Istanbul Convention: Benefits & Impact Explained

The Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) monitors how Latvia fulfills its obligations under the Istanbul Convention.

This means that Latvia regularly submits reports to GREVIO (the first and so far the only one of them has become the basis of this article). In addition, experts regularly visit Latvia to personally assess what is happening.

After an incredible coincidence of circumstances, the first visit of the experts is taking place right now – from November 3 to 7.

GREVIO experts will meet with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the State Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture and other state institutions, as well as representatives of NGOs and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Thus, an additional level of control is provided for the work of the Latvian government, which allows us to state with greater confidence that everything promised and necessary will be done.

It is important to clarify that Latvia ratified the Istanbul Convention on November 30, 2023. And it entered into force on May 10, 2024 – only a year and a half ago. In this article, we focused specifically on what has been accomplished in the last one and a half to two years.

At the same time, it should be remembered that Latvia signed the convention on May 18, 2016. And a lot of the things mentioned in the report were done right in 2016-2023. during the period of the year, including thanks to the signing of the convention: individual programs, bills, helplines, etc. So the Istanbul Convention has a very specific utility.

Another argument of the supporters of denouncing the convention reads as follows: “We can defend women and victims of domestic violence even without the convention.”

Maybe we can. But for some reason we did not defend.

The project “Faktomats” or “Truth Flash” is supported by the European Media and Information Fund (EMIF). Full responsibility for the content of any project supported by EMIF rests with the author(s) of this content and this content may not coincide with the position of EMIF and the fund’s partners – the Kalsta Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.