We’ve been saving this gem for you so that you could start your week on a happy note. Savera, a fabulous charity tackling domestic abuse in BAMER communities, has come behind the ICchange campaign! Here’s why the Istanbul Convention is so important to Savera:

‘Domestic Abuse and other forms of harmful practices affect everybody and is understood as violations of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and girls and the impact it leaves on those affected by the abuse.

An average of two women is killed every week in England and Wales by a current or former partner and the police receive a call from victims of domestic violence/abuse every 30 seconds. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 500,000 women and girls in Europe have been subjected to FGM, with 180,000 remaining at risk. In the UK, 1,300 cases of Forced Marriage (FM) were handled by the Forced Marriage Unit in 2013, and London Metropolitan Police estimate around 12 acts of honour related homicides take place every year. Crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour such as forced marriage, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation are often rooted in cultural or religious norms and although they primarily target women, men can suffer too.

To tackle this, laws must be implemented alongside awareness raising, education campaigns, and training for professionals and the communities practicing these harmful practices.

The Istanbul Convention provide a framework for addressing violence against women and girls in all forms including the harmful practices of child/forced marriage, honour based violence and female genital mutilation as well as measures of prevention, protection and precaution.

Savera is committed to tackling Domestic Abuse and harmful practices within Black Asian Minority Ethnic and Refugees (BAMER) communities and we completely support the ICchange campaign to ask the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul Conversation and make addressing violence against women and girls a priority.’