In order to support civil society organisations (CSOs) in promoting the principles, objectives, and provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE) Network together with the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Division and UN Women have developed a methodology with pertinent advocacy resources and tools.
This methodology will assist CSOs in running national communication and advocacy campaigns on the Istanbul Convention. The Istanbul Convention will be the subject of positive narratives produced by CSOs using this methodology, which will also help debunk myths and false information about the convention. Both ratifying the Istanbul Convention and improving the standard of its implementation are possible goals of the campaigns. It is anticipated that spreading awareness of the Istanbul Convention in a simple and accessible manner among the targeted groups will help tackle domestic violence and prevent violence against women in the long run.
In 2021, this methodology was piloted by selected CSOs with expertise and experience in work related to combatting violence against women and domestic violence in three countries: Czech Republic, Latvia, and Poland. Lessons learned and recommendations were taken into consideration in the development of the methodological package which is now available for use by CSOs in all Council of Europe member states.
The full package can be downloaded here:
- Methodology to run awareness-raising campaigns
- Checklist for CSOs to run awareness-raising campaigns
- Factsheet “Why do we need the Istanbul Convention? Common Myths and Misconceptions”
- Brochure “Why do we need the Istanbul Convention? What Changes it can bring and what measures have been adopted to comply with it”
- Poster “Istanbul Convention requirement of putting the needs and rights of victims at the heart of services. What does this mean for victims?”
- Infographic “Journey of a domestic violence survivor to access support services WITH the support of the Istanbul Convention and WITHOUT the support of the Istanbul Convention”
- Knowledge pack (other visibility materials, documents, and examples)
Communication and Advocacy Campaigns
Within the Council of Europe project “Ending violence against women: multi-country programme”, the following civil society organisations will implement projects to support awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns to promote the values, aims and provisions of the Istanbul Convention in the period from November 2022 until May 2023. The projects will use the joint methodology developed by Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE) Network together with the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Division and UN Women.
Hungary
- Hungarian Women’s Lobby in consortium with NANE Women’s Rights Association and Patent Association, Hungary
