Policy paper

Ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on combating violence against women and girls and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) – report on progress 2018 (accessible version)

Published 30 October 2018

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

October 2018

Introduction

This is the second annual report laid before Parliament in accordance with the requirements of section 2 of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017^{[footnote 1]}. It follows the first Report on Progress, which was laid in Parliament on 1 November 2017 and set out progress toward ratification since the UK signed the Convention in 2012.

This report provides an overview of the UK’s progress toward ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (“the Istanbul Convention”), and measures taken forward since the first Report on Progress. The Convention covers both reserved and devolved areas, and this report therefore covers the whole of the UK.

In line with the requirements of the 2017 Act, this report sets out:

• the administrative measures taken by the Government to enable the UK to ratify the Istanbul Convention;
• the legislative proposals brought forward, including those in the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales, to enable the UK to ratify the Convention; and
• the measures to be taken and legislation required to enable the UK to ratify the Convention.

It is set out in line with the Istanbul Convention’s key objectives of:

• Integrated policy
• Prevention
• Protection
• Prosecution

Executive summary

Protecting women and girls from violence and abuse, and supporting victims and survivors remain key priorities for this Government. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a serious crime and has a huge impact both for those subjected to such violence and more broadly on our economy, health services, and the criminal justice system. Prevalence of VAWG remains too high; in the UK, 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime. Globally this rises to 1 in 3.

The Government signed the Istanbul Convention in 2012 to reaffirm the UK’s strong commitment to tackling VAWG. The Convention consists of 81 articles aimed at tackling VAWG which focus on prevention, protection of victims, prosecution, and integrated policies. As set out in the 2017 Report on Progress, the UK already complies with virtually all of the Convention’s articles. A key element of the Convention is making sure that ratifying states can use their national law to prosecute offences required by the Convention when those offences are committed by their nationals or residents overseas (Article 44). The legal term for powers to allow prosecution in the UK of offences committed overseas is ‘extraterritorial jurisdiction’. Taking extraterritorial jurisdiction over offences required by the Convention that are not currently subject to such jurisdiction requires primary legislation. As indicated below, the necessary legislative measures for England and Wales will be included in the forthcoming draft Domestic Abuse Bill.

Since the 2017 Report on Progress, we have continued to step up our efforts to combat VAWG. In March 2016 we published our cross-Government VAWG Strategy, which sets out our approach to tackling all forms of VAWG, including domestic abuse, so called ‘honour-based’ violence, stalking and sexual violence. The Strategy recognises the gendered nature of these crimes, and commits to continuing to challenge deep-rooted social norms, attitudes and behaviours that discriminate against and limit women and girls across all communities. The Strategy is underpinned by £100m of funding. This session, we will refresh the Strategy to ensure that we are doing all that we can to tackle these crimes which disproportionately affect women. The refresh will reaffirm the Government’s commitment to tackling all forms of VAWG, capture new programmes of work, including the new draft Domestic Abuse Bill, and provide an update on the delivery of existing actions.

As the 2017 Report on Progress set out, since signing the Convention in 2012 we have strengthened the law, introduced new protective tools, and issued a range of guidance and support for frontline professionals. But we know there is more to do. That is why in March 2018 we launched our ‘transforming the response to domestic abuse’ consultation on what more we can do to protect and support victims, recognise the life-long impact domestic abuse can have on children and make sure agencies effectively respond to domestic abuse. As part of this, we have consulted widely with partners on the legislative and non-legislative steps we can take to ensure victims are afforded the greatest possible protection. The consultation closed on 31 May - we received over 3,200 responses which we are currently analysing.

We will be publishing a Government response and a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill later this session. The draft Bill will include the provisions on extraterritorial jurisdiction over the specific offences necessarily for compliance with the Convention in England and Wales.

We have also consulted on the following measures:

• create a legal definition of domestic abuse to ensure it is properly understood as more than just isolated incidents of violence;
• create a new domestic abuse prevention notice and order to provide clearer pathways of protection for victims;
• make sure that if abusive behaviour involves a child, that the court can hand down a sentence that reflects the devastating life-long impact that abuse has on the child; and
• establish a Domestic Abuse Commissioner, to stand up for victims and survivors, raise public awareness, monitor the response of statutory agencies and local authorities and hold the justice system to account in tackling domestic abuse.

Devolved administrations

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s ‘Stopping Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Strategy’ 2016 defines ‘domestic violence and abuse’ and ‘sexual violence and abuse’ in line with the Istanbul Convention and acknowledges that anyone can be a victim irrespective of age, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any form of disability. The Strategy identifies the need to raise awareness and to promote a zero tolerance approach to domestic and sexual violence and abuse. An Information and Communication Plan has been developed to support the Strategy and promote the delivery of the initiatives under it.

Scotland

The Scottish Government is implementing Equally Safe, Scotland’s Strategy to tackle all forms of VAWG - working with stakeholders to prevent violence from occurring in the first place, build the capability and capacity of mainstream and specialist services to support survivors and those at risk, and strengthen the Justice response to victims and perpetrators. Scotland is investing significant levels of funding to prevent and eradicate VAWG: £11.8 million (2018-19) from the equality budget to support a range of projects and initiatives, and an additional £20 million over 2015-18 from justice budgets. This justice funding has continued into 2018/19, primarily to support a number of existing funding allocations committed over the initial three year period.

Wales

The Welsh Government has taken forward a range of measures to tackle Violence Against Women, including a National Strategy on Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) (2016-21) and the appointment of two national advisers. In addition, the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 (“the 2015 Act”) aims to improve the public sector response in Wales to these crimes.

The Welsh Government provides funding to local authorities and third sector organisations to deliver direct service provision to support and protect victims; strategic coordination of services at a local level, and training. More recently, the funding has been directed towards delivering the objectives of the 2015 Act.

During 2018-2019 an additional £500K was provided for services that support victims and survivors of VAWDASV. The total VAWDASV budget for 2018-2019 is £5 million.

Integrated policy

Tackling VAWG requires an effectively co-ordinated multi-agency response. The Convention places a strong focus on the importance of multi-agency working and having national strategies in place to ensure a co-ordinated approach. As set out in the 2017 Report, since signing the Convention in 2012, the UK has continued to put measures in place to encourage agencies to work across boundaries and ensure greater consistency. These include:

• the publication of our cross-Government VAWG Strategy in March 2016 which sets out our ambition to drive a transformation in service provision and ensure that VAWG is ‘everyone’s business’;
• a National Statement of Expectations (NSE), published in December 2016, which sets out a clear blueprint for local action, including what local Commissioners need to put in place to ensure their response to VAWG is collaborative, robust and effective, and the importance of considering how services will be accessible to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME), disabled, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT), and older victims and survivors; and
• increased funding of £100 million (this includes: the £17 million VAWG transformation fund, £7.2 million annually to fund 97 rape support centres, and £40m for two tranches of the Domestic Abuse Accommodation Fund, the first of which is supporting 76 projects creating 2,200 new bed spaces in refuges).

