Dublin Declaration to prevent domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a strategic step forward

Safe Ireland warmly welcomes the EU Council of Ministers Dublin Declaration which pledges long-term sustainable efforts to prevent domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) against women and girls. The Declaration, which has been signed by the majority of the 46 Council of Europe member states, commits to a range of concerted measures to tackle DSGBV.

The Declaration specifies eleven undertakings including:

1. Promotion of an institutional and political culture which rejects DSGBV
2. Addressing the role of men and boys in preventing violence against women
3. Systematic, long-term action-plans on violence against women
4. Awareness raising which understands the nature of violence against women, which targets women because they are women
5. Inclusion of teaching material in official curriculum at all levels of education on issues such as the principle of equality between women and men
6. Provision of guidelines for educational material and the creation of knowledge platforms
7. Encouragement of training of all relevant professionals, including within the criminal justice system.
8. Breaking the cycle of violence by centering children in judicial decisions about custody and visitation rights
9. Increasing the provision of perpetrator programmes on the standards and principles set out in the Istanbul Convention.
10. Requesting the Council of Europe to carry out a comparative study in member states on existing models and approaches to perpetrator programmes
11. Inviting member states that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention

The Declaration was adopted on the second day of a two-day European Council of Ministers conference at the RDS, hosted by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, to propose integrated prevention measures to end domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The signatories also gave a firm undertaking to partner with women’s rights organisations in the pursuit of their commitments. Safe Ireland thanks the Minister for her leadership in this domain and is hopeful that the Declaration will consolidate Ireland’s commitment to the Zero Tolerance National Strategy published earlier this year.

The full text of the Dublin Declaration is available to download here.