Sandra Barnes: “If the convention to fight violence against women is to succeed, everyone must rally round”

Sandra Barnes (United Kingdom), who has been asked by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to follow the drafting of the new Council of Europe convention on violence against women and domestic violence, calls on European local authorities to step up their efforts to combat these violations of women’s rights.

Question: Promoting human rights at local level is among the top priorities of the Congress:  what action can it take in this context to combat domestic violence?

Sandra Barnes: In order to combat domestic violence, we first need to realise that it can occur anywhere, be it on the street where we live or in the homes of our neighbours.  It is a little known, even hidden, problem, and it needs to be talked about.  We must make local authorities aware of the extent of domestic violence, because that way they can devise strategies to combat it.  Local elected officials in turn must raise awareness among the public, in particular the education sector and voluntary organisations.

Question:  Specifically, what kind of things can they do to tackle domestic violence?

Sandra Barnes: Alongside information and awareness raising, the action is of course locally based and lots of towns and cities offer battered women, for example, the opportunity to move into alternative accommodation, either temporarily or permanently.  These facilities are even provided for by law in some countries.  It is important that women who suffer violence be able to find new jobs and stay with their children and again this is something that requires tailored support.

Question: The Council of Europe is preparing a convention on this subject: what contribution can local authorities make to the success of the project?

Sandra Barnes: We are in direct contact with people, and well placed to see that violence of this kind will continue to occur and even escalate as unemployment, the recession and its consequences continue to bite.  In certain environments, too, there are specific forms of domestic violence, such as so-called “honour crimes” and forced marriages.  The ageing population, furthermore, means that there will be more and more elderly people who are dependent or have dementia, and these people, unfortunately, are increasingly likely to suffer abuse.  For all these reasons, we support this convention, which undoubtedly directly concerns huge numbers of people in Europe, and we intend to rally round to disseminate and publicise it, and of course to ensure that it is applied as widely as possible.  Here again, success depends on everyone being aware and getting actively involved.