Turkey to sign intl treaty on violence against women

The Foreign Ministry will sign an international treaty designed to prevent and combat violence against women during a meeting of the Council of Europe (CoE) Ministers Committee next month in Istanbul. The CoE convention sets out standards for states to act with integrated policies to tackle gender-based violent crimes and promote international cooperation. Governments ratifying the treaty will have to take necessary legislative or other measures to criminalize acts such as domestic violence, violence in public places, sexual harassment, forced marriage, "honor" crimes, rape, and genital mutilation. The convention proposes the establishment of nationwide, 24-hour telephone help lines to provide confidential advice to anonymous callers. The draft text calls for specific monitoring mechanisms to check implementation of the convention.