In June 2012 the UK signed the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention which aims to protect women from violence.
The government undertook to ratify the Convention as soon as forced marriage was criminalised. This happened in June 2014.
However, the UK is still to ratify the Convention.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights have investigated the UK’s progression towards ratification and found that our government consistently fails to implement practical action pursuant to the aims of the Convention.
For example, the committee believes that violence against women should be included in the national curricula, and the Department of Education should provide more resources and guidance to schools on how to teach and deal with it.77% of parents agreed, saying not enough was being done to educate children about the issue.
Furthermore, although the government appointment Nicky Morgan MP as the Minister for Women, it is argued that a government official should be given responsibility to coordinate all government measures relating to the issue to ensure that these are as efficient as possible.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, please contact RISE, a local charity who help victims of violence.