Since last year’s Report on Progress, we have taken a range of further action to build on this.

The 2017/18 Tampon Tax fund launched in April 2017 and has provided around £17 million to causes focusing on improving the lives of disadvantaged women and girls, and £15 million in the 2018/19 funding round. The fund included a specific category for organisations supporting women and girls affected by violence or abuse as well as those working to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls more generally.

The Home Office is providing £150,000 to carry out research on the nature and prevalence of sex work in England and Wales. This is being carried out by the University of Bristol and we expect the final report to be ready in spring 2019.

To improve understanding of the prevalence of so-called ‘honour-based violence’ including forced marriage, earlier this year we amended the police Annual Data Requirement (ADR) to give police forces the opportunity, from April 2018, to record on a voluntary basis where a crime has been committed in the context of preserving the ‘honour’ of a family or community.

International work

The UK is proud to be demonstrating international leadership in our commitment to ending VAWG. We are investing in world-leading research and innovation on what works to prevent these crimes. For example, the Department for International Development’s “What Works to Prevent Violence” flagship programme is generating world-leading innovation and evidence on the most effective interventions to drive down global rates of violence against women and girls. This work is pioneering approaches across 12 countries in Africa and Asia to deliver lasting change. Throughout 2018, What Works is releasing new evidence on preventing violence for women and girls in some of the world’s most challenging contexts. Initial results have shown a significant reduction in violence against women and girls of over 50%, providing robust evidence that these crimes are preventable.

Devolved administrations

Northern Ireland

The central focus of the Northern Ireland administration is on ‘improving wellbeing for all’ and therefore all efforts in this area sit neatly within an outcomes-focused approach that flows from that central purpose.

The ‘Stopping Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Strategy’ highlights an overarching strategic vision for addressing domestic and sexual violence and abuse, with a third year action plan published in 2018. The action plan will directly contribute to the delivery of the Strategy’s vision and will identify new initiatives to ensure a continued focus on sexual violence and abuse.

In terms of data collection, since the 2017 Report on Progress, the representative Northern Ireland Crime survey, which includes a module focusing on the prevalence and effects of domestic violence has been refreshed to reflect current understanding of both domestic and sexual violence and abuse. The updated and from April 2018, newly titled Northern Ireland Safe Community Survey will also include a new self- completion module on sexual violence and abuse. The domestic violence and sexual violence modules will be rotated in alternate years and will be asked of respondents aged 16-74 (previously 16-64).

The Northern Ireland Racial Equality Strategy 2015-2025 which was published in December 2015 commits to addressing issues of multiple identity and multiple discrimination. It recognises the need to collect disaggregated data to enable the measurement of the impact of actions on multiple discrimination and disadvantage. It also commits to exploring how we might provide protection against forms of multiple discrimination in our current review of race equality legislation in Northern Ireland.

We acknowledge that work on understanding multiple discrimination both internationally and locally and how it damages life opportunities is at a very early stage. Much more needs to be done to identify how we can prevent and combat multiple discrimination. It is clear from our consultation on the Racial Equality Strategy 2015-2025 that we need more knowledge and better understanding in particular of intersectional groups.

Scotland

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls was jointly produced by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. A delivery plan for Equally Safe was published in November 2017.

Wales

The Welsh Government published its Strategy for tackling violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence in 2016, as required by section 3 of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. Welsh Ministers are required by the Act to publish annual reports of the progress on both the Strategy and the measures in the Act. Two progress reports have been published.

In addition, section 11 of the Act requires Welsh Ministers to publish national indicators that may be applied to measure progress towards the achievement of the purpose of this Act. These are currently under development.

Prevention

Preventing these crimes from happening in the first place is central to the Government’s approach. To help achieve this, the Convention emphasises the importance of ensuring professionals are appropriately trained to support victims, raising awareness, and providing treatment programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Since signing the Convention in 2012, we have taken forward a range of measures, including:

• running several communication campaigns to raise public and professional awareness and understanding of VAWG;
• the Home Office’s FGM Unit and joint Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit have continued to carry out extensive outreach programmes which deliver awareness raising events across the country. In addition, during the school holidays a number of joint police- Border Force operations have taken place targeting inbound and outbound flights to countries where there is a high prevalence of FGM or forced marriage;
• the £720 million Troubled Families programme continues to support this area. The programme’s national eligibility criteria now include all forms of VAWG and children in need of help, so local areas can bring families onto the programme where there is a VAWG concern. Each family is appointed a keyworker who will build trust and help develop the rapport needed to talk about serious underlying problems such as domestic abuse or sexual violence;
• through the Tampon Tax Fund, we have also provided £1 million to the Women’s Aid ‘Ask Me’ programme to raise awareness of domestic abuse within communities, and increase the opportunities for safe disclosure and referral for victims and survivors of domestic abuse;
• £27 million of the three-year Police Transformation Fund supports tackling VAWG, including projects to transform the police response to perpetrators to reduce reoffending, and promote closer working arrangements between the police, statutory services and the voluntary sector. And over £470k of the £3.2 million Building a Stronger Britain Together grant fund supports VAWG projects by offering opportunities to hard to reach communities and creates networks that challenge so- called ‘honour-based’ violence.

Furthermore, the Government consultation on domestic abuse has asked how we improve management of serial perpetrators and what more could be done to work with perpetrators both in prison and the community to change their behaviour. We are currently analysing the responses and will publish our findings in the Government response in due course.

Education has a vital role to play in encouraging young people to build healthy relationships, and to identify those relationships which are unhealthy. From 2020 it will be compulsory for all primary schools to teach Relationships Education and all secondary schools to teach Relationships and Sex Education. Health Education will be compulsory in all state-funded schools. The subject content has been developed with teachers, parents, pupils and experts including VAWG charities. Pupils will be taught about stereotypes, consent, mutual respect, management of conflict, sexual violence and laws relating to sex, relationships and young people in an age-appropriate way. All pupils should learn that violence is always unacceptable. On 19 July 2018, we launched a public consultation on the draft guidance and regulations – these are important subjects to get right to ensure all young people are safe, happy and healthy. The Department for Education will provide support to schools and encourage teaching from September 2019.

Devolved administrations

Northern Ireland

A range of educational programmes are in place in Northern Ireland, including the ‘ARTiculate’ programme which promotes pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. In education institutions, there are also pastoral care arrangements and access to an external counselling service, ‘Inspire Workplaces’ for students/participants.

In 2017/18, Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) developed a communication plan to promote initiatives under the ‘Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy’. This involved creating an information hub on the ‘NIDirect’ website and awareness raising campaigns led by Justice, including a campaign in partnership with three key sporting associations.

In addition, the DoJ introduced a Domestic Violence Abuse Disclosure Scheme (DVADS) on 26 March 2018, which allows the provision of relevant information relating to the abusive past of a partner – which would allow a potential victim to make an informed choice about their relationship. A multi-media promotional campaign aimed at raising awareness of the issue of domestic violence and abuse as well as introduction of the new scheme was launched in tandem with scheme commencement. The three year campaign is being re-launched at periodic times of the year when domestic violence and abuse is considered more prevalent and will run until the end of the financial year 2019/20.

