Istanbul Convention in force since August 1, 2014!

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence entered into force on 1 August. Known as the Istanbul Convention, it clearly states that no form of violence against women can and must not be acceptable, and therefore all state institutions must create mechanisms to respond effectively to every case of violence and discrimination. The document highlights the need for coordinated action by policymakers, state institutions at all levels, and civil society. In order to prevent gender-based violence, it is also necessary to promote equality and legally ensure mechanisms for protection against gender-based discrimination.
According to the most comprehensive survey to date, conducted last year by the FRA (European Agency for the Protection of Fundamental Rights) on a representative sample of 48,000 women, 331,000 women in the European Union have experienced sexual or physical violence since the age of 15. That is 62,000,000 women. Of the victims of domestic violence, 761,000 have never reported the violence to anyone. These two figures alone show how necessary this Convention was and why it is important as an instrument of pressure on states to take more serious steps to prevent and combat widespread gender-based violence.
The Convention entered into force after being signed and ratified by fourteen Council of Europe member states: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Denmark, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. Twenty-two states have signed but not ratified it.
Look at the miracle, Croatia has not managed to ratify this extremely important document in three years. The Ministry of Social Policy and Youth, obviously, has much more important work to do than deal with violence against women. I guess we should not be surprised - after all, there is only one woman at the head of the ministry!!!!