On 12 October 2021, the action “Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in Azerbaijan” delivered the third of a series of webinars dedicated to explaining specific articles of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in Azerbaijan.

The aim of these series of webinars is to provide accurate information on the Convention in view of contributing to the debate at the national level on why Azerbaijan should join it. The third webinar was dedicated to Article 16 of the Istanbul Convention on programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence.

During the webinar, an international expert on violence against women and the Istanbul Convention and with expertise in victim’s support services and perpetrator programmes, briefly presented the Istanbul Convention and its so-called 4 pillars: prevention of violence, protection of victims, prosecution of perpetrators and co-ordinated policies and elaborated on how perpetrator programmes can help prevent further violence against women in society. Following the presentation of the main principles and standards for perpetrator programmes, the expert, based on the experience of countries such as Scotland and Austria, showcased what works in practice and what are the remaining challenges. During the Q&A session, important issues were raised, such as the mandatory or voluntary nature to attendance to these type of programmes by perpetrators, or the victim’s involvement in the programme and how they should be kept informed and be a part of the rehabilitation process to avoid manipulation by the perpetrator.

The final webinar in 2021 will focus on ‘Emergency Barring Orders in Situations of Domestic Violence: Article 52 of the Istanbul Convention’.

This activity took place under the joint action ‘Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in Azerbaijan’ implemented within the second phase of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme on Partnership for Good Governance (PGGII) in the Eastern Partnership countries. Among other objectives, the joint action seeks to support the Azerbaijani authorities to sign the Istanbul Convention.

For further information on the project, please visit the project’s website.

Further information on PGGII is available on the PGGII’s website.