In line with a problem-solving justice approach and providing early intervention to address domestic violence and abuse the DoJ is piloting a court mandated domestic violence perpetrator programme and an alleged perpetrator programme. These are being delivered by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland.

Other treatment programmes include victim impact courses, the ‘Building Better Relationships’ programme, and the ‘Alcohol Related Violence’ programme.

Scotland

The Scottish Government have provided funding to Police Scotland to train over 14,000 officers and front line staff to support the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018.

The Scottish Government regularly carries out and funds national awareness campaigns tackling a range of VAWG crimes. These include campaigns to increase public understanding of responses to rape and to raise awareness of the offence of sharing intimate images. Scotland is developing a campaign to raise awareness of the new offence contained in the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and on sexual harassment and sexism.

Funding is also provided for the community delivery element of the Moving Forward: Making Changes (MFMC) programme, which is aimed at adult males convicted of a sexual offence (or a non-sexual offence that contains a significant sexual element) and who are deemed as being of medium and above risk of committing a similar offence in the future. The funding for community delivery of MFMC totalled £2.477 million per annum until the end of the 2016-17 financial year.

The Scottish Government has funded the development of the Equally Safe in Higher Education Tool Kit, launched earlier this year, which provides institutions with resources to tackle and develop whole campus responses to gender based violence. It also funds the Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme, which aims to empower young people to safely challenge and speak out against bullying, abusive and violence behaviour, as well as discussing and safely challenging negative attitudes and assumptions.

The Scottish Government is funding the Caledonian System, (over £2 million in 2018/2019) in 13 Local Authority Areas across Scotland. This is a specialist court-mandated programme working with male perpetrators which also aims to improve the lives of women and children affected. A further £2.8 million has been allocated between 2018-20 to increase the number of local authority areas delivering the Caledonian System to 19.

Wales

The Welsh Government has taken several steps since the publication of the National Training Framework in 2016 to provide training of professionals. These includes the development of e-learning on how to recognise and help tackle Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) crimes, training for 127,000 workers between 2015-18, the development of “Ask and Act” (targeted enquiry for VAWDASV across the Welsh relevant authorities) and funding nationwide training for specialist professionals.

The Welsh Government has published the ‘Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence Guidance for Governors’ and the ‘Whole Educational Approach Good Practices Guide’. Work is underway to implement recommendations from the Sex and Relationships Expert Panel and to ensure that the VAWDASV Act informs development of the new curriculum and guidance.

The National Strategy on VAWDASV (2016-21) includes a dedicated objective on communications. A communications group, made up of survivors and expert stakeholders, is helping to develop and deliver campaigns on VAWDASV. Six campaigns will be delivered before 2020, including the ‘THIS IS ME’ and ‘Don’t be a Bystander’ campaigns currently underway, which challenge gender stereotypes and encourage people to act if someone they know may be experiencing a form of violence or domestic abuse.

The Welsh Government continues to work with expert partners, including a forensic psychologist, to develop and implement VAWDASV perpetrator policy. The Welsh Government is working with commissioners to advise on commissioning of effective VAWDSASV perpetrator services. A VAWDSASV perpetrator services network has been set up to share knowledge of practice with perpetrators across sectors.

Protection

We are committed to supporting all victims of abuse. We expect every report of VAWG to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally. The Convention highlights the importance of police intervention (including removing domestic violence perpetrators from their home), refuges provision for victims, appropriate sexual violence referral centres, helplines, and ensuring information for victims is accessible.

As highlighted in the 2017 Report on Progress, since signing the Convention in 2012, we have created a range of additional protective tools and powers, including Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, Sexual Risk Orders, FGM Protection Orders, Domestic Violence Protection Orders, and making breach of a Forced Marriage Protection Order a criminal offence.

The Victims’ Code sets out the services that must be provided to victims of crime by organisations in England and Wales. This Code sets a minimum standard for these services. We intend to strengthen the Victims’ Code to address its complexity, accessibility, and update the entitlements so that they are more reflective of victims’ needs. We will create a short, user-friendly overview of the Code to summarise the key points all victims need to know and we intend to consult on the changes in early 2019, with an amended Code in place by the end of 2019.

We published the first ever cross-Government Victims Strategy on 10 September 2018. Our vision is one of a justice system that supports even more victims to speak up with the certainty that they will be understood, that they will be protected, and that they will be supported whether or not they report a crime, and regardless of their circumstances or background.

For 2018/19 the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has allocated around £68 million in funding to locally commission or deliver emotional and practical support services for victims of crime, including for victims of sexual violence. The MoJ will compete national grant funding for rape support services in 2018. Funding will be awarded from April 2019 for two years to provide greater certainty and assurance to service providers.

In addition, the Government is supporting the Stalking Protection Bill, sponsored by Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, which will introduce new civil stalking protection orders to help ensure that victims of stalking are protected from the earliest possible stage.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has supported women in isolated communities to understand that domestic abuse is a crime and to seek help if needed through an English language offer to provide basic training in English to women. By March 2018, we had invested nearly £17 million (since 2013) and the programme had supported over 70,000 isolated adults, predominantly women, to improve their English language skills and build confidence to engage with their children’s schools, public services and the wider community. We have committed a further £4.8 million to extend the programme for a further year to reach over 19,000 new learners by March 2019.

In March 2018, the Integrated Communities Strategy green paper was published. The consultation invited views on the Government’s vision for building strong, integrated communities, and set out an ambitious programme of actions we propose to take to deliver this vision at local and national level. As part of the Integrated Communities Strategy, we will be providing training for faith leaders, which will include advice on how to support victims of domestic violence and to recognise that FGM is a crime.

MHCLG continue to support and part fund Women’s Aid ‘Routes to Support’ UK Wide online VAWG service directory (containing information about VAWG services with up to date refuge vacancies). MHCLG also fund the Women’s Aid ‘No Woman Turned Away Project’ which provides additional support to victims facing barriers to assessing services and support.

MHCLG has launched a £100 million fund which will deliver ‘Move on Accommodation’ to enable those people who are ready to leave hostels and refuges and assist them to regain their independence. We will also be issuing new statutory guidance for local authorities to make it easier for victims of domestic abuse in refuges to access social housing and encourage authorities to use their existing powers to support tenants who are victims of domestic abuse to remain safely in their homes.

Additionally, MHCLG secured £40 million dedicated funding in the Spending Review for specialist accommodation based support and services for victims of domestic abuse. Our 2016-18 £20 million two-year fund for specialist accommodation-based support and services supported 80 projects across the country, creating more than 2,200 bed spaces and giving support to over 19,000 victims and offered a share of £1.1 million top up funding in March 2018. In July 2018, MHCLG launched a further £18.8 million fund for domestic abuse services for the period 2018-20.

