Poland’s Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, announced that on Monday, his ministry will file a motion with the Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy to undertake formal proceedings towards a withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
At a press conference, Mr Ziobro said that the standards for the protection of women against violence enshrined in Polish law were exemplary. He added that the United Right government, as opposed to the left, had been not just talking the talk, but walking the walk in this matter.
According to the Minister, currently Poland meets all regulations included in the so-called Istanbul Convention, and in some areas Polish standards are even higher.
“Ideological clauses” in the Istanbul Convention
While justifying the motion to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, the Minister said that the convention also included “ideological clauses, which we do not accept and regard as harmful”. In this context, Mr Ziobro mentioned issues such as “the construct of so-called socio-cultural gender, as opposed to biological gender”.
He continued, saying that this “ideological assumption” imposes on the convention’s signatories the necessity to change the school curriculum to include teachings on gender presented in this way.
The aim of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, is to protect women against all forms of violence and discrimination. It is based on the principle that there is a direct link between violence and unequal treatment and combating stereotypes and discrimination leads to a decrease in violence against women. Poland signed the convention in December 2012, and ratified it in 2015.
Source: PAP
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