On November 25, 2021, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, Steen Nørlov took part in a briefing marking the occasion of the Annual All-Ukrainian Campaign ”16-days of Activism against violence”.
Mr Nørlov noted that the Council of Europe has a strong history of supporting the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials and civil society to combat violence against women.
“The Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, is the farthest-reaching international legal text on violence against women, and is used as a basis for concrete actions to be taken by countries in and outside of Europe,” he underlined.
He emphasised that violence against women occurring offline is replicated and intensified online, and that the digital gender divide and discrimination against women is worsening. To tackle this problem, the Council of Europe this week released the first General Recommendation tied to the Istanbul Convention, which is dedicated to the digital dimension of violence against women and girls.
“Women and girls in Ukraine have the right to a life free from violence, and the Istanbul Convention leads the way. Given Covid-19, the convention is needed now more than ever before, and is key to achieving the goal of eliminating violence against women. As the Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić said when she was here 10 days ago, we will not give up on helping Ukraine in ratifying the Istanbul Convention,” stated Mr Nørlov.
The briefing was attended by:
- Olga Revuk, Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine for European Integration
- Vladyslav Mashkin, Head of the National Social Service of Ukraine
- Kateryna Pavlichenko, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
- Maryna Bardina, People's Deputy of Ukraine
- Kateryna Levchenko, Government Commissioner for Gender Policy
- Jaime Nadal, Head of UNFPA in Ukraine
- Eugeni Kuvshinov, Executive Director of the All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization "Convictus Ukraine"
Video recording of the event
