Hungary should ratify CoE treaty on violence against women, says Egyutt lawmaker

Budapest (MTI) – Opposition Egyutt (Together) has called on Hungary to ratify the Istanbul Treaty of the Council of Europe condemning violence against women.

Zsuzsanna Szelenyi, a lawmaker for Egyutt who sits as an independent, told a press conference on Friday that all opposition parties in parliament supported her initiative, but the governing parties had not yet come forward to state their support.

According to national statistics, every fourth Hungarian woman encounters family violence in some form, Szelenyi said after visiting a women and children’s shelter built at a secret location. She said the women who live there generally do not trust the Hungarian authorities, which, in her opinion is due to police attitudes such as those witnessed in a recent video released by the Baranya county police on violence against women.

In a safety video criticised as victim-blaming, police convey the message “You are responsible, you can prevent it”.

Szelenyi said Hungary has the social institutions in place to help women and children, but a lot more must be done. She said protection and prevention must be ensured in policies to combat family violence. Ratifying the Istanbul treaty is one step in this direction, she said.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters