Algerian Penal Code ........................................................................................................................................ 4 d) « Le Code de la Famille » : The Family Code .......................................................................................................... 5 II - POLICY FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................................... 5 a) Monitoring ............................................................................................................................................................. 6 III - PROTECTION FRAMEWORK AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE .................................................................................. 7 a) Protection Systems, Psychological Support and Empowerment Services
    [Show full text]
  • The Istanbul Convention and the CEDAW Framework
    The Istanbul Convention and the CEDAW framework: A comparison1 of measures to prevent and combat violence against women Opened for signature in Istanbul in May 2011, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) is the first legally-binding instrument in Europe in this field, and in terms of scope, the most far reaching international treaty to tackle this serious violation of human rights. It aims at zero tolerance for such violence and is a major step forward in making Europe and beyond a safer place. By accepting the Istanbul Convention, governments are obliged to change their laws, introduce practical measures and allocate resources to effectively prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. The Istanbul Convention codifies established standards, jurisprudence and developments at international level, as well as best practice at national level, thereby lending them more weight and ensuring their wider application. Drawing in particular on the framework of measures of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and case law developed by the CEDAW Committee, it is firmly based on the premise that violence against women cannot be eradicated without investing in gender equality and that in turn, only real gender equality and a change in attitudes can truly prevent such violence. The following tables describe the manner in which the Istanbul Convention builds on the three sources that constitute the CEDAW framework: the Convention, General Recommendations and case law. The tables also show how the Istanbul Convention complements these instruments by establishing a more detailed catalogue of legally-binding obligations to prevent and respond to violence against women.
    [Show full text]
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
    DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO REPORT TO THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS FROM 2008 TO 2015 (11th, 12th and 13th Periodic Reports) AND OF THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN FROM 2005 TO 2015 (INITIAL REPORT and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Periodic Reports) Table of Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................ 4 Part A: Implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.................... ... 5 General Background ......................................................................................................... 5 Measures taken to implement the recommendations contained in the Concluding Observations arising from consideration of the previous report ............................................................... 7 Difficulties encountered in the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the measures taken to address them................................................................................................................................ ...................32 Future Plans related to the implementation of the Charter ................................................. ..32 Measures taken to implement the recommendations made during promotion missions by special mechanisms .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Harmonizing National Abortion and Pregnancy Prevention Laws And
    Thompson et al. BMC Proceedings 2018, 12(Suppl 5):0 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12919-018-0101-5 BMC Proceedings MEETING REPORT Open Access Harmonizing national abortion and pregnancy prevention laws and policies for sexual violence survivors with the Maputo Protocol: proceedings of a 2016 regional technical meeting in sub-Saharan Africa Jill Thompson1, Chi-Chi Undie2*, Avni Amin3, Brooke Ronald Johnson3, Rajat Khosla3, Leopold Ouedraogo4, Triphonie Nkurunziza4, Sara Rich5, Elizabeth Westley6, Melissa Garcia6, Harriet Birungi2 and Ian Askew3 From Harmonizing National Abortion and Pregnancy Prevention Laws and/or Policies for Survivors of Sexual Violence with the Maputo Protocol Lusaka, Zambia. 11-13 April 2016 Abstract In April 2016, the Population Council, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception, convened a regional meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, geared toward supporting countries in East and Southern Africa in meeting their obligations under the Maputo Protocol. These obligations include expanding access to women’s reproductive health services – especially women survivors of sexual violence. Government and civil society representatives from six countries participated: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. Countries were selected based on to their being priority settings for the projects that sponsored the meeting, coupled with the fact that they were each far enough along in addressing post-rape care to be able to develop concrete policy, programming, and/or legal action plans by the end of the meeting. The meeting was the first activity in a joint project of technical assistance by the conveners, aimed at strengthening access to comprehensive post-rape care for survivors of sexual violence.
    [Show full text]