Gender-based violence is the number one human rights violation of women in Europe.
Democracy rests on the fundamental principle that everyone deserves equal rights and dignity and can live safely and freely. As our democracies are facing new challenges, women’s rights are increasingly called into question.
On the eve of International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women, we reaffirm that no woman should live in fear of violence.
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) is the most comprehensive international agreement for the protection of women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence. By providing a clear interpretation of core human rights principles enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, the Istanbul Convention strengthens our collective framework for action. Its significance lies not only in the legal standards it sets, but also in the shift in mindset it encourages toward zero tolerance for violence.
The Istanbul Convention sets a high standard, and it is making a real difference. Gaps in criminal legislation are being closed, as shown by the consent-based definition of rape, now a feature of many national laws across Europe. Specialist investigation and prosecution units are being set up, support services for victims are developed and rolled out, professional training is enhanced, and national or regional budgets have increased. Strategic policy documents such as national action plans are gradually modelled after the convention, and it has become a strong advocacy tool to save lives.
The promise of equal rights means little if half of humanity still faces violence in their daily lives. A democracy cannot function if women are not safe and able to take part fully. The New Democratic Pact for Europe works to strengthen democracy by ensuring real equality, and ending violence against women is vital to that effort.
Just a decade after its entry into force, the Istanbul Convention has become the bill of rights for women victims of violence in Europe. Anyone who has truly listened to women and girls seeking help after domestic abuse, sexual violence, forced marriage, stalking, or other forms of gender-based violence understands the urgency of our task and the responsibility we share to end it together.
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On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we stand united in our shared belief that a life free from violence is not an aspiration; it is a fundamental human right. Around the world, too many women and girls still face the daily reality of fear, abuse and silence. The Istanbul Convention has proven to be one of the most powerful tools for change, reshaping the way states understand their duty to protect women and girls: not as an isolated issue, but as a structural human-rights obligation. Over the past years, it has inspired countries to strengthen criminal law, improve and expand support services, enhance data and research, and embed prevention into education and policy. It has created a common language for dignity, equality and justice.
GREVIO is steadfast in accompanying Parties on this journey. Through our work, dialogue and findings, we support states in making commitments visible and tangible. At the same time, we also confront other challenges. We witness attempts to question the need for policies dedicated to ending violence against women, and efforts to undermine the human-rights framework that protects them. Emerging forms of abuse, including online and technology-facilitated violence, demand urgent attention and collective solutions. Young women and girls, increasingly exposed to sexual violence, need us to act with clarity and determination.
In these difficult times, unity is our strength. When one state steps back, every woman and every girl is placed at greater risk. When one survivor’s voice is silenced, we all lose ground. To question the principles and protections embodied in the Convention is to question the very fabric of democracy itself, for the protection of women and girls is inseparable from justice, freedom and human dignity.
Across Europe and beyond, we see remarkable resolve: legislative reforms grounded in consent and bodily autonomy, improved access to justice, deeper alignment and collaboration across the international community, and powerful examples of implementation even in contexts of war and crisis. These efforts remind us that progress is possible, real, and already unfolding. Today, let us renew our engagement to listen, to protect, to believe and to act. Let us work together to build societies where every girl grows up safe, respected and equal, and where every woman lives without fear.
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As digital technologies have a reproducing and amplifying effect on existing gender inequalities, women and girls are facing multiple risks of online and technology-facilitated sexual harassment, stalking and gender-based cybercrime. Indeed, online and technology-facilitated violence against women are exacerbating the different forms of violence against women that take place offline. Most forms of cyberviolence, including against women and girls, are criminalised but they are expanded, amplified or generalised via the Internet. Even though the impact on victims and on society at large is severe, impunity is more the rule than the exception.
As shown in a study published in December 2021 under the responsibility of the Secretariat of the Violence Against Women Division of the Council of Europe, the Istanbul Convention and the Budapest Convention can complement each other in dynamic ways: the power of the Istanbul Convention lies in recognising the gender-based nature of violence against women, while the Budapest Convention enables exercise of procedural powers and international cooperation mechanism in relation to cybercrime and any offence entailing electronic evidence. As the most far-reaching legally binding human rights treaty covering all forms of violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention can be particularly relevant to address online and technology-facilitated violence against women, while the Budapest Convention is the most relevant international legally binding treaty on cybercrime and electronic evidence and hence provides the potential to prosecute such violence against women. Indeed, the Budapest Convention, through a number of substantive criminal law provisions, addresses directly and indirectly some types of cyberviolence against women.
Council of Europe (newsroom): Statement by Secretary General
Council of Europe (newsroom): Message from the President of GREVIO
Council of Europe (newsroom): How the Council of Europe tackles online violence against women through the Convention on Cybercrime and the Istanbul Convention
Study: "Protecting women and girls from violence in the digital age – The relevance of the Istanbul Convention and the Convention on Cybercrime in addressing online and technology-facilitated violence against women"
Council of Europe: The New Democratic Pact for Europe