Alongside the funding prospectus, MHCLG published their updated ‘Priorities for Domestic Abuse Services’, developed with partners from the domestic abuse sector and local government. MHCLG’s priorities are clear: local areas should respond to the needs of all domestic abuse victims including those from isolated and/or marginalised communities, BAME, LGBT, older people and victims with complex needs. To support the Government’s commitment to tackling domestic abuse, we are carrying out a review of how domestic abuse services are commissioned and funded across England.

Devolved administrations

Northern Ireland

During 2017/18, the Department of Health (DoH) created a public-facing Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse information hub on the Government’s ‘NIDirect’ website to help signpost victims to appropriate support services. An online regional Directory of Services for victims of sexual violence and abuse is accessible on NI Direct. It includes information on how to report sexual violence and abuse and details of support services available across Northern Ireland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) will ‘signpost’ domestic abuse victims (with consent) to a range of voluntary/support organisations. This is supplementary to a referral to Victim Support Northern Ireland for all victims of domestic abuse motivated crimes. Officers will also make referrals to Social Services where a child has been present, or normally resident in a household where a domestic incident has occurred. Support mechanisms are also available for high risk victims of domestic abuse who can be referred to Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences.

The DoJ is committed to providing a framework for a streamlined advocacy support service for victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse during this financial year. It is planned that the service will be introduced during mid 2019/20. The service will, amongst other things, direct victims to a range of services, specific to their individual needs and to ensure their ongoing safety.

In 2017/18 the DoH, Justice and other statutory partners provided Grant Funding to key voluntary organisations supporting victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence and abuse. The DoH, DoJ and DfC jointly fund a 24hr domestic and sexual violence helpline, which is a free phone service offering support and signposting information to anyone affected by domestic and sexual violence in NI 365 days per year.

Scotland

The Scottish Government is investing some £11.8 million this financial year to tackle VAWG, which includes support for front line specialist services. This helps to support a range of front line specialist services working with women and children who have experienced gender based violence. This includes local women’s aids and rape crisis services; funding to national bodies in Scotland working to support those at risk of domestic abuse and sexual violence; and third sector organisations supporting those at risk and survivors of forced marriage, FGM and other forms of so-called ‘honour based’ violence.

The Scottish Government provides funding to support the work of Rape Crisis Scotland, including £244,000 core funding for their national office and £260,000 for the national rape crisis helpline. The Scottish Government also provide funding to support the activity of 16 local Rape Crisis Services across Scotland, and have provided funding for advocacy and support workers to support those going through the criminal justice process.

The Scottish Government have also provided funding to NHS Education Scotland to deliver a new trauma- informed course to doctors across Scotland who will undertake forensic medical examinations and the nurses who support victims through the examination and refer them to appropriate services. They are also working closely with partners across Scotland to consider a pilot of Forensic Nurse Examiners.

It is possible for a person at risk in Scotland to obtain a court order and an interdict or non-harassment order against the person causing the risk. The police have a power to detain a suspect prior to charge, or to release on undertakings, which may include a requirement that the accused does not approach the residence of the suspected victim. Equally, the court can make it a condition of bail that an accused cannot return to the suspected victim’s home. Scottish Ministers have announced plans to consult on Emergency Barring Orders this autumn.

Wales

The Welsh Government has drafted guidance to facilitate commissioning that delivers more consistent services to prevent violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence and protect and support victims.

Local authorities and local health boards are under a statutory duty to publish and review strategies for addressing violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Welsh Government has provided ring-fenced funding to local health boards to ensure sufficient and effective sexual assault services in Wales.

The Welsh Government provides funding for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) as well as funding for training them. Funding is also provided for Sexual Abuse and Rape Referral Centres (SARCs), and a range of direct services including counselling support.

The Supporting People programme provides housing-related support to help vulnerable people to live as independently as possible. The Welsh Government invests over £124.4 million in the programme annually. It supports more than 57,000 people each year to live as independently as they can. It aims to prevent problems by providing help as early as possible, including support for households fleeing domestic violence. The Supporting People Grant is an important part of meeting the need of people experiencing domestic abuse. In 2017/18 local authority spend plans confirmed that 1,384 units of support were provided at a cost of £9,413,021.

Prosecution

Where these crimes are committed, we have robust laws in place to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. The Convention requires state parties to have in place a range of VAWG offences and measures to ensure the effective investigation of allegations; and to carry out judicial proceedings in a way that respects the rights of victims. We already have in place relevant legislation – in some cases exceeding the requirements of the Convention – to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. And we have significantly strengthened the legislation in place to tackle VAWG since we signed the Convention in 2012. This includes:

• two new stalking offences which were introduced in 2012, and raising the maximum sentence for stalking and harassment offences to 10 years’ imprisonment in 2017;
• a coercive or controlling behaviour offence which came into force in 2015. The offence aims to protect victims who would otherwise be subjected to sustained patterns of abuse that can lead to total control of their lives by the perpetrator;
• a ‘revenge porn’ offence introduced in 2015, making it criminal offence to disclose private sexual photographs and films without the consent of an individual who appears in them and with the intent to cause that individual distress;
• changes to FGM legislation including a new offence of failing to protect a girl from the risk of FGM; granting victims lifelong anonymity; and the extension of extraterritorial jurisdiction over FGM offences to habitual as well as permanent UK residents, all introduced in 2015; and
• a specific offence of forced marriage, including extraterritorial jurisdiction, which came into force in 2014, and the introduction of lifelong anonymity for victims of forced marriage in 2017 to encourage more victims to come forward.

Prosecutions and convictions

VAWG Convictions (England & Wales)

2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18
68,154	66,860	58,276	67,380	78,773	87,275	84,565	80,387

The annual VAWG report on prosecutions and convictions, covers a broad range of offences including domestic abuse, rape, stalking, sexual abuse and so called ‘honour-based’ violence. In 2017-18, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brought more than 100,000 prosecutions of this type, a fifth of the total caseload.

Overall, the data shows a decrease in the number of VAWG cases. Referrals from the police have dropped by 0.7%, prosecutions completed by 5.9% and convictions by 4.9%. This is in the context of a fall in total CPS volumes, with a 10% drop in the numbers of cases prosecuted in 2017-18.

Good progress is being made in domestic abuse, with 960 cases of coercive and controlling behaviour charged, alongside a marked slowdown in the fall of police referrals seen in previous years. In 2017-18, more than three out of every four defendants in domestic abuse cases were convicted. In 2017-18 the CPS has worked across the criminal justice system in a ‘deep dive’ project, testing best practice for use in cases in magistrates’ courts. The final best practice framework, outlining four components, has been approved for national roll-out in 2018–19. CPS was also involved in proposals for future domestic abuse legislation and the development of non-legislative measures across government. Consultation was carried out in early 2018–19 is currently being considered across government departments.

In addition, the Government is committed to tackling the heinous behaviour of ‘upskirting’, which is why we have introduced our own legislation (the Voyeurism (Offences) (No. 2) Bill) to make this a specific offence as quickly as possible. The Home Office has been working with the College of Policing to develop police guidance on the powers which currently exist to tackle some cases of ‘upskirting’, including Outraging Public Decency, and will ensure guidance is further updated to capture the new offence once the Bill is enacted (subject to Parliamentary approval).

