- The Council of Europe Convention to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence will commence this year and stresses the need to strengthen legal framework most of the countries.
- In particular, the plight of victims living in abusive relationships in Hungary, Belgium and Turkey have come to the fore, and is the main focus of the Istanbul Convention, a 47-member strong human rights commission.
- It seeks to address the psychological effects of violence among adults in the family on children, protection for male victims where relevant, a monitoring mechanism and prosecution of the accused.
- Increase in the number of Instances of domestic and sexual violence against women, particularly in migrant women by their intimate partners has led its classification as a public health phenomenon of epidemic proportions.
- 1 in every 3 women have experienced physical or sexual assault.
- The per capita costs related to health, economic justice and social services in this comes in the range of €9.2 to €555 annually. The trend is observed worldwide.
- In Asia, this is furthered by abortion of female foetuses which has now distorted the gender ratios of the population in the 0-6 age group.
- The European Convention may serve as a model for developing countries to strengthen their own institutional frameworks dealing with issues of domestic and sexual violence. Proactive policies and accountability play a main role in upholding the dignity of women.
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/of-epidemic-proportions/article5991266.ece
Exams Perspective:
- Istanbul Convention
- Women Empowerment
- Millenium Development Goals (MDG)
- Infanticide
- Foeticide
- Sex Ratio
- Domestic Violence Act (DVA)