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Resolution 2027 (2014) Final version
Focusing on the perpetrators to prevent violence against women
1. Violence against women is a problem
from which no Council of Europe member State is immune. Despite
the increasing attention paid to this issue, the adoption of legal
instruments on the protection of victims and the growing number
of assistance programmes, the number of individuals who become victims
of domestic, physical, sexual or psychological violence remains
very high.
2. Violence against women has its roots in inequality between
women and men and is perpetuated by a culture of tolerance and denial.
It is important to combat gender-based discrimination in order to
bring about greater equality between women and men, a necessary
condition for the success of efforts to combat violence against
women and domestic violence.
3. It is also essential to emphasise prevention and the direct
involvement of men, without which there can be no lasting change.
The establishment of specific programmes for perpetrators of violence
is having a fairly positive impact as far as victim safety and the
prevention of reoffending are concerned. However, these programmes
should not be set up at the expense of assistance and support programmes
for victims of violence.
4. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210, Istanbul
Convention) stresses in Article 16 the importance of specific programmes
for perpetrators of violence and lays down the obligation for authorities
to support and to set up measures and treatment programmes for perpetrators
of domestic violence and for sex offenders designed to help them
change their attitudes, adopt non-violent behaviour and to prevent
them from reoffending.
5. In this respect, the Parliamentary Assembly welcomes the ratification
of the Istanbul Convention by 14 member States and hopes they will
be followed by others as soon as possible. It also welcomes the
setting up of programmes for perpetrators of violence in 38 member
States. The Assembly stresses the importance of accessibility to
these programmes throughout the territory of a State.
6. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
member States to:
6.1. design and
set up, with appropriate financial resources, preventive intervention
and treatment programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence and
for sex offenders throughout their territory, in close co-operation
with support services for victims of violence, health and social
services and law-enforcement and judicial authorities, if they have
not yet done so;
6.2. ensure that the programmes that are set up emphasise the
responsibility of the perpetrators of violence, stress the impact
of their actions on their partner and child/children, make them
recognise that violence against women is unacceptable and provide
long-term support for perpetrators as well as follow-up for at least
two years in order to minimise the risk of their reoffending;
6.3. put the safety of victims and respect for their human
rights at the centre of programmes for perpetrators of violence;
6.4. provide training programmes for those in charge of programmes
to treat perpetrators of violence, in accordance with internationally
recognised good practices;
6.5. share and use best practices regarding programmes for
perpetrators of violence, whether they are on a voluntary basis
or mandated by a court;
6.6. carry out regular assessments of the effectiveness of
preventive intervention and treatment programmes for perpetrators
of violence.
7. The Assembly calls on the parliaments of member States to:
7.1. engage without delay in the
process of signature and ratification of the Council of Europe Convention
on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence, if they have not yet done so, and to ensure its implementation;
7.2. make preventive intervention and treatment programmes
for perpetrators of violence better known by organising awareness-raising
events;
7.3. call for the devising and setting up of programmes for
perpetrators of violence where they do not yet exist.
8. Finally, the Assembly calls on non-governmental organisations
active in this sector to:
8.1. promote
and encourage the setting up of preventive intervention and treatment
programmes for perpetrators of violence;
8.2. continue their work on promoting the ratification and
implementation of the Istanbul Convention;
8.3. step up their activities and campaigns aimed specifically
at perpetrators of violence in order to raise awareness of the need
to combat violence against women;
8.4. stress the importance of the role of men in combating
violence against women and domestic violence and to encourage their
participation in awareness-raising activities.