“Everywhere and every day in Europe, thousands of women suffer physical or sexual violence just for being a woman. I take the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to state that this is unacceptable and that everything must be done to stop it,” said Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu at a meeting in Strasbourg, reports the Council of Europe.
He added:
“The Council of Europe is close to finalising a draft Convention with legally binding standards to prevent violence against women and domestic violence, protecting its victims and punishing the perpetrators. The future convention will fill a significant gap in human rights protection. I strongly hope that the Committee of Ministers will adopt this text soon and that our member states sign and ratify it quickly. The issue is urgent. Victims cannot wait.”