The Istanbul Convention has finally gained its strength. How will the fight against violence change in Latvia?

The essence of the Convention is to prevent domestic violence and violence against women in any form and to promote radical change to address this serious violation of human rights. The Istanbul Convention recognizes that not only women suffer from domestic violence, but also children and men – so the Convention applies to any member of society.

Read more: A “bubbler” or a real helper in the fight against violence – what is the Istanbul Convention?

The objectives of the Convention are:

• reduce all forms of discrimination against women and girls and promote equality between women and men;
• protect women and girls from all forms of violence, prevent, punish and reduce violence against women and domestic violence;
• implement comprehensive measures to protect and assist all victims of violence against women and domestic violence;
• promote international cooperation with the aim of reducing violence against women and domestic violence;
• to provide support and assistance for the effective cooperation of organizations and law enforcement agencies, creating a joint approach to reducing violence against women and in the family.

Laws have been amended before, but there is no shortage of “homework”.

As Beata Jonite, political coordinator of the “Marta” center, stated in the TV3 program “900 seconds”, drastic changes in the field of violence will not change from May 1, including all laws will not be amended. This is because the necessary changes in the legislation have already been made over the years, as the country prepares for the ratification of the convention.

For example, rehabilitation services have already been introduced for victims and perpetrators of violence. Tools have been put in place to separate the perpetrator from the victim in order to reduce the incidence of repeated violence, etc.

Also, in recent months, a regulation on sexual harassment has been created, namely Article 40 of the Convention. “We’ve never had one. Has been only in the labor law. Currently, in this regard, the amount of punishment with administrative or criminal responsibility is being discussed. The Saeima has already voted for electronic monitoring in several readings. Also, there are changes regarding emotional violence, the temporary protection system. Several trainings have also been started, which will serve in the long term,” says Jonite.

True, there is still some “homework” on which statesmen will have to work more actively in the future. For example, currently there are no centers in Latvia for persons who have suffered from sexual violence – such a requirement is also part of the Istanbul Convention, says Jonite. Also, Latvia will have to implement a plan for the prevention of violence – currently this plan has already been created and is awaiting approval.

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