Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants: Factsheet – ‘Istanbul Convention’ can be used to ensure protection for all women who experience violence
On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2018, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) has published a new factsheet on the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), which entered into force on 1 August 2014, is the first comprehensive legal instrument on violence against women.
As of 12 February 2018, 28 states have ratified – and so are legally bound by – the Istanbul Convention.
The Convention is a milestone for undocumented women and for women with precarious residence status because it expressly forbids discrimination based on migration status and requires states to make it possible for women whose status is dependent on a violent partner or spouse to obtain an independent residence status.
The factsheet explains key provisions which can be used to ensure protection and access to counselling services, shelter and other services for undocumented migrant women. It also outlines how civil society can contribute to the monitoring process of the Convention’s implementation in different countries.
View the factsheet here.
