The Istanbul Convention would go a long way to protect and support survivors of domestic violence in the UK. It guarantees shelters, helplines and specialist support services for survivors and requires that governments allocate appropriate financial resources to domestic violence services. If the UK government had already ratified this convention, as promised, their fatal austerity cuts to domestic violence services would never have happened.
Sisters Uncut urges the UK government to make women’s safety a political priority by ratifying the Istanbul Convention and restoring the women’s support services that have been cut.
Women’s safety is a human right, and the government must act to ensure all women in the UK can live a life free from violence. We’re demanding the government commit to this and make the Istanbul Convention law.