The College of Policing has piloted a revised risk assessment tool intended to improve recognition of coercive control and provide a more structured method of obtaining information to assess the threat posed by the perpetrator. The pilots have indicated that the revised risk assessment tool is easier for police officers and staff to use and that risk assessments more closely reflected assessments of the same information carried out by experts. The evaluation report will be published soon. The tool is to be tested in five further policing areas to make sure it operates in the way intended. If testing reflects the pilot outcomes, further roll out may follow.

Devolved administrations

Northern Ireland

A range of special measures are available in Northern Ireland to assist vulnerable (including young children) and intimidated witnesses (which includes victims) to give evidence to the police and at court. The civil justice system allows for civil claims for compensation to be brought before the court (e.g. for assault). Victims of violence can be issued non-molestation or occupation orders. Orders of this kind can, for example, give a victim exclusive rights to a residence. Any breach of a non-molestation or occupation order can result in criminal or other legal sanctions.

Scotland

Scotland has a range of legislation to tackle VAWG crimes. This includes specific offences of forced marriage, FGM, and stalking. There are also several more general offences that can be used in prosecuting VAWG crimes.

There are measures in place in Scotland to provide support for child witnesses during the criminal justice process, including automatic entitlement to certain protective measures. The Scottish Government’s Equally Safe Violence Against Women and Girls fund provides funding for local specialist services including support for children who have experienced domestic abuse.

The Scottish Government is also exploring the application of the Barnahus concept for immediate trauma- informed support for child victims of serious and traumatic crimes within the context of Scotland’s healthcare and criminal justice system.

Next steps

The Government remains fully committed to ratifying the Istanbul Convention and as this report highlights, we continue to make significant progress in tackling VAWG in the UK.

The Government takes its international commitments very seriously and will only ratify when we are absolutely satisfied that the UK complies with all articles of the Convention. As set out above, the draft Domestic Abuse Bill to be published later this session will include provisions necessary for compliance with the extraterritorial jurisdiction requirements of the Convention in England and Wales.

The Government will set out a timetable for ratification in line with the requirement of section 1 of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Girls (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017 when all the legislative provisions necessary for compliance have been enacted.

We remain committed to doing all that we can to tackle VAWG. Everyone has the right to live in safety, regardless of their gender. As we drive forward our VAWG strategy, we will ensure we continue to deliver for all, leave no one behind and make VAWG everyone’s business.

Annex A: Table of articles

Principles / Administrative articles:

• 1. Purposes of the Convention
• 2. Scope of the Convention
• 3. Definitions
• 4. Fundamental rights, equality and non-discrimination
• 5. State obligation a due diligence principle
• 6. Gender-sensitive policies
• 7. Comprehensive and co-ordinated policies
• 8. Financial resources
• 9. Non-governmental organisations and civil society
• 12. General obligations
• 18. General obligations

Status, England

N/A

Status, Wales

N/A

Status, Northern Ireland

N/A

Status, Scotland

N/A

10. Co-ordinating body

• 1. Parties shall designate or establish one or more official bodies responsible for the co-ordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence covered by this Convention. These bodies shall co-ordinate the collection of data as referred to in Article 11, analyse and disseminate its results.
• 2. Parties shall ensure that the bodies designated or established pursuant to this article receive information of a general nature on measures taken pursuant to Chapter VIII.
• 3. Parties shall ensure that the bodies designated or established pursuant to this article shall have the capacity to communicate directly and foster relations with their counterparts in other Parties.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

11. Data collection and research

• 1. For the purpose of the implementation of this Convention, Parties shall undertake to:
  • a. collect disaggregated relevant statistical data at regular intervals on cases of all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention;
  • b. support research in the field of all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention in order to study its root causes and effects, incidences and conviction rates, as well as the efficacy of measures taken to implement this Convention.
• 2. Parties shall endeavour to conduct population-based surveys at regular intervals to assess the prevalence of and trends in all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.
• 3. Parties shall provide the group of experts, as referred to in Article 66 of this Convention, with the information collected pursuant to this article in order to stimulate international co-operation and enable international benchmarking.
• 4. Parties shall ensure that the information collected pursuant to this article is available to the public.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

13.Awareness-raising

• 1. Parties shall promote or conduct, on a regular basis and at all levels, awareness-raising campaigns or programmes, including in co-operation with national human rights institutions and equality bodies, civil society and non-governmental organisations, especially women’s organisations, where appropriate, to increase awareness and understanding among the general public of the different manifestations of all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention, their consequences on children and the need to prevent such violence.
• 2. Parties shall ensure the wide dissemination among the general public of information on measures available to prevent acts of violence covered by the scope of this

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

14.Education

• 1. Parties shall take, where appropriate, the necessary steps to include teaching material on issues such as equality between women and men, non-stereotyped gender roles, mutual respect, non-violent conflict resolution in interpersonal relationships, gender-based violence against women and the right to personal integrity, adapted to the evolving capacity of learners, in formal curricula and at all levels of education.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary steps to promote the principles referred to in paragraph 1 in informal educational facilities, as well as in sports, cultural and leisure facilities and the media.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

15.Training of professionals

• 1. Parties shall provide or strengthen appropriate training for the relevant professionals dealing with victims or perpetrators of all acts of violence covered by the scope of this Convention, on the prevention and detection of such violence, equality between women and men, the needs and rights of victims, as well as on how to prevent secondary victimisation.
• 2. Parties shall encourage that the training referred to in paragraph 1 includes training on co-ordinated multi-agency co- operation to allow for a comprehensive and appropriate handling of referrals in cases of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

16.Preventive intervention and treatment programmes

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to set up or support programmes aimed at teaching perpetrators of domestic violence to adopt non-violent behaviour in interpersonal relationships with a view to preventing further violence and changing violent behavioural patterns.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to set up or support treatment programmes aimed at preventing perpetrators, in particular sex offenders, from re-offending.
• 3. In taking the measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, Parties shall ensure that the safety of, support for and the human rights of victims are of primary concern and that, where appropriate, these programmes are set up and implemented in close co-ordination with specialist support services for victims.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

17.Participation of the private sector and the media

• 1. Parties shall encourage the private sector, the information and communication technology sector and the media, with due respect for freedom of expression and their independence, to participate in the elaboration and implementation of policies and to set guidelines and self-regulatory standards to prevent violence against women and to enhance respect for their dignity.

