🌹 The Istanbul Convention is now 10 years old. It is an international instrument to protect women’s rights. Unfortunately, it is all too often disregarded or rejected.

🇹🇷 As in Turkey, where the reactionary government of Erdogan decided to withdraw the country from the Convention in July and prosecutes violent discrimination against women.

🇵🇱 Poland is also threatening to leave the Convention.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria, 🇨🇿Czech Republic, 🇭🇺Hungary, 🇱🇹Lithuania, 🇱🇻Latvia and 🇸🇰Slovakia have not yet ratified the Istanbul Convention.

🇪🇺 Unfortunately patriarchy is rooted in society and it is everywhere: in institutions, in politics and language. A way of thinking and acting that holds so many women hostage. We thought it was an outdated concept but patriarchy is still here among us, every day, with its brutal and disturbing presence. And that is where we need to start again in order to take real action to combat gender-based violence.