In June 2008 in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe closed its 18 month Campaign to Combat Violence against Women. It was one of the most successful and visible campaigns of the Council of Europe, in which most of its member states took part.

Violence against women, including domestic violence, is one of the most serious forms of gender-based violations of human rights. It deprives women of their ability to enjoy fundamental freedoms and represents a serious obstacle to equality between women and men. Violence against women in its various forms is still widespread at all levels of society in all Council of Europe member states.

An overview of figures for the prevalence of violence against women suggests that one-fifth to one-quarter of all women have experienced physical violence at least once during their adult lives, and more than one-tenth have suffered sexual violence involving the use of force. Data analysis supports an estimate that about 12% to 15% of all women have been in a relationship of domestic abuse after the age of 16. Many more continue to suffer physical and sexual violence from former partners even after the break-up.

One of the primary concerns of the Council of Europe is to safeguard and to protect human rights. Violence against women, including domestic violence, undermines the core values which the Council of Europe is based on. The Council of Europe, in particular its Steering Committee for the Equality between Women and Men (CDEG), has undertaken a series of initiatives to promote the protection of women against violence. In April 2002, the Council of Europe adopted Recommendation Rec (2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of women against violence. This legal instrument was the first international instrument to propose a global strategy to prevent violence and to protect victims, covering all forms of gender-based violence. Its implementation is regularly monitored using a monitoring framework to evaluate progress. Moreover, the Task Force to Combat Violence against Women, including domestic violence was set up in 2006 to evaluate progress at the national level. It is composed of eight international experts in the field of preventing and combating violence against women.

The campaign had numerous goals: it aimed to raise awareness that violence against women is a human rights violation and to encourage every citizen to challenge it, to urge member states to demonstrate political will by providing adequate resources to deliver concrete results in eradicating violence against women, and finally to promote the implementation of effective measures for preventing and combating violence against women through legislation and national action plans to regularly monitor progress.

The campaign received widespread support from key actors in local, regional and national governments as well as parliaments and it ensured that the messages of the campaign reached a large and varied audience. The Council of Europe member states contributed significantly to the success of the campaign: more than half of all member states carried out national awareness raising campaigns, while many others reviewed their policies and legislation or implemented other measures. Many national parliaments placed the issue of domestic violence on their agenda through parliamentary debates, hearings or tabling amendments to the law.  

The primary result of the campaign has been the recognition by the different actors that violence against women is a human rights violation - not a private matter. Secondly, the campaign placed violence against women at the highest level of the political agenda of member states. Thirdly, it has shown that joint public action of all national and international actors is necessary to combat violence against women. Lastly, promoting the implementation of measures contained in Recommendation Rec(2002)5 has yielded significant results.  

The recent information from the monitoring framework show that a large proportion of member states have recognized domestic violence as a grave problem which has to be dealt with on a solid legal foundation. Recent changes in legislation on domestic violence seem to focus on providing physical distance between victim and perpetrator, mainly by the legal provision of non-molestation, occupation orders and police barring orders. The analysis based on monitoring the national situation in various member states revealed that there is an alarming lack of rape crisis centers or other appropriate services for rape victims in Europe.

This corresponds to the extremely low and sinking level of prosecution and conviction, although for the majority of rapes reported to the police the perpetrator is known. There should be no legal exceptions or privileges that condone or permit any kind of violence within the family or intimate relationships. Such exceptions are incompatible with basic human rights and should be removed without delay in all member states. All member states should be encouraged to develop national Plans of Action, to review them, report on the outcomes, and draw up progressive plans for further activities. An important element in all such action plans will be securing education and specialized training for professionals in all relevant fields, as well as actions to improve public awareness and media treatment of gender-based violence and all related issues.  

Differences exist between the eastern and western part of Europe. The legislation on violence in most east eastern European countries is based on the criminal system and rarely has specific provisions for domestic violence. Western European member states are more likely to focus on protection provided by police and civil law. Either way is effective only if appropriate implementation measures are provided.