Gavin continues campaign to ratify The Istanbul Convention
Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has continued to put pressure on the UK Government to take more action to tackle violence against women and girls.
The 8th of June 2016 marked the fourth anniversary of the UK Government signing up to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women and girls. However, despite signing up to this important Convention, the UK government have failed to ratify it.
To mark the fourth anniversary, Mr Newlands submitted an Early Day Motion to the UK Parliament – which received cross party support – which calls on the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible.
Mr Newlands MP is co-hosting a parliamentary event with IC Change in July to encourage other politicians to join the campaign to get the Istanbul Convention ratified.
Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said:
“It’s now been four years since the UK Government signed up to the Istanbul Convention on violence against women and girls. It is disappointing that we are still waiting for the UK government to ratify this vitally important Convention and implement the series of preventative policies that will tackle the violence that too many women and girls still face.
“1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives, and at the root of this is the sexist and misogynistic attitudes that are still prevalent in society.
“The UK government cannot delay proceedings any longer. I trust that the will take note of this motion – which has received cross party support – and ratify the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible.
Rachel Nye, from IC Change, group campaigning for the ratification of the Convention, said:
“We are grateful that politicians from all political parties are supporting our calls for the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul Convention and take the required action to eliminate violence against women and girls.
"The UK Government have taken positive steps to support those who experience gender based violence, including legislation on FGM, forced marriage and psychological violence. However, there is a lot more work to be done to tackle the abuse that still too many women and girls face.
"The longer we wait for the Government to deliver on what it promised, the more lives are at risk and tragically lost.
"We, again, call on the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention and take firm action to end the epidemic of violence against women and girls that still exists in our society.”
