The convention obliges states-party to take action to provide information, help and protection to all victims, regardless of social status, languages spoken or physical location. It requires:

Setting up such support services for victims is only the beginning of the solution. This convention stipulates that victims be informed of their rights and know where and how to get help.

Monitoring

Often confused with the European Union, the larger (47-member) and more longstanding (since 1949) Council of Europe is a convention-based organisation which promotes human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Its landmark convention is the European Convention of Human Rights, which led to the creation of the European Court of Human Rights.

Several essential Council of Europe conventions which followed include “monitoring mechanisms”, such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which regularly reports on conditions in prisons and places of detention (based on the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). In this vein, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence will include a monitoring procedure: ratification alone is not enough.

According to a recent analysis of legislation and practice in combating violence against women by Council of Europe member states, governments have already adopted promising initiatives and measures which reflect convention guidelines. And with the help of NGOs, like Human Rights Watch, convention guidelines are publicised and governments face pressure from civil society to make changes for the better.

But the 80-page analysis, published by the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission, also points to gaps and shortcomings which will require effective monitoring.  A Turkish news report indicates that maintaining the standards of the convention will be a daunting challenge there, even though Turkey has ratified it. Indeed, based on the Council of Europe’s detailed analysis, such challenges lie ahead for all 47 Council of Europe member states—from Cyprus, where there are fewer than one third of the number of shelter beds recommended, to Hungary, where police do not regularly receive appropriate specific initial training on violence against women, prevention and intervention. Switzerland has not introduced a legal basis for competent authorities to issue emergency barring orders. In Latvia and Ukraine, not all sexual acts against non-consenting persons are a criminal offence. Much work lies ahead for these and other member states.

Urging remaining members to sign and ratify the convention, in a video message the secretary general, Thorbjørn Jagland, said: “One of the great strengths of the convention is that it creates an independent group of experts who will report on how governments comply with its standards.” The group, which is expected to meet in the first trimester of 2015, will invite national parliaments to participate in monitoring procedures and will gather additional information from NGOs. Should a particular issue require attention, the monitoring group could travel to the country in question for an inquiry.

Although too late to help that young woman who was murdered in Sweden, the Council of Europe’s treaty will assist many women and their families who risk facing future violence. The convention will improve prevention and protection and should lead to more investigations, prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators of violence.

*As of this writing, 14 governments have ratified the treaty: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey; another 22 have signed. Although the treaty is open to all countries in the world, it will be important to focus on Council of Europe member states especially since 11 have neither signed nor ratified the convention: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation.