Demand ratification of Istanbul Convention
LVIV – Celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, Ukrainians held rallies throughout the country in which activists called on the government to do more on gender equality and safety for women.
Rallies were held in Kyiv, Lviv, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia, and were focused on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women and on gender violence faced by women in Ukraine.
Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun, who took part in the march in Kyiv, noted how important the rallies were in putting pressure on the Ukrainian government to make further strides on gender equality and other important issues for women in the country.
“March 8 is not a story about spring, flowers and gifts,” Ms. Sovsun said. “This is a day when women can draw attention to the problems they constantly face. Domestic violence, sexism, lower wages than men, stereotypes about the ‘place in the kitchen.’ Although inequality remains, the situation is improving significantly. However, progress is too slow. The Women’s march is an opportunity to express your position out loud.”
According to the National Police, there were 174,386 cases of domestic violence reported in Ukraine over the course of 10 months in 2020. There were 114,00 cases throughout all of 2019.
March organizers said that women in Ukraine make up the majority of social, educational and health care workers, and they noted that women in these groups have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic.
According to organizers of the marches, women in Ukraine are mostly responsible for child care and children’s distance learning, and they have taken care of children at home while also working their own jobs. Organizers also said that, as the level of domestic violence against women during the pandemic continues to rise, it is extremely important that the Verkhovna Rada ratify the Istanbul Convention.
An activist holding a poster at a rally in front of the Lviv City Council on March 8.
The Istanbul Convention, officially known as the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe that was signed on May 11, 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey. Ukraine is among a minority of European countries that have not ratified the convention.
Participants of the Women’s marches brought posters focused mainly on the Istanbul Convention and gender equality. Among the banners and placards seen on the streets in Lviv on March 8, some marchers carried the following signs: “Girls just wanna have fun-damental rights,” “My body – my business,” “Fight like a girl” and “Girl power.”
One of the participants of the march in Kyiv, Maria Blindiuk, held a poster with a sarcastic statement: “I forgot to ask you how I should look.”
Ms. Blindiuk said it was important that women in Ukraine continue to make strides on gender equality issues.
“I am a feminist because I care about equality,” Ms. Blindiuk said. “It’s my business how I look, my business who I sleep with, and it’s up to me to decide how much I earn.”
Ms. Blindiuk, a literary critic, said she took part in the marches here because she feels the Ukrainian government should ratify the Istanbul Convention.
“If you do not face discrimination – it’s cool, you’re fortunate,” Ms. Blindiuk said. “For me, discrimination is also rare. But when it happens, it’s always an awful feeling of injustice. That’s why I march for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.”
The Istanbul Convention is the first international, legally-binding piece of legislation that is designed to protect women’s rights. Several articles of the convention specify that forms of violence against women include not only sexual and physical violence, but also psychological violence, as well as economic discrimination, forced marriage, forced abortion or sterilization, female genital mutilation, and “crimes committed in the name of so-called honor.”
Human rights activist Volodymyr Beglov took part in the rally in Lviv. “March 8 for me is about equality, and feminism is also about equality. That is why every year I try to take part in gatherings dedicated to International Women’s Day,” Mr. Beglov said.
As the chairperson of the Educational Center for Human Rights in Lviv, Mr. Beglov is often asked to speak at such events.
“In my speech this year, I stressed the need for Ukraine to finally ratify the Istanbul Convention. It is important because it criminalizes domestic violence. It also places on the state the responsibility to create a whole infrastructure for combating domestic violence: from special police units to shelters for victims of domestic violence in each city. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian parliament hasn’t ratified this international document,” Mr. Beglov said.
Sviatoslav Yurash, a member of parliament and the creator of a parliamentary group on values, dignity and family, said that Ukraine’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention will not affect domestic violence in the country.
“This is a document that introduces a whole galaxy of terms that create a niche for postmodern superstructures in the legislation,” Mr. Yurash said. “The convention is a Trojan Horse that does not help with domestic violence. There is no magic Istanbul bank that gives a billion dollars for shelters. It’s just an element of modern aesthetics that some players want parliament to accept.”
Mr. Yurash, who is a member of the Servant of the People party, noted that some activists have criticized him for standing against Ukraine’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention.
“I am accused of having an unclear position on domestic violence,” Mr. Yurash said. “Of course, all churches and our parliamentary group [on values, dignity and family] have a common position: domestic violence is a horror, and we must do everything possible to counter this evil. At the same time, this convention has nothing to do with it and does not affect the cause of the problem, which is primarily alcoholism.”
Mr. Yurash said that he believes a solution to the problem of gender violence in Ukraine comes down to combating alcoholism in Ukraine.
“The convention does not affect the implementation of the law and does not force the police to do their job,” Mr. Yurash said. “I see no reason to talk about the convention. Let’s talk about domestic violence, about the police who do not come on calls, about alcoholism. Our movement to the West must take place with honor, dignity, and self-respect, but without accepting everything as it is.”
Ms. Sovsun, who is the deputy chairwoman of the Holos party, said she believes that parliament has not ratified the Istanbul Convention because of the Council of Churches’ strong opposition to the move.
“Unfortunately, parliament for years has been afraid to make this decision due to the Council of Churches’ manipulation,” Ms. Sovsun said. “We hear all sorts of explanations as to why the Istanbul Convention cannot be ratified, starting with the fact that such ‘terrible terms’ such as sexual orientation is used there. The authorities are more focused on the position of the Council of Churches than on the position of victims of domestic violence and are afraid to enter into a direct dialogue on this issue with society.”
The European Union, the Council of Europe, and the international human rights organization Amnesty International have called on Ukraine to ratify the Istanbul Convention immediately. In May 2020, the United Nations also called on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to accelerate the Istanbul Convention’s ratification.
Ukraine signed the Istanbul Convention in 2011 but has not yet ratified it. The bill on ratification of the Istanbul Convention was submitted by the fifth president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, to parliament in November 2016, but the Verkhovna Rada did not pass the bill. In June 2020, in response to a petition, the presidential office stated that Mr. Zelenskyy would submit a bill to parliament to ratify the Istanbul Convention.