A new Council of Europe report on violence against women in Estonia has highlighted that country’s efforts to deliver support, protection and justice for victims. However, further action is required in a number of areas to fully comply with the Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (known as the “Istanbul Convention”).
This is the Council of Europe’s Group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence’s (GREVIO) first thematic evaluation report on Estonia against the Istanbul Convention.
Legal rape and domestic-violence definitions in line with the convention
Today’s report notably welcomes the introduction of a consent-based definition of rape in criminal law, based on the “only yes means yes” model. This is a step towards strengthening victims’ trust in the criminal-justice system by recognising sexual violence beyond the previous force-based definition of rape and enhancing accountability for perpetrators.
Other positive developments include the introduction of a definition of domestic violence in the Victim Support Act that complies with the convention, the development of a body of research to support evidence-based policymaking in the area of preventing and combatting violence against women, and the revision of school curricula to better integrate mandatory sexuality education across all levels of education.
GREVIO also welcomes the additional resources provided to strengthen the capacity of women’s support centres to better respond to certain groups of women exposed to intersectional discrimination, including women fleeing the war in Ukraine. It also praises the opening of a new sexual-assault centre in Saaremaa, the country’s largest island, making services accessible to a greater number of victims of sexual violence.
GREVIO calls for comprehensive policy framework
Despite these positive steps, the report notes the continued lack of a comprehensive and coordinated policy framework addressing all forms of violence against women and the absence of mandatory in-service training for many relevant professional groups.
Moreover, while the multi-agency risk assessment conference model (MARAC) is consistently applied throughout the country, differences in their composition and working methods have resulted in regional disparities.
GREVIO is also concerned by the fact that violence against women and its impact on children is not systematically taken into account in decisions concerning custody and visitation rights. The report further calls for policy and legislative responses that keep pace with emerging trends in violence against women, highlighting the growing prevalence of online and technology-facilitated violence against women, legal gaps hindering accountability for image-based abuse, and the increasing normalisation of stereotypical gender attitudes among young people, particularly boys, including in digital environments.
GREVIO has identified a number of areas which require action by the authorities.
These include the need to ensure sustainable funding for policies addressing violence against women and domestic violence, systematically collect and analyse criminal justice data on violence against women and improve data collection on the healthcare sector’s response to violence against women.
GREVIO also calls for stronger measures promoting victims’ economic independence and recovery, improved access to specialist support, such as legal counselling, and services especially for women exposed to intersectional discrimination.
Furthermore, the report underlines the need to increase the use and effectiveness of emergency barring, restraining and protection orders, particularly in view of the very limited duration of emergency barring orders and of the absence of proactive monitoring mechanisms such as electronic bracelets, and the need to ensure effective sanctions for their breaches. It also urges the authorities to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of all forms of violence against women through proactive evidence gathering.
In addition, improvements are required in areas such as the evaluation of awareness-raising and prevention initiatives, access to specialist support services for women residing in closed institutions, access to long-term psychological support for victims of sexual violence and the use of data collected by social welfare services to support evidence-based policymaking.
The report has been published together with the response of the Estonian authorities.
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GREVIO is the independent expert body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the “Istanbul Convention”) by the Parties. Open for signature to any country in the world in addition to the 46 Council of Europe member states, the treaty has been ratified so far by 38 states and the European Union, and signed by another six.
Read more about the Council of Europe’s work for gender equality
