The Istanbul Convention, formally called the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women, imposes on states a number of obligations that are designed to tackle domestic violence and violence against women. Poland, which signed the convention in December 2012, has now moved toward ratifying it after the lower house of Parliament, the Sejm, voted 254 to 175 in favor of its adoption.

In the course of parliamentary debate, arguments were raised that the Istanbul Convention was unconstitutional and posed a threat to Polish tradition and family. Opposition was strongest from the political right and the Catholic Church.

In December of last year, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights prepared an opinion piece arguing, "The Istanbul Convention conforms to the Polish Constitution and its ratification is reasonable for the purposes of the effective prevention and combating violence against women and domestic violence."

Social norms

One of the obligations of the convention is promoting "changes in the social and cultural patterns of behavior of women and men." In its opinion, HFHR noted that domestic authorities would decide which stereotypes are to be deemed negative and which social and cultural changes in behavioral patterns of women and men are to be promoted.

"Therefore, the convention does not specify the content of social norms which determine the roles or behavior of women and men, leaving the states a significant area of discretion in this respect," says Barbara Grabowska-Moroz, a lawyer for HFHR. "The convention prohibits promotion of the roles, behaviors, actions or attributes that consolidate the idea of the inferiority of women. Indeed, one of the convention obligations is to eliminate the social norms that legitimize violence against women, including domestic violence."

The law ratifying the convention will now be sent to the Senate. If senators vote in favor of the convention, it will be presented for the president’s signature. "We will certainly be monitoring further legislative works related to the convention," says Dr. Adam Bodnar, deputy president of HFHR.