GREVIO published the first four-year General Report on its activities

Progress achieved and obstacles remained in efforts to stop violence against women

The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) presented its first General Report on its activities covering the period from June 2015 to May 2019.

GREVIO is the independent expert body mandated to monitor the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) and has been operating since September 2015.

This First General Report on GREVIO’s activities provides a comprehensive summary of the results of GREVIO’s first eight reports as well as the findings emerging from final draft reports adopted as of May 2019. The General Report addresses trends and challenges emerged in five years of country monitoring.

The experts welcome the improvements achieved by member States in implementing the Istanbul Convention and GREVIO’s recommendations. Laws and policies have been implemented to combat violence against women and domestic violence in line with the convention’s provisions. In particular, member States have created national coordination mechanisms and made efforts to support structures for the victims and promote awareness-raising and training initiatives for professionals and the general public.

Despite the progress achieved, the General Report outlines some persistent challenges. For example, political and financial support to establish effective national co-ordination mechanisms remains insufficient. Some mechanisms do not satisfy the standards set forth by the convention. The GREVIO has also noted a lack of sustainable, comprehensive and holistic approach in many national action plans. In addition, the number of specialist support services for victims of violence is still insufficient in many countries, and its funding remains extremely volatile. A further worrying trend is the inadequate application the of legal provisions providing for protection measures and/or protection orders and the inadequate execution of such orders. The GREVIO also criticises the “gender-neutral” approach of legal provisions and policy documents that address domestic violence in some countries.

The full report is available at the link below: