Final report on combating violence

Task Force to combat violence against women submitted at the end of May 2008 the final report containing Proposals for future action by the Council of Europe and its member States to prevent and combat violence against women.

The final report contains recommendations for future action by the Council of Europe and its member States to prevent and combat violence against women as follows:

5.2.1 A European human rights convention to prevent and combat violence against women

- Task Force proposes the first European convention to prevent and combat violence against women meaning that measures and standards set up in Recommendations of the Council of Europe should be obligatory for all countries signatories to the new Convention.

5.2.2 Special Rapporteur on violence against women

- There was proposals to establish such institution in Europe. Until now there are Special Rapporteurs in America (appointed in 1994), in Africa (appointed in 1998) and in the U.N. (appointed in 1994).

5.2.3 Violence against women Watch - Femicide watch:

- As a nececcary need it is adressed that all member States should undertake effective measures to prevent frequent and most blatant violations of woman`s human rights – murders of women by husbands, ex-husbands, partners and cousins;

- It is demanded also to institute the method for collecting specific data on such murders.

5.3. Recommendations at national level to prevent and combat violence against women

5.3.1 Need for a comprehensive approach in preventing and combating violence against women

- The main goal of a comprehensive and coordinated policy is to establish a well functioning “intervention system” or “intervention chain” focused on the needs of the victims;

- At the heart of such approach there is a clear definition of violence against women as gender based violence and a human rights violation;

- A national action plan (NAP) is an effective way of putting such policy into practice, should contain concrete objectives and is accompanied by a clear time framework necessary for its effective implementation;

- A government body should be set up with a mandate to coordinate, implement and monitor and evaluate policies on violence against women, and to garantee the implementation and revison of the NAP;

5.3.2 Need for adequate resources to prevent and combat violence against women:

- Member states have an obligation to devote adequate resources to the prevention of violence against women, the protection of victims and the provision of services, and the punishment of perpetrators;

- NAP should contain the detailed budget;

5.3.3 Legal measures:

- Current legal measures need to be improved in almost all Council of Europe member States and new measures need to be introduced;

- To support succesfull prosecutions of violence against women all victims should be provided with legal aid and psycho-social support and witnesses should be garanteed protection;

- Women immigrant who have been victims of violence against women should be granted and independent right to residence in order to enable them to lead a life without violence;

5.3.4 Assistance and protection of victims:

- Member States should ensure that all women victims of violence have access to services facilitating long-term re-integration in society such as financial assistance, housing, and assistance in employment;

- Member States should provide a comprehensive, country-wide and adequately resourced network of services;

- Member States should introduce standards for support services which ensure that autonomous woman’s NGOs are central in this system and that they are well-founded. Services need to be independent, specialized and proactive and ensure the coordinated cross-sectoral provision of support and advocacy. Information about the availability of these support services to each victim should be made widely known;

- Service agencies must be sensitive to the needs of victims regardless of their cultural background, legal status or economic situation;

- Member states should develop minimum standards for the provision of specialized services which includes: at least one free national helpline covering all forms of violence

against women operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week; safe accommodation in specialized women’s shelters available in every region ensuring one family place per 10000 of population; and one rape crisis centre per 200000 women (standards are from the Study on and Proposals for Minimum Standards for Violence against Women Support Services, Council of Europe,2008);

5.3.5 Data collection:

- Member States should base their policies to prevent and combat violence against women on state-of-the-art research and knowledge in this field;

- Until today all States should collect data at minimum on three levels: data directly related to the victim and the perpetrator, data related to the different stages of legal procedures and data related to the victim`s response to the violence and the consequences of the violence.

5.3.6 Raising awareness, education and training

5.3.7 The role of men:

- Member states should ensure that the NAP and other measures directly engage men in the process of eradicating violence against women

- Perpetrator programs for men should be established;

- Men should be encouraged by different measures to take on equal parenting and family responsabilities.