Over 60 MPs have called for Theresa May to ratify the Istanbul Convention – a crucial piece of legislation that, if implemented, would be a milestone step in ending violence towards women.

Governments that agree to the Convention essentially pledge to protest women from violence through various means; training professionals in close contact with survivors; regularly running awareness-building campaigns; addressing the issue in schools; setting up teaching programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence and sex offenders; and involving the media in eradicating gender stereotypes.

David Cameron signed a commitment to executing the legislation in January 2014, saying he hoped to ratify the Convention "in the next few months".

The facts are harrowing indeed. On average, two women in England and Wales are killed every week by a current or former male partner and 85,000 women are raped and more than 400,000 sexually assaulted each year.

Volunteer-led campaign group IC Change are therefore urging MPs to vote on it on 16 December. Scottish National party MP Eilidh Whiteford has launched a private bill calling on the government to implement the Convention, arguing that, "It is no longer a valid excuse to say there is not enough parliamentary time to take forward the necessary changes to domestic legislation."

22 countries across Europe have already ratified the Convention, including Italy, France, Spain, Sweden and Portugal. The UK remain woefully behind.

In addition, Labour MP Seema Malhotra has written a letter to Theresa May, calling for her to ratify the legislation and honour her pledge to tackle violence against women and girls.

...

From: Harper's BAZAAR UK
Headshot of Ella Alexander
Ella Alexander
Ella Alexander is Harper’s Bazaar's Deputy Digital Editor. She writes across all sections, covering fashion, arts and feminism – from fashion features and shopping galleries to celebrity interviews and long-form opinion pieces. She lives in South London and has an ardent love for Keith Richards, Gary Barlow, AA Gill, George Orwell and Patti Smith (not in order). Her favourite film is The Labyrinth, mostly because of David Bowie, and she is distinguishable through her self-titled ‘Jeremy Corbyn baker boy hat’. She recently achieved relative fame after the Clooneys named their twins, Ella and Alexander, after her.