A bill recently approved by the UK Parliament, the “Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act,” was given royal assent on April 27, 2017 and is now law. The new law requires the UK government to report on the steps necessary to comply with and eventually ratify the Istanbul Convention.
The Istanbul Convention, formally known as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, is the first legally binding instrument in Europe to create a comprehensive legal framework to protect women from acts of violence as well as prevent, prosecute and eliminate all forms of violence against women. The Convention entered into force in August of 2014. To date, twenty-three countries have ratified the Convention and are legally bound by its terms. Twenty-one countries have signed, but not ratified, the Convention, including the UK.
Compiled from: Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017, UK Parliament, Parliamentary Business (April 27, 2017).