• 2. Parties shall develop and promote, in co-operation with private sector actors, skills among children, parents and educators on how to deal with the information and communications environment that provides access to degrading content of a sexual or violent nature which might be harmful.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

19. Information

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims receive adequate and timely information on available support services and legal measures in a language they understand.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

20. General support services

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims have access to services facilitating their recovery from violence. These measures should include, when necessary, services such as legal and psychological counselling, financial assistance, housing, education, training and assistance in finding employment.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims have access to health care and social services and that services are adequately resourced and professionals are trained to assist victims and refer them to the appropriate services.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

21. Assistance in individual/collective complaints

Parties shall ensure that victims have information on and access to applicable regional and international individual/collective complaints mechanisms. Parties shall promote the provision of sensitive and knowledgeable assistance to victims in presenting any such complaints.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

22. Specialist support services

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to provide or arrange for, in an adequate geographical distribution, immediate, short- and long-term specialist support services to any victim subjected to any of the acts of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.
• 2. Parties shall provide or arrange for specialist women’s support services to all women victims of violence and their children.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

23. Shelters

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to provide for the setting-up of appropriate, easily accessible shelters in sufficient numbers to provide safe accommodation for and to reach out pro-actively to victims, especially women and their children.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

24. Telephone helplines

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to set up state-wide round-the-clock (24/7) telephone helplines free of charge to provide advice to callers, confidentially or with due regard for their anonymity, in relation to all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

25. Support for victims of sexual violence.

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to provide for the setting up of appropriate, easily accessible rape crisis or sexual violence referral centres for victims in sufficient numbers to provide for medical and forensic examination, trauma support and counselling for victims.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

26. Protection and support for child witnesses

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that in the provision of protection and support services to victims, due account is taken of the rights and needs of child witnesses of all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.

• 2. Measures taken pursuant to this article shall include age-appropriate psychosocial counselling for child witnesses of all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention and shall give due regard to the best interests of the child.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

27. Reporting

Parties shall take the necessary measures to encourage any person witness to the commission of acts of violence covered by the scope of this Convention or who has reasonable grounds to believe that such an act may be committed, or that further acts of violence are to be expected, to report this to the competent organisations or authorities.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

28. Reporting by professionals

Parties shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the confidentiality rules imposed by internal law on certain professionals do not constitute an obstacle to the possibility, under appropriate conditions, of their reporting to the competent organisations or authorities if they have reasonable grounds to believe that a serious act of violence covered by the scope of this Convention, has been committed and further serious acts of violence are to be expected.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

29. Civil lawsuits and remedies

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to provide victims with adequate civil remedies against the perpetrator.
• 2.   Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to provide victims, in accordance with the general principles of international law, with adequate civil remedies against state authorities that have failed in their duty to take the necessary preventive or protective measures within the scope of their powers.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

30. Compensation

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims have the right to claim compensation from perpetrators for any of the offences established in accordance with this Convention.
• 2. Adequate state compensation shall be awarded to those who have sustained serious bodily injury or impairment of health, to the extent that the damage is not covered by other sources such as the perpetrator, insurance or state-funded health and social provisions. This does not preclude Parties from claiming regress for compensation awarded from the perpetrator, as long as due regard is paid to the victim’s safety.
• 3. Measures taken pursuant to paragraph 2 shall ensure the granting of compensation within a reasonable time.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

31. Custody, visitation rights and safety

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that, in the determination of custody and visitation rights of children, incidents of violence covered by the scope of this Convention are taken into account.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the exercise of any visitation or custody rights does not jeopardise the rights and safety of the victim or children.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

32. Civil consequences of forced marriages

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that marriages concluded under force may be voidable, annulled or dissolved without undue financial or administrative burden placed on the victim.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

33. Psychological violence

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of seriously impairing a person’s psychological integrity through coercion or threats is criminalised.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

34. Stalking

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of repeatedly engaging in threatening conduct directed at another person, causing her or him to fear for her or his safety, is criminalised.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

35. Physical violence

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of committing acts of physical violence against another person is criminalised.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

36. Sexual violence, including rape

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conducts are criminalised:
  • a. engaging in non-consensual vaginal, anal or oral penetration of a sexual nature of the body of another person with any bodily part or object;
  • b. engaging in other non-consensual acts of a sexual nature with a person;
  • c. causing another person to engage in non-consensual acts of a sexual nature with a third person.
• 2. Consent must be given voluntarily as the result of the person’s free will assessed in the context of the surrounding circumstances.
• 3. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the provisions of paragraph 1 also apply to acts committed against former or current spouses or partners as recognised by internal law.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

37. Forced marriage

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or a child to enter into a marriage is criminalised.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of luring an adult or a child to the territory of a Party or state other than the one she or he resides in with the purpose of forcing this adult or child to enter into a marriage is criminalised.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

38. Female genital mutilation

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conducts are criminalised:

• a. excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of a woman’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris;
• b. coercing or procuring a woman to undergo any of the acts listed in point a;
• c. inciting, coercing or procuring a girl to undergo any of the acts listed in point a.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

39. Forced abortion and forced sterilisation

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following intentional conducts are criminalised:

• a. performing an abortion on a woman without her prior and informed consent;
• b. performing surgery which has the purpose or effect of terminating a woman’s capacity to naturally reproduce without her prior and informed consent or understanding of the procedure.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

40. Sexual harassment

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, is subject to criminal or other legal sanction.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

41. Aiding or abetting and attempt

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to establish as an offence, when committed intentionally, aiding or abetting the commission of the offences established in accordance with Articles 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38.a, and 39 of this Convention.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to establish as offences, when committed intentionally, attempts to commit the offences established in accordance with Articles 35, 36, 37, 38.a and 39 of this Convention.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

42. Unacceptable justifications for crimes, including crimes committed in the name of so-called “honour”

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that, in criminal proceedings initiated following the commission of any of the acts of violence covered by the scope of this Convention, culture, custom, religion, tradition or so- called “honour” shall not be regarded as justification for such acts. This covers, in particular, claims that the victim has transgressed cultural, religious, social or traditional norms or customs of appropriate behaviour.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that incitement by any person of a child to commit any of the acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall not diminish the criminal liability of that person for the acts committed.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

43. Application of criminal offences

The offences established in accordance with this Convention shall apply irrespective of the nature of the relationship between victim and perpetrator.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

44. Jurisdiction

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to establish jurisdiction over any offence established in accordance with this Convention, when the offence is committed:
  • a. in their territory; or
  • b. on board a ship flying their flag; or
  • c. on board an aircraft registered under their laws; or
  • d. by one of their nationals; or
  • e. by a person who has her or his habitual residence in their territory.
• 2. Parties shall endeavour to take the necessary legislative or other measures to establish jurisdiction over any offence established in accordance with this Convention where the offence is committed against one of their nationals or a person who has her or his habitual residence in their territory.
• 3. For the prosecution of the offences established in accordance with Articles 36, 37, 38 and 39 of this Convention, Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that their jurisdiction is not subordinated to the condition that the acts are criminalised in the territory where they were committed.
• 4. For the prosecution of the offences established in accordance with Articles 36, 37, 38 and 39 of this Convention, Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that their jurisdiction as regards points d and e of paragraph 1 is not subordinated to the condition that the prosecution can only be initiated following the reporting by the victim of the offence or the laying of information by the state of the place where the offence was committed.
• 5. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to establish jurisdiction over the offences established in accordance with this Convention, in cases where an alleged perpetrator is present on their territory and they do not extradite her or him to another Party, solely on the basis of her or his nationality.
• 6. When more than one Party claims jurisdiction over an alleged offence established in accordance with this Convention, the Parties involved shall, where appropriate, consult each other with a view to determining the most appropriate jurisdiction for prosecution.
• 7. Without prejudice to the general rules of international law, this Convention does not exclude any criminal jurisdiction exercised by a Party in accordance with its internal law.

