Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

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WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 189
accompanying abusive and controlling behaviour, on the
mindset and reactions of victims.” 508
Definitions of crimes
The most recent iteration of international human rights law on
gender-based violence, the Istanbul Convention, has identified
the scope of forms of conduct that are required to be
criminalized as follows:
“‘violence against women’ is understood as a violation of
human rights and a form of discrimination against
women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violence
that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual,
psychological or economic harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in
private life”. 509
Domestic violence
The criminal law needs to be able to address domestic violence
508
European Agency for Fundamental Rights, “Violence against
women: an EU-wide survey. Main results” (Luxembourg: Publications
Office of the European Union, 2014), page 80.
509
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating
violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention)
of 11 May 2011, Article 3(a). In the Explanatory Report of the drafting
process, the antecedents of the definition in international human
rights law have been set out: “40. The definition of “violence against
women” makes clear that, for the purpose of the convention, violence
against women shall be understood to constitute a violation of human
rights and a form of discrimination… The second part of the definition
is the same as contained in Council of Europe Recommendation Rec
(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the
protection of women against violence, the CEDAW Committee General
Recommendation 19 on violence against women (1992) as well as in
Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Violence against Women.”