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EQUAL SALARY

August 1, 2024 : 10 Years of the Istanbul Convention

A MILESTONE IN EQUALITY

Jul 31, 2024
By Simonetta Sommaruga, former Federal Councillor and President of the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation

The idea of a Switzerland where women and girls can live without fear and without violence aligns perfectly with a national holiday. The Istanbul Convention, which came into effect exactly 10 years ago — on August 1, 2014 — illustrates what we can do to achieve this.

The issue of violence against women already concerned me as a young woman. At that time, I was on night duty at the “Women’s Shelter” in Fribourg. There, I saw what it meant when women had to leave their homes abruptly, often with their children, due to the violence of their husbands or partners.

Nearly thirty years later, as a Federal Councillor, I was able to implement some measures to better protect women against violence. I notably requested that the Federal Chambers adhere to one of the main international agreements for the protection of women against violence. The Parliament accepted this proposal.

The “Istanbul Convention” came into effect on August 1, 2014. Its objective is to end violence against women and girls. It addresses all forms of violence that affect women exclusively or predominantly. The fact that this date coincides with our national holiday is purely coincidental. But the idea of a Switzerland where women and girls can live without fear and violence aligns perfectly with a national holiday. The Istanbul Convention shows what we can do to achieve this.

It stipulates that violence against women can only be ended if women and men are equal in rights and in fact. This awareness is crucial: violence against women is the consequence of social discrimination against them. But violence against women is also the cause of women’s inferior status in society. This means that the fight against violence against women is inseparable from gender equality. To end violence against women, the entire society must act.

The “Istanbul Convention” therefore also addresses men and boys. Even though the majority of men and boys do not commit violence against women, they are also called upon to contribute. By publicly denouncing violence against women, by opposing degrading remarks about women, and by not remaining silent. By questioning historically unequal power relations between women and men and by helping to overcome them. Ending violence against women is a task for both women and men.

So far, 34 states have committed to implementing the Istanbul Convention. Since 2018, Switzerland has also been a part of it. Although our country has enshrined gender equality in its Constitution, much remains to be done in its concrete implementation. The very fact that in Switzerland, women continue to earn lower wages simply because they are women shows how necessary it is to act.

As President of the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation, I also see positive examples: entrepreneurs who voluntarily check their companies. They do not just want to claim but also prove that, with them, pay equality is respected and that their employees truly have equal opportunities.

Commitment to gender equality not only contributes to a life free of violence for women and girls but is equally important in preventing or resolving conflicts. The President of the ICRC, Mirjana Spoljaric, says on this subject: “It is no coincidence that violence increases where the rights of women and girls decline. Where conflicts persist, the equality of women and girls is compromised.”

Therefore, it is not good news that Turkey decided to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention a few years ago. But there are also good news: the fact that Switzerland has adapted its criminal law on sexual offenses on the basis of the Istanbul Convention, thereby providing better protection for victims, is just one of many examples.

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