Status, England

Ongoing

Status, Wales

Ongoing

Status, Northern Ireland

Ongoing

Status, Scotland

Ongoing

45. Sanctions and measures

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the offences established in accordance with this Convention are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, taking into account their seriousness. These sanctions shall include, where appropriate, sentences involving the deprivation of liberty which can give rise to extradition.
• 2. Parties may adopt other measures in relation to perpetrators, such as:
  • monitoring or supervision of convicted persons;
  • withdrawal of parental rights, if the best interests of the child, which may include the safety of the victim, cannot be guaranteed in any other way.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

46. Aggravating circumstances

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the following circumstances, insofar as they do not already form part of the constituent elements of the offence, may, in conformity with the relevant provisions of internal law, be taken into consideration as aggravating circumstances in the determination of the sentence in relation to the offences established in accordance with this Convention:

• a. the offence was committed against a former or current spouse or partner as recognised by internal law, by a member of the family, a person cohabiting with the victim or a person having abused her or his authority;
• b. the offence, or related offences, were committed repeatedly;
• c. the offence was committed against a person made vulnerable by particular circumstances;
• d. the offence was committed against or in the presence of a child;
• e. the offence was committed by two or more people acting together;
• f. the offence was preceded or accompanied by extreme levels of violence;
• g. the offence was committed with the use or threat of a weapon;
• h. the offence resulted in severe physical or psychological harm for the victim;
• i. the perpetrator had previously been convicted of offences of a similar nature.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

47. Sentences passed by another Party

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to provide for the possibility of taking into account final sentences passed by another Party in relation to the offences established in accordance with this Convention when determining the sentence.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

48. Prohibition of mandatory alternative dispute resolution processes or sentencing

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to prohibit mandatory alternative dispute resolution processes, including mediation and conciliation, in relation to all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that if the payment of a fine is ordered, due account shall be taken of the ability of the perpetrator to assume his or her financial obligations towards the victim.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

49. General obligations

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that investigations and judicial proceedings in relation to all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention are carried out without undue delay while taking into consideration the rights of the victim during all stages of the criminal proceedings.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures, in conformity with the fundamental principles of human rights and having regard to the gendered understanding of violence, to ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of offences established in accordance with this Convention.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

50. Immediate response, prevention and protection

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the responsible law enforcement agencies respond to all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention promptly and appropriately by offering adequate and immediate protection to victims.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the responsible law enforcement agencies engage promptly and appropriately in the prevention and protection against all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention, including the employment of preventive operational measures and the collection of evidence.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

52. Emergency barring orders

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the competent authorities are granted the power to order, in situations of immediate danger, a perpetrator of domestic violence to vacate the residence of the victim or person at risk for a sufficient period of time and to prohibit the perpetrator from entering the residence of or contacting the victim or person at risk. Measures taken pursuant to this article shall give priority to the safety of victims or persons at risk.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

53. Restraining or protection orders

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that appropriate restraining or protection orders are available to victims of all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the restraining or protection orders referred to in paragraph 1 are:
  • available for immediate protection and without undue financial or administrative burdens placed on the victim;
  • issued for a specified period or until modified or discharged; -where necessary, issued on an ex parte basis which has immediate effect;
  • available irrespective of, or in addition to, other legal proceedings;
  • allowed to be introduced in subsequent legal proceedings.
• 3. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that breaches of restraining or protection orders issued pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal or other legal sanctions.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

54. Investigations and evidence

Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that, in any civil or criminal proceedings, evidence relating to the sexual history and conduct of the victim shall be permitted only when it is relevant and necessary.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

55. Ex parte and ex officio proceedings

• 1. Parties shall ensure that investigations into or prosecution of offences established in accordance with Articles 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 of this Convention shall not be wholly dependant upon a report or complaint filed by a victim if the offence was committed in whole or in part on its territory, and that the proceedings may continue even if the victim withdraws her or his statement or complaint.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure, in accordance with the conditions provided for by their internal law, the possibility for governmental and non-governmental organisations and domestic violence counsellors to assist and/or support victims, at their request, during investigations and judicial proceedings concerning the offences established in accordance with this Convention.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

56. Measures of protection

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to protect the rights and interests of victims, including their special needs as witnesses, at all stages of investigations and judicial proceedings, in particular by:
  • a. providing for their protection, as well as that of their families and witnesses, from intimidation, retaliation and repeat victimisation;
  • b. ensuring that victims are informed, at least in cases where the victims and the family might be in danger, when the perpetrator escapes or is released temporarily or definitively;
  • c. informing them, under the conditions provided for by internal law, of their rights and the services at their disposal and the follow-up given to their complaint, the charges, the general progress of the investigation or proceedings, and their role therein, as well as the outcome of their case;
  • d. enabling victims, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of internal law, to be heard, to supply evidence and have their views, needs and concerns presented, directly or through an intermediary, and considered;
  • e. providing victims with appropriate support services so that their rights and interests are duly presented and taken into account;
  • f. ensuring that measures may be adopted to protect the privacy and the image of the victim;
  • g. ensuring that contact between victims and perpetrators within court and law enforcement agency premises is avoided where possible;
  • h. providing victims with independent and competent interpreters when victims are parties to proceedings or when they are supplying evidence;
  • i. enabling victims to testify, according to the rules provided by their internal law, in the courtroom without being present or at least without the presence of the alleged perpetrator, notably through the use of appropriate communication technologies, where available.

A child victim and child witness of violence against women and domestic violence shall be afforded, where appropriate, special protection measures taking into account the best interests of the child.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

57. Legal aid

Parties shall provide for the right to legal assistance and to free legal aid for victims under the conditions provided by their internal law.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

58. Statute of limitation

Parties shall take the necessary legislative and other measures to ensure that the statute of limitation for initiating any legal proceedings with regard to the offences established in accordance with Articles 36, 37, 38 and 39 of this Convention, shall continue for a period of time that is sufficient and commensurate with the gravity of the offence in question, to allow for the efficient initiation of proceedings after the victim has reached the age of majority.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

59. Residence status

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims whose residence status depends on that of the spouse or partner as recognised by internal law, in the event of the dissolution of the marriage or the relationship, are granted in the event of particularly difficult circumstances, upon application, an autonomous residence permit irrespective of the duration of the marriage or the relationship. The conditions relating to the granting and duration of the autonomous residence permit are established by internal law.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims may obtain the suspension of expulsion proceedings initiated in relation to a residence status dependent on that of the spouse or partner as recognised by internal law to enable them to apply for an autonomous residence permit.
• 3. Parties shall issue a renewable residence permit to victims in one of the two following situations, or in both:
  • a. where the competent authority considers that their stay is necessary owing to their personal situation;
  • b. where the competent authority considers that their stay is necessary for the purpose of their co-operation with the competent authorities in investigation or criminal proceedings.
• 4. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims of forced marriage brought into another country for the purpose of the marriage and who, as a result, have lost their residence status in the country where they habitually reside, may regain this status.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

60. Gender-based asylum claims

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that gender-based violence against women may be recognised as a form of persecution within the meaning of Article 1, A (2), of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and as a form of serious harm giving rise to complementary/subsidiary protection.
• 2. Parties shall ensure that a gender-sensitive interpretation is given to each of the Convention grounds and that where it is established that the persecution feared is for one or more of these grounds, applicants shall be granted refugee status according to the applicable relevant instruments.
• 3. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to develop gender-sensitive reception procedures and support services for asylum-seekers as well as gender guidelines and gender-sensitive asylum procedures, including refugee status determination and application for international protection.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

61. Non-refoulement

• 1. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to respect the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with existing obligations under international law.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims of violence against women who are in need of protection, regardless of their status or residence, shall not be returned under any circumstances to any country where their life would be at risk or where they might be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

62. General principles

• 1. Parties shall co-operate with each other, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, and through the application of relevant international and regional instruments on co-operation in civil and criminal matters, arrangements agreed on the basis of uniform or reciprocal legislation and internal laws, to the widest extent possible, for the purpose of:
  • a. preventing, combating and prosecuting all forms of violence covered by the scope of this Convention;
  • b. protecting and providing assistance to victims;
  • c. investigations or proceedings concerning the offences established in accordance with this Convention;
  • d. enforcing relevant civil and criminal judgments issued by the judicial authorities of Parties, including protection orders.
• 2. Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that victims of an offence established in accordance with this Convention and committed in the territory of a Party other than the one where they reside may make a complaint before the competent authorities of their state of residence.
• 3. If a Party that makes mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition or enforcement of civil or criminal judgments imposed by another Party to this Convention conditional on the existence of a treaty receives a request for such legal co- operation from a Party with which it has not concluded such a treaty, it may consider this Convention to be the legal basis for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, extradition or enforcement of civil or criminal judgments imposed by the other Party in respect of the offences established in accordance with this Convention.
• 4. Parties shall endeavour to integrate, where appropriate, the prevention and the fight against violence against women and domestic violence in assistance programmes for development provided for the benefit of third states, including by entering into bilateral and multilateral agreements with third states with a view to facilitating the protection of victims in accordance with Article 18, paragraph 5.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

63. Measures relating to persons at risk

When a Party, on the basis of the information at its disposal, has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is at immediate risk of being subjected to any of the acts of violence referred to in Articles 36, 37, 38 and 39 of this Convention on the territory of another Party, the Party that has the information is encouraged to transmit it without delay to the latter for the purpose of ensuring that appropriate protection measures are taken. Where applicable, this information shall include details on existing protection provisions for the benefit of the person at risk.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

64. Information

• 1. The requested Party shall promptly inform the requesting Party of the final result of the action taken under this chapter. The requested Party shall also promptly inform the requesting Party of any circumstances which render impossible the carrying out of the action sought or are likely to delay it significantly.
• 2. A Party may, within the limits of its internal law, without prior request, forward to another Party information obtained within the framework of its own investigations when it considers that the disclosure of such information might assist the receiving Party in preventing criminal offences established in accordance with this Convention or in initiating or carrying out investigations or proceedings concerning such criminal offences or that it might lead to a request for co-operation by that Party under this chapter.
• 3. A Party receiving any information in accordance with paragraph 2 shall submit such information to its competent authorities in order that proceedings may be taken if they are considered appropriate, or that this information may be taken into account in relevant civil and criminal proceedings.

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

65. Data Protection

Personal data shall be stored and used pursuant to the obligations undertaken by the Parties under the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No. 108).

Status, England

Compliant

Status, Wales

Compliant

Status, Northern Ireland

Compliant

Status, Scotland

Compliant

66. Group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence

• 1. The Group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence (hereinafter referred to as “GREVIO”) shall monitor the implementation of this Convention by the Parties.
• 2. GREVIO shall be composed of a minimum of 10 members and a maximum of 15 members, taking into account a gender and geographical balance, as well as multidisciplinary expertise. Its members shall be elected by the Committee of the Parties from among candidates nominated by the Parties for a term of office of four years, renewable once, and chosen from among nationals of the Parties.
• 3. The initial election of 10 members shall be held within a period of one year following the entry into force of this Convention. The election of five additional members shall be held following the 25th ratification or accession.
• 4. The election of the members of GREVIO shall be based on the following principles:
  • a. they shall be chosen according to a transparent procedure from among persons of high moral character, known for their recognised competence in the fields of human rights, gender equality, violence against women and domestic violence, or assistance to and protection of victims, or having demonstrated professional experience in the areas covered by this Convention;
  • b. no two members of GREVIO may be nationals of the same state;
  • c. they should represent the main legal systems;
  • d. they should represent relevant actors and agencies in the field of violence against women and domestic violence;
  • e. they shall sit in their individual capacity and shall be independent and impartial in the exercise of their functions, and shall be available to carry out their duties in an effective manner.
• 5. The election procedure of the members of GREVIO shall be determined by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, after consulting with and obtaining the unanimous consent of the Parties, within a period of six months following the entry into force of this Convention.
• 6. GREVIO shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
• 7. Members of GREVIO, and other members of delegations carrying out the country visits as set forth in Article 68, paragraphs 9 and 14, shall enjoy the privileges and immunities established in the appendix to this Convention.

Status, England

N/A

Status, Wales

N/A

Status, Northern Ireland

N/A

Status, Scotland

N/A

Procedural:

• 67. Committee of the Parties
• 68. Procedure
• 69. General recommendations
• 70. Parliamentary involvement in monitoring
• 71. Relationship with other international instruments
• 72. Amendments
• 73. Effects of this Convention
• 74. Dispute settlement
• 75. Signature and entry into force
• 76. Accession to the Convention
• 77. Territorial application
• 78. Reservations
• 79. Validity and review of reservations
• 80. Denunciation
• 81. Notification

Status, England

N/A

Status, Wales

N/A

Status, Northern Ireland

N/A

Status, Scotland

N/A

1. Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017. Section (2) Reports on progress: (1) The Secretary of State shall each year until ratification lay before each House of Parliament a report on the following— (a) if a report has been laid under section 1(1), any alteration in the timescale specified in that report in accordance with subsection (1)(b) and the reasons for its alteration; (b) the administrative measures taken by Her Majesty’s Government to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the Istanbul Convention; (c) the legislative proposals brought forward, including those in the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly, to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the Istanbul Convention; (d) the measures to be taken and legislation required to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the Istanbul Convention. (2) The first annual report shall be laid no later than 1 November 2017. (3) Subsequent annual reports shall be laid no later than 1 November each year. ↩