Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ratify the Istanbul Convention now that the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill 2014 has received Royal Assent.

The Coalition Government signed the Istanbul Convention on 8 June 2012 signalling its strong commitment on tackling violence against women and girls. The UK already has some of the most robust protections in the world against violence towards women and we already comply with the majority of the articles to the convention.

One of the key components was the criminalisation of forced marriage which has now come into force following Royal Assent of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. However government departments and the devolved administrations continue to rigorously examine whether we are doing everything necessary to be able to ratify the convention. In particular, this includes considering the extent to which we first need to take extra-territorial jurisdiction in respect of offences established in accordance with the
convention.