The BIK strongly condemns Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and demands consequences for German-Turkish and European-Turkish relations. The “Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence”, known as the Istanbul Convention, is the result of decades of effort by the women’s movement to combat violence against all women and girls at every level.
The fears of recent months have now been confirmed. President Erdoğan has signed a decree by which Turkey intends to unconstitutionally withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Even within the EU, there are states that have put ratification of the Convention on ice or are considering withdrawing from it. This is the result of a development that has been smouldering for years, aimed at massively restricting the rights of women and girls to a life free from violence. Women’s struggle for equality and self-determination is facing vehement attacks due to the resurgence of patriarchal, nationalist, and authoritarian trends and politics.
Germany and the EU must now ensure that this development is not adopted by other countries within the EU. Women and girls in Turkey must not be denied the realisation of their rights enshrined in the Istanbul Convention; Germany and the EU must take a strong stand for this.
In solidarity with the women’s movement, women, and the LBTIQ* and refugee women in Turkey who are currently under particular attack, the BIK appeals to the Federal Government:
- To call upon Turkey, within the framework of the current Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, to immediately reverse this step.
- As a current member of the EU Trio Presidency, to work without delay to ensure that Turkey’s withdrawal has consequences for German and EU relations with Turkey. The country’s human rights violations and anti-democratic developments must no longer be ignored.
- To resolutely counteract any further efforts by other signatory states, such as Poland or Hungary, to block the agreement or withdraw from it.
- To push forward the ratification of the Convention at EU level and in all EU member states, as well as its consistent and unconditional implementation in Germany – also with regard to Article 59 and thus the unconditional protection of refugee women from violence.
In 2018, leading women’s rights organisations, federal associations, and experts focusing on violence against women and girls in Germany joined forces to form the Istanbul Convention Alliance. The aim of the alliance is to monitor and promote the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Germany and to strengthen public awareness of the rights and obligations arising from the Convention. More information at www.buendnis-istanbul-konvention.de.
Member organisations: BAG Autonome Mädchenhäuser, BAG FORSA e.V., BAG kommunaler Frauenbüros, BAG Täterarbeit Häusliche Gewalt e.V., BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V., bff – Frauen gegen Gewalt e.V., BIG e.V., BVFeSt e.V., CORA – stark machen e.V., DaMigra e.V., Deutscher Frauenrat e.V., djb e.V., Frauenhauskoordinierung e.V., GESINE Intervention e.V., JUMEN e.V., KOK e.V., medica mondiale e.V., MIA e.V.i.G, S.I.G.N.A.L. e. V., Weibernetz e. V., Zentrale Informationsstelle Autonomer Frauenhäuser
Advisory experts: Prof. Dr Ariane Brenssell, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel; Karin Heisecke, political consultant and expert on violence against women; Dr Monika Schröttle, Research and Monitoring Centre on Gender, Violence, Human Rights (FOBES) at the Institute for Empirical Sociology, Nuremberg
Contact for the alliance: Dr Carolin Anthes, Coordinator of the Istanbul Convention Alliance, (030) 204569-17, anthes@frauenrat.de
