Ukraine’s parliament on Nov. 25 saw a rare moment of unity as it marked the International Day for the Elimination of All Violence Against Women.
Highlighting the need
for the legislature to ratify the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, lawmakers and performers read out
the documentary play “Seven” in the Verkhovna Rada.
The play includes interviews
with seven women fighting for women’s rights around the globe. Hundreds of
lawmakers watched the performance and responded with standing ovations, a stark
contrast from the often noisy and chaotic sessions that take place in the
legislature.
Endorsed by President
Petro Poroshenko and parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Groysman, work was
underway to prepare legislation needed for the nation to ratify the Convention,
the Swedish Ambassador to Ukraine Andreas von Beckerath told the Kyiv Post.
“Domestic violence is a matter of
national security, because security begins at home,” he stated.
In his words, it is “a
good time now” for Ukraine to ratify the convention because armed conflict in
other regions of the world has been seen to lead to an increase in domestic
violence. With many of the 1.5 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine
being women and children, von Beckerath said, they were especially vulnerable.
The event was
co-organized by the Verkhovna Rada, the Embassy of Sweden, the Council of
Europe and the International Charitable Foundation Ukrainian Women’s Fund.
Initiated in 2011, the convention
came into force in 2014. It was signed by 40 countries, including Ukraine, but
only ratified by 19.
Focusing on preventing
domestic violence, protecting victims and prosecuting accused offenders, the
Convention “is based on the understanding that violence against women is a form
of gender-based violence that is committed against women because they are
women. It is the obligation of the state to fully address it in all its forms
and to take measures to prevent violence against women, protect its victims and
prosecute the perpetrators,” according to the Council of Europe website.
