Istanbul Convention: An Ineffective and Expensive Exercise in Blind Faith

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

Istanbul Convention: An Ineffective and Expensive Exercise in Blind Faith

March 27, 2023 – The Istanbul Convention calls for a broad range of research efforts to support implementation of the policy. Among other data collection requirements, Article 11 of the Convention mandates, for example, that “Parties shall endeavour to conduct population-based surveys at regular intervals to assess the prevalence of and trends in all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.” (1)

But the GREVIO Expert Group reports these essential provisions have been widely ignored. Its recent Mid-term Review reveals (2):

“In a number of countries, including in Andorra, Austria, Finland, Portugal, and Turkey, GREVIO pointed out that such research is weak or lacking altogether.”
“GREVIO noted deficiencies in the support given to academic institutions and researchers to carry out research on violence against women in its baseline evaluation reports on Albania, Italy, and Montenegro.”
“in its baseline evaluation reports on Albania, Finland, Montenegro, and Turkey, GREVIO noted an absence of population‑based surveys that address forms of violence against women other than domestic violence.”

Of greater concern, the policies being promoted under the Istanbul Convention may be ineffective, or actually make things worse. For example, the Convention repeatedly calls for the issuance of restraining orders – but numerous studies show such orders are ineffective in stopping physical abuse (3). And many countries routinely arrest persons who are accused of domestic violence. But research conducted in the United States reveals that mandatory arrest can increase subsequent partner homicides (4).

Many billions of euros have been allocated to addressing the domestic violence issue over the past decade (5). For example, the European Union pledged 500 million euros in 2017 (6), and France allocated an additional 360 million euros (7).

But a recent report from Spain reveals that only 3% of these funds are going to help abused persons, while 97% ends up supporting the operational expenses of feminist organizations. Lawyer Yobana Carril concluded tartly, “Today, feminism is big business.” (8)

Fortunately, high-quality research is being conducted across the continent (9, 10). These studies show that men and women are equally likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence (11), and women are more likely to engage in making false allegations (12).

The question is, Will lawmakers choose to follow the blind vagaries of a Marxist-inspired gender ideology, or base domestic violence policies on the findings of peer-reviewed science?

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 75 member organizations from 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and sex-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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