Your trusted source

Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Liliane Maury Pasquier issued statement on the International Women’s Day celebrated annually on 8 March.

In his statement, Jagland said we are achieving vital goals to end violence against women, more progress is needed.

“Ever since it was signed in Istanbul in 2011, the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (known as “Istanbul convention”) has proven to be an increasingly effective and recognised international legal instrument,” the CoE chief said, adding Azerbaijan and Russia still have not signed the Istanbul convention, while 12 Council of Europe member states, including Armenia, have signed, but have not ratified the document yet.

PACE President Liliane Maury Pasquier urged strong action against sexism and violence against women, driven by ongoing inequality between women and men.

“What the #MeToo movement revealed is just the tip of the iceberg. Alas, that is only one of the many faces of violence against women, ranging from sexism and harassment through to physical violence, beatings, rape and murder,” she pointed out.

“To truly eradicate the roots of violence against women, we need women and men everywhere to take a strong stand, greater numbers of women in politics, and stronger legal tools,” she said.

"Violence against women is omnipresent; it affects all areas, undermining the very foundations of our democratic societies. That is why I invite you, on this Women's Day, to mobilise to stop violence against women by declaring:

#NotInMyHome, #NotInMyCity, #NotInMyOffice, #NotInMyUniversity, #NotInMyHospital, #NotInMyFactory, #NotInMyCountry, #NotinMyClass, #NotInMyNeighbourhood...” reads the statement.

PACE has also launched #NotInMyParliament campaign to put an end to sexual harassment and violence against women in